Types of Betting
Bets can generally be divided into two types, with single bets a simple case of picking a particular team or player to win their match. So for example, a £20 bet on Bayern Munich beating Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final is a single bet.
However, some customers like to place multiple bets as there are generally bigger returns available when it comes to placing these type of wagers. So for example, you might have Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in a treble when it comes to Premier League weekend matches, with all three teams needing to win in order to yield a profit.
Accumulator bets are when a customer includes four or more selections, with there generally being no limit as to how many football teams or tennis players you can include in this type of multiple. Naturally, the more selections means the more risky a particular bet can be, although there are often some big winnings enjoyed with accumulators.
If online betting was invented today, there would be no such thing as fractional betting. The UK and Ireland are pretty much the only countries that still adopt this historical way of describing odds with their European counterparts going for the decimal option.
After all, trying to explain why a horse is 10/3 is a lot harder than 4.33 where novices can instantly work out their return will be £4.33 from a £1 stake (including the unit stake).
With the 10/3 fractional example, you are having to do a little bit of maths in the first place just to arrive at potential winnings. The same applies when trying to work out whether 13/8 is bigger than 6/4 or whether 19/20 represents better value than 10/11.
Fractional odds are something that many of us have grown up with and therefore continue to use, although that’s simply people of a British or Irish persuasion. There are peculiarities with fractional betting such as the 10/3 price which is verbally described as “one hundred to thirty”!
With decimal odds, everything is a lot more clinical although prices tend to have a decimal point after them. So 3/1 becomes 4.00 and 15/2 becomes 8.50. You’re always given the figure of what your £1 unit stake would win and return you.
Don’t worry if you can’t understand how betting works – you will do after reading this article
Let’s cut to the chase. If Liverpool are 4/1 for their match against Chelsea, then a £1 bet on the Reds would return a £4 profit if they won the game. You’d also get your £1 stake back.
4/1 is the fractional way of explaining the odds. The decimal alternative would be 5.0. Which is basically 4+1 from the fractional example (so the decimal display takes into account your return).
All good so far? What about if you bet on a 7/2 shot? Same thing applies. A £2 bet would return a profit of £7 plus your £2 stake back. The decimal equivalent? 4.50 which is what you’d essentially have returned with a £1 bet staked.
As the odds get bigger, the more you can win from a £1 bet. So a 10/1 winner would return you £10 for a £1 stake, while a 20/1 triumph gets you twice as much.
The bigger the odds, the harder to supposedly win although shrewd gamblers spot something called “value” which is when a team / horse / player is available at odds they perceive too be too big?
It’s a way of betting on a selection not only to win but also to place. Used more for horse racing, especially for big-priced runners in larger fields.
So for example, you bet £5 each-way on a horse at odds of 4/1. The each-way “terms” are ¼ odds for the first three places.£5 each-way means you are betting £5 to win and £5 to place so you’re staking £10 in total.
If the horse wins at 4/1, you win on both £5 bets. The £5 to win gets you a £20 profit (£5 x 4) plus your £5 stake back.If the horse finishes second or third (in the first three places), then you lose on your £5 win bet but you win on your place bet. So you get ¼ of 4/1 for your £5 place money which is a £5 profit. Plus your £5 back.
It’s simply a bet placed during a sporting event. The odds are constantly updating and there’s usually a time delay of a few seconds when you strike your bet.
Why bet In-Play?
It’s an exciting way of getting involved. If you’re watching a football match on TV, it makes things more exciting when you place a bet or two, especially if you manage to collect some cash?
Always bet with your head rather than your heart. It’s not about who you “want” to win, it’s who you “think” will win.
Take a good look at the In-Play markets and judge whether a price represents value. Don’t settle for In-Play odds you regard as too short, especially as there so many bookies out there.
Don’t chase your losses. You’re not always going to win against the bookies and a bad night’s betting should be left at that. If you’re £50 down, accept it rather than end the night £100 lighter in the pocket.
Decide on an amount you are going to gamble before you start betting In-Play. It’s easy to get sucked in and bet relentlessly all the way to the final whistle.
Look out for In-Play bonuses. Several bookies are ready to reward customers who bet In-Play for the first time and there are often bonuses available once you have placed 5, 10 or 20 In-Play bets.
How does Handicap Betting work?
If you want to understand Handicap Betting, you have come to the right place! This sounds complicated but it’s actually a great alternative way of betting on a sporting event. We’ll use a few examples across different sports to show you what we mean.
In addition to the actual match odds, ie who is going to win, you can also bet on the handicap market. West Ham might be 3/1 to beat Liverpool but you could alternatively get evens about the Hammers with a +1 goal handicap. So you have the option to take shorter odds but have a bigger advantage against the bookies.
Sometimes you might think a team will win a game by a decent margin. So using the above match, Liverpool could be evens to win the match but 3/1 to win with a -1 goal handicap. So if the Reds land victory by two goals or more, you are quids in!
This is a great sport for handicap betting. Say Novak Djokovic is playing against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, then you know that Djokovic is going to be massive odds-on favourite.
However, the handicap betting gives you the chance to back either player at much better odds. So if it’s a best of five sets match, you might have Djokovic -1.5 sets at even money. That would mean the Serbian needs to win 3-0 or 3-1 for the bet to win.
As per the above examples, it levels the playing field so you can bet on a team or player without them necessarily needing them to win their match. Ultimately, you are using your judgement to back a price which you think is wrong about a selection with their relevant handicap.
This type of betting often provides some insurance. When Chelsea played Watford recently, the Hornets were a meaty 15/2 to win at Stamford Bridge. However, they were also 10/11 with a +2 goal handicap.
Therefore, Watford simply needed to win, draw or lose by a single goal in order for the bet to win. They drew the match and the bet landed relatively easily.
This is pretty much the same as the above, although it’s slightly more complicated and is basically designed to ensure there is a winning or a losing outcome. The best thing about Asian Handicap betting is that the margins are very tight which means a better chance of winning money for punters.
The underdog is always given some kind of headstart, whether they have +0.5 goal or +1.5 goal handicap. Sometimes, there is a sliding scale so you can choose the Asian Handicap and odds to suit your particular viewpoint.
Once again, it works on the basis that you either side with the favourite giving away an advantage before a ball has been kicked or an outsider in receipt of anything ranging from 0.5 goal to 4.5 goals!