How to bet on Soccer

November 7, 2011 by askthebookie

Internationally, soccer is one of the most bet on sports out there today.  With leagues that run all around the world, and international soccer being followed year round; there are almost always soccer games to bet on.  With all of the soccer games to bet on out there, you know that there are also an incredible amount of betting options as well, and it can be fairly confusing.  But that’s where we come in.  Here at AskTheBookie, we cover everything sports betting related, and fully explain how each type of bet will work.  Let’s take a look at everything from money line soccer bets, to “if bets” in soccer, and much more.

Goal Spread Soccer Betting

Goal spread soccer betting is where there is a line put on a specific soccer game.  It works similar to any other point spread bet in basketball or football, and is very common in World Cup games.  This goal spread is set up to give better odds on a team who is a heavy favorite.  For example if one team is a huge favorite to win the game outright, the goal spread may be set at -1.5 with better odds, meaning that the team would have to win by 2 or more in order to win this bet.  Here is an example of a goal spread bet:

Mexico -1.5 (-130) vs. El Salvador (+120)

In this goal spread bet, Mexico would be a big favorite on the money line, so the spread is set at -1.5.  Mexico is still a favorite with this goal spread, and you would have to bet $13 to win $10 on their side of the bet.  In order to win this bet, Mexico would have to win the game by 2 goals or more.

Total Soccer Betting

Total soccer betting works just like betting on the total in most other sports.  There will be a total number of goals projected by both teams for the game, and your job is to bet on whether or not there will be more or less than that number of goals scored.  The odds on this bet will typically be pretty standard, and this can be one of the more popular soccer bets offered.  The total goals projected will range depending on how strong the two teams’ offenses are, or how bad the defenses are.  Let’s take a look at an example of a possible total soccer bet:

Brazil vs. Portugal Over/Under 2.5 (-110)

These two teams in this situation would be matched very closely, which would explain the over/under being set at 2.5.  In this bet, if you were to take the over; the two teams would have to combine to score at least 3 goals for you to win the bet.  Whichever side you bet, you would be betting $11 to win $10.

First Half Goal Spread Bets

First half goal spread bets in soccer are essentially done the same way as full game goal spread bets, but you are only betting on one half.  So in the example listed above, if Mexico is -1.5 for the whole game, they would most likely be -0.5 for the first half with similar odds.  The first half goal spread bets are a good betting option if you think that one team will jump out quickly against the other team, and will hold a 1-0 lead at halftime; but may not get anymore of a lead than 1-0.  First half spread betting in soccer is not done nearly as often as full game spread betting, but it can definitely be one of the more profitable betting options in soccer.

Asian Handicap Soccer Betting

Asian handicap soccer betting is a type of bet that has grown very quickly in terms of popularity over the past few years.  While in normal soccer bets, if you bet a team to win straight up and the game ties or goes into overtime, you will lose that bet.  But in this type of bet, if you take a team to win and it goes into overtime, you won’t lose your bet.  You have two betting options in Asian handicap bets, taking the home team to win, or the away team to win.  There is no betting on a “draw” option, which will make it more like betting on football or basketball.  Ties do happen quite often in soccer, and in an Asian handicap bet, there will be a goal spread set on the game in order to be sure that both sides of the bets offer as close to the same odds as possible.

Money Line Soccer Betting

Money line soccer betting will work just like betting on any other sport would.  Your job is to bet on which team you think will win the game, and the odds on the bet will vary by which team is the favorite to win the game.  For example, if you have two teams who are evenly matched, the odds will be very close to even on a money line bet; but if you have two teams who are on different competitive levels, the odds won’t pay out nearly as well for the favorite.  Let’s take a look at a specific example:

Brazil (-350) vs. Croatia (+280)

In this bet, Brazil is a big favorite, and in order to win $10 you would have to bet $35.  On the other side, if you think Croatia can pull off the upset, you could bet $10 to win $28.

3 Way Line Soccer Betting

A 3 way soccer bet is just what it sounds like, that there are three ways to bet the game.  You have the option of betting the home team to win, the option of betting the away team to win, or the option of betting on a draw.  If you bet on a draw, then you would win this bet if regulation time ended in a tie (even if there is an overtime period to be played).  The odds on these bets will vary quite a bit, and we will use the example above to take a look at a potential three way soccer bet:

Brazil (-350) vs. Croatia (+280) or Draw (+210)

This means that betting on Brazil is the favorite, and a draw is more likely to happen than for Croatia to win the game outright.  The odds on the draw bet here will pay out well, and if you bet $10 on it you would win $21.

Soccer Parlay

Soccer parlays have some of the top payouts available out of any type of soccer bet, but can also be some of the hardest bets to win.  Parlays include at least two teams, and can go as high as 15 depending on the sports betting site.  The idea behind a parlay is that it is one big bet that features multiple teams in it and will pay out very good odds.  In order to win a parlay though, every team in the bet must win their game.  So if one single team out of a 10 team parlay loses, but the other nine win; you will lose your bet.  This is why this is a very tough bet, but it pays out very good odds.  The odds on a parlay bet in soccer will depend on the actual odds of each specific game typically, but even a parlay with multiple favorites will give a good return on your investment.

Parlay Rules

Betting on parlays is pretty straight forward overall, but there are a few things to remember when it comes to placing your parlay bet.  The first and most important thing is what happens on a tie in a parlay.  For example, if you bet on three teams to win their games on the money line, and one team ties; some sports betting sites count that tie as a loss, some count it as a push, and some count it as a win.  It is always a good idea to find out which way your site will handle a tie.  Payout max’s are also very important when it comes to parlays, as the payout for hitting a big parlay that includes multiple teams can be very large.  Some sites will put a max on how much a parlay will pay out, and it could end up losing you some money if you win your bet.

Round Robin Soccer Betting

Round robins are very similar to parlays, except that there are just multiple parlays made from a few teams that you select.  You will pick between 3 and 8 teams, and each parlay will be done multiple different ways.  Round robins can be tough to explain without seeing an example, so we have included an example of a round robin listed below, and also added a chart at the bottom for the many different ways to choose how many teams and ways that you want to do your round robin.

You are betting on USA -0.5, Uruguay -1.5, and Ghana +0.5 in a three way round robin:

Parlay 1:

USA -0.5
Uruguay -1.5
Bet $10 to win $26

Parlay 2:

USA -0.5
Ghana +0.5
Bet $10 to win $26

Parlay 3:

Uruguay -1.5
Ghana +0.5
Bet $10 to win $26

Essentially your bet here will be putting in $30 total, to win $78.  These round robin bets work just like parlays, so it is important to remember that if one single team loses, then you will lose all parlays that include that team in them.

Picks/Ways/Number of Bets

8 picks/2 ways/28 bets
8 picks/3 ways/56 bets
8 picks/4 ways/70 bets
8 picks/5 ways/56 bets
8 picks/6 ways/28 bets
7 picks/2 ways/21 bets
7 picks/3 ways/35 bets
7 picks/4 ways/35 bets
7 picks/5 ways/21 bets
7 picks/6 ways/7 bets
6 picks/2 ways/15 bets
6 picks/3 ways/20 bets
6 picks/4 ways/15 bets
6 picks/5 ways/6 bets
5 picks/2 ways/10 bets
5 picks/3 ways/10 bets
5 picks/4 ways/5 bets
4 picks/2 ways/6 bets
4 picks/3 ways/4 bets
3 picks/2 ways/3 bets

If Bets

If bets are designed to be a great money management system.  The idea behind an if bet is that IF one team that you bet on wins, then a bet will be placed on another team.  But, if the first team that you bet on loses, then there will be no more bets placed.  This type of bet can be done with as many six teams typically, and it is recommended to put your favorite bets first, and your least favorites as your last betting options.  It does not matter what time of the day the games are at, and your first bet can even be on a game that occurs after one of your later bets as long as all bets are in prior to kickoff.  Here is an example of how an if bet would look:

Spain -1.5 (-110) vs. Paraguay +1.5 (-110)
Bet $11 on Spain -1.5 to win $10

If this bet wins, then a bet would be placed on the following game:

Holland -0.5 (-110) vs. France +0.5 (-110)
Bet $11 on France +0.5 to win $10

Reverse If Bets

Reverse if bets will take two or three double action if bets, and reverse them.  The idea behind this type of bet is that it will give a better payout than a regular if bet, and makes for a very profitable way to do if betting in soccer.  Here’s an example of a reverse if bet:

2 team Reverse bet:

Spain -1.5 bet $11 to win $10 (if win, tie or cancel)
Spain vs. Paraguay Over 2.5 bet $10 to win $10

Then:

Spain vs. Paraguay Over 2.5 bet $10 to win $10 (if win, tie or cancel)
Spain -1.5 bet $11 to win $10

If Bet Rules

If betting does have a few rules, and one of the biggest rules when it comes to if betting in soccer, is how they handle a tie, push, or cancelled bet.  Just as parlay rules are set up, some sports betting sites will count ties as losses, some count them as a push, and some count them as a win.  A tie will typically result in a loss on most sports betting sites, and would result in the if bet not moving on to the next game.  This is definitely something to keep your eye out for, as you don’t want to get into a spot where you think that you have pushed the bet, and your next bet will be placed.  Some sites will offer the option to continue with your next bet if the first one ends in a push, tie, or cancel though.

Soccer Futures Bets

Futures betting in soccer can be very popular, especially with all of the huge leagues that run, and of course the World Cup.  A futures bet on a specific league or the World Cup can offer some very good pay outs, but will make bettors wait a bit to have the opportunity to collect on their bets.  You will find that in both types of futures bets there will be heavy favorites, and big underdogs, as the talent levels will vary quite a bit between teams.  We’ll take a look at an example of a futures bet for both the English Premier League, and the World Cup.

Odds to Win the English Premier League:

Manchester United: +137
Chelsea: +275
Manchester City: +300
Liverpool: +1200
Arsenal: +1800
Tottenham: +5000
Aston Villa: +40000
Everton: +60000
Newcastle United: +150000
Sunderland: +250000
Bolton: +350000
QPR: +500000
Fulham: +500000
Stoke City: +500000
West Bromwich: +750000
Wolverhampton: +750000
Blackburn: +1000000
Norwich City: +1000000
Swansea City: +1000000
Wigan: +1000000

As you can see from this list, you have teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, and Chelsea who are all fairly big favorites at the top, and teams like Norwich, Swansea, West Bromwich, Wigan, and Wolverhampton are all very heavy underdogs.

Odds to Win the World Cup:

Brazil- +300
Argentina- +450
Spain- +600
Germany- +650
Italy- +1200
England- +1400
Netherlands- +1400
Chile- +2000
Uruguay- +2200
Paraguay- +2200
France- +2500
Portugal- +2800
Mexico- +3300
Russia- +6600
Turkey- +8000
USA- +8000
Australia- +10000
Ivory Coast- +10000
Czech Republic- +15000
Denmark- +25000
Ghana- +25000
Greece- +25000
Japan- +25000
Norway- +50000

This is just a few of the teams offered on the bet to win the World Cup, and as qualifying is going on there will be even more teams offered for this soccer futures bet.

Soccer Prop Betting

Soccer prop bets will offer sports bettors some very good options for each game.  Typically there will be a prop bet offered on which team will score the first goal, a prop bet on if the team who scores first will win the game, and even prop bets on things like which specific player will score the first goal of the game.  These bets will have odds that vary, but betting on the team to score the first goal, and if that team will win the game, will feature odds that are affected mainly by which team is the favorite in the game.  When betting on which specific player will score, it will depend on how well a player has played as of late, and also if one team has a player who has been scoring often.  Let’s take a look at an example or two of soccer prop betting options.

Which Team Will Score First in Spain vs. Holland:

Spain: -130
Holland: +110

In this bet, Spain is the favorite to score first, and you could bet $13 to win $10.  If you think that Holland could score first, then you could bet $10 to win $11 on the other side.

Will the Team Who Scores First Win the Game?

Yes: -150
No: +120

In this spot, you will see that “yes” is the favorite, and you would have to bet $15 to win $10 on that bet.  This will most likely mean that one team is a fairly strong favorite against their opponent in this match-up.

Soccer betting can offer you quite a few great options for betting, but also some that can be fairly tough to hit.  Always be sure to do your research before placing any soccer bets, and gather as much info about both teams as you can.  But now that you are fully equipped with all of the soccer betting info that you need, head over to your favorite online sports betting site and get in on the action!  And don’t forget, if you have any questions about any other types of sports bets, just check out the many other sports that we cover here at AskTheBookie!