Everything You Need To Know About Soccer Bets: The Basics


Everything You Need To Know About Soccer Bets: The Basics

When it comes to soccer betting, to make an informed decision you need a strong grasp of the way the game works as well as its betting options. Two teams of eleven play two 45 minute halves of a full 90 minutes, the one with the most goals at the end of the game wins, simple. Tournament matches may run into extra time which is two 15 minute halves, after which a penalty shootout may decide the victor. League games end in draws if the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes.

What Does “Handicap” Mean in Soccer Betting?

A “handicap” in the world of sport’s betting has to do with the perceived abilities of the teams which often play a role in determining their odds of winning. These perceived abilities and their status are constantly changing due to new players, injured players or even the advantage of playing on home ground; along with a host of other factors, are taken into consideration. All of these factors are taken into account for betting sites online as well as old school bookies to set their odds as dictated by the factors involved.

Handicap = the number determined by the bookmaker with all the provided biases to provide more balanced odds.

This is why a handicap is usually a bet offered when there is a clear favourite to win. Handicap betting is offered by bookmakers and is used to even the odds of the game somewhat. The favoured team begins with a literal deficit of one goal handicap, negative or positive depending on who is playing.

  • Level Handicap ‒ both teams start with 0 goals because they are considered to be evenly balanced.
  • Single Handicap ‒ if you bet on the team with the handicap they must win with more than one goal because they started at -1 goals. Winning by 1 goal would mean, in betting handicap terms, the game was a draw meaning your bet will be resulted as a losing bet, for this example.
  • Split Handicap ‒ when the difference between the teams’ playing abilities is too small to allow a handicap (one or more) the bettor is permitted to split the stake over two handicaps. Now you are playing for the team you bet on to cover the handicap even if it is -0.5.

What is “Total Goals Over/Under” Soccer Betting?

“Under-over” when it comes to sports betting is when a punter predicts the number of total goals scored during a game will be higher or lower than a certain predetermined tally.

For example –

If you place a bet on the “Total Goals Over/Under” market in a Chelsea vs Manchester United match and predicted that 3 goals would be scored, you would choose the option, “Over 2.5 goals”. In order for you bet to win you would need three goals to be scored regardless which team scored the goals.

Or – Bet Over 1/1.5 Goals and you win at your quoted price if there are 2 or more goals scored in the match. If there is 1 goal scored in the match half your stake is lost and half your stake is returned.

Or Bet Under 1/1.5 Goals and you win at your matched price if there are no goals in the match. If there is 1 goal scored in the match half your stake is returned and the other half is multiplied by your matched price.

With all of this complex jargon you can do some reading to better understand all the ways in which you can hone your soccer betting skills with Sunbet. We lay it all out for you to make soccer betting easy for all upcoming matches, take a look!