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Soccer Betting Basics

Betting on soccer can be a lucrative move for sports fans everywhere and that includes the US. Even though the game isn`t as overwhelmingly popular this side of the pond as it is pretty much everywhere else, money can be made on it, although one first needs to understand how soccer games work, and what wager types work best with them.

The 1x2 betting used by the Europeans is something one should steer clear of from the beginning. Don`t ask why, just make sure you never venture into 1x2 territory.

The money line is a much more reasonable way to bet on soccer, as it is on just about every other sport.

The money line is extremely simple to understand: the player basically wagers on which team will win. The odds are balanced through the tuning of the return on the player`s wager. In the case of soccer, the money line bet is a tad more complicated, because draws also come into the picture. While in US sports there`s seldom such a thing as a draw, in soccer, a large percentage of regular season games end in draws. A draw earns both teams points, and the game basically ends with neither of them having won or lost. Obviously, a win always carries bigger rewards for the winning team than a draw, but a draw is always preferred to a loss.

The best way to understand how the money line works in soccer betting is through an example. Let`s consider the following match-up: Arsenal play Blackburn and the money line is set to Arsenal: +235, Blackburn: - 200 and Draw: +100.

These seemingly senseless numbers give a rather complete and accurate description of the game, from the bookie`s as well as from the bettor`s perspective. What they tell the bettor is that Arsenal is the favorite, therefore, because it`s more likely to win, players will have to lay money on this team. In order to win $100, one needs to wager $235 (or, in order to win $10, one needs to lay $23.5). These adverse odds compensate for the fact that this team is more likely to win, thus balancing the match-up (making it a close to 50-50 affair).

The underdog is Blackburn. If someone places a wager on this team and the team pulls off an upset, he wins $200 for every $100 that he wagers. Obviously, from these numbers, it`s clear that the way to being successful in the long run is to bet the underdog. One needs to learn how to spot potent underdogs that are capable of pulling off an upset. Sometimes the bookmaker`s lines will also be influenced by the money that flows in on one or the other side of a match-up. In case one side is over-bet, the bookie will move his lines in an effort to compensate. This is when the hidden value surfaces in the equation and this is what experienced bettors always take advantage of.

If a bettors wagers on a draw, he will get $100 for every $100 he posts. In match-ups in which the two teams are close as far as value is concerned, betting the money-line doesn`t become more difficult, but because of the higher volatility, it will result in much jerkier variance, and therefore it will require a sturdier bankroll to pull off.
Another recommendation concerning money line wagering is that you should take your betting online. Online bookmakers offer poker rake rebate-like loyalty rewards, bonuses and various promotions which will reduce or completely do away with the juice. The importance of such apparently tiny but significant edges should never be underestimated. If you take full advantage of all these perks, you`ll be like a poker prop: you`ll play under much more advantageous conditions than your peers.