Types Of Soccer Bets Articles | Gambling

By: Richard Bleuze

Types Of Soccer Bets

Wagering on soccer is among the world’s favorite pastimes.  That is because soccer is the world's favorite sport.  Although, not in the U.S.  Rankings show that the FIFA World Cup usually attracts more betting volume than any other sporting event.  
 
But soccer betting is not simply about picking the winner out of two sides.  Sports books have added all types of other wagering options to add to the action.  Below   are some of the more popular bets now available:

Full Time Result – This is a wager on the result of the match after 90 minutes of normal time has been played, excluding extra time and penalties but including any injury time.  It may be expressed as Win-Lose-Draw (WLD) or 1X2, where 1 is the away side to win, X is for a draw, and 2 is for the home side to win.
 
Half Time Result – Like the Full Time Result, but concluded at the end of the half.  Just remember, that like most sports, a draw in soccer is one possibility.
 
Half Time/Full Time Result – Sometimes called a “double result,” this wager challenges the sports bettor to correctly predict the result at the half and at the end of normal time, with nine possibilities including draws.
 
Draw No Bet - Like the full time result bet, but offered at reduced odds without an option for the draw.  Stakes are returned should the result be a tie match.
 
Asian Handicap Betting – The underdog is given a half goal or more as a handicap, and the favorite has half a goal or more taken away from the final score.  This results in very even betting opportunities and has become quite popular throughout Europe as well as in the Far East where it was first introduced.
 
Parley – Combining two or more straight bets provides higher odds and bigger payouts than winning the bets individually would.  That is the upside of a parlay. However, there is a downside, too.  By linking the bets, if any one of them loses, the entire wager is lost for them all. 

Total Goals (Under/Over) – This is a wager made on whether the total number of combined goals by both sides will be greater than (over) or less than (under) a certain number.  Sports bettors may choose either way, but note that if the result is exactly the number, bets on both sides lose.
 
Correct Score – The bettors must correctly predict the number of goals scored by each side at the end of normal time.  Sometimes this bet will win no matter which side prevails if both numbers are correct, but a variation on this is to predict the away team and home team scores separately.
 
First Goalscorer – A wager placed on who will be first player to score.  Some sports books allow a bet to be placed on “no goalscorer,” too, which wins only if the match goes nil-nil in normal time.  One special situation to be aware of is how “own goals” are treated—it varies from one sports book to another.
 
Each Way First Goalscorer – This bet allows the bettor to win if the chosen player is the second or third goalscorer, albeit at a lower rate of return.
 
Last Goalscorer – Like first goalscorer, but the last player to score and a very difficult prediction to make, so the odds are usually rather long.  In a low scoring match, first and last may be one and the same player.
 
Scorecast – A form of parlay bet combining first goalscorer with correct score.  It pays out at very high odds when it wins, which is not very often.  Thus, it is not very popular with sports bettors!

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