The most played sport in the world, soccer has been a go-to for sports gamblers for decades. Wherever you are, whatever the month or day, somewhere there is a professional soccer match being played, and someone is betting on the result.
Perhaps the stand out feature of soccer is that upsets happen all the time. Even Manchester United and Real Madrid, the two most famous teams in the world, can lose to unknowns on occasion. While getting such an even right can make you a lot of money, the way soccer bettering works means that there are so many opportunities to bet on events during a match that with some understanding of the game, the teams involved and the players, you can find ways to make money on almost any game taking place.
Each country has its own professional soccer league, with many having several tiers of the league. In the US, Major League Soccer (MLS) is the main professional league, within the UK the Premier League, the highest of 4 tiers of professional leagues, is the most watched in the world. The Spanish top league, La Liga, is often seen as home to the very best players, with two teams Real Madrid and Barcelona, dominating.
It is easy to bet on each and every one of these leagues, and many more besides, along with the various knockout cup competitions, both national ones such as the UK FA Cup, which often puts the Premier League giant clubs against amateur teams from the bottom of the league structure, to international club competitions such as the Champions League, in which the best teams across the European Leagues compete in league and knockout rounds to crown the champions.
In addition, there are international games, with each country having its own national team made from the best players of that nationality. These run in parallel to club games, with players from various clubs coming together for the national tea. Again, there are several competitions, with the World Cup, held every four years, being the most well-known, and the world’s most-watched sporting event.
That is obviously a lot of games to choose from, almost endless in fact, so how do you get started in soccer betting? There are several ways to bet, some more suitable for particular games than others.
The first bet to look at, and the simplest, is the match outcome bet, sometimes called the 1X2. As the name suggests, t his is simply a bet on the outcome of a game, if you have gambled on Baseball, Basketball or NFL Football before, you will recognize this as the Moneyline bet.
Football before, you will recognize this as the Moneyline bet. There are three outcomes you can bet on
That is where the 1X2 sometimes used comes from, but the important point here is the second option. Soccer is one of the few professional sports where a draw is a common result and one you can bet on. Soccer matches in most cases don’t have overtime, if the scores are level at the end of the 90 minutes, then the result is a draw and the match ends.
Another betting option, Totals is betting on the total number of goals scored in a match, that means the combined score of both teams. Soccer is a relatively low scoring game, a team scoring 4 or more is a standout performance, and so this is an interesting market to get involved in, with much less range to choose from that, say, a Basketball match.
This is perhaps where soccer betting really comes alive. You can bet on so many different things, from the number of corners during a match, the first player to be awarded a red card, the number of cards awarded during a game, how many throw-ins, the list goes on. In short, you can bet on pretty much any event during a game.
Finally, we have live betting. This allows you all the other betting options, but you can place bets on a game as it is taking place. For those who understand the game, this can be an incredible opportunity, spotting flaws in a team’s approach that will cost them, you can bet based on that after the game has started, and for those who learn what to look for, becomes a source of profits.
Soccer is the sport with the most matches to bet on, it is also the sport with the most flexible wagering options available. Both before and during a match, you can lay a bet on almost any aspect of the match.
However, because of the existence of draws, and the more common situation of underdogs getting draws or winning against favorites, Soccer betting can be a bit less predictable. As an option for those who understand it though, every match provides a great way to profit.