Betting on football has become massively popular in recent years, with the development of mobile phone technology making it more accessible than ever. Many punters now benefit from a generous football betting promotion or two from online bookmakers, with more bonuses than ever before available. Bookies offer a tremendous range of football markets, and it is possible to bet on almost any professional football competition in the world now, however obscure.
Here, we will take a closer look at the world of football betting. We will offer you some guidance about the various types of football betting which are now available. We’ll also give you a few tips and advice on how to improve your chances of placing successful football bets.
Basic football betting
At its simplest, football betting is about predicting outcomes. Outright markets offer new punters a gentle introduction to the football betting. Outright markets are where you bet on one simple outcome, such as the eventual winner of the Premier League or the World Cup.
You can also bet on events such as the top goal scorer in a league season or a competition. You can even bet on which manager will be next to be sacked, so there is a greater variety of this type of bet than ever.
Predicting outcomes is not limited to tournaments and leagues, however. There is also a very simple form of football betting, which is choosing the winner of a match. When you have the chance to bet on the draw, as well as one or the other team winning, then this is known as a 1X2 bet. This is the type of bet which many punters now use on accumulators, a popular type of football betting which we will explore in more detail later on in this article.
Predicting outcomes in this way is often enough for many football punters, as there is the opportunity to win big with this kind of simple betting. It also involves some a fair measure of skill, and requires good football knowledge in order to be really successful. This makes this type of betting an excellent way to get started with football punting, and to develop some experience. Once you are comfortable with this kind of football betting, then you can prepare yourself for something a little more complex and challenging further down the line. It is also a good way of using any kind of bonus football bet you may receive from a bookie.
Live betting on football
Live and in-play football betting has really exploded in popularity in recent years. You just have to look at bookmakers’ TV advertising campaigns to see that. Most TV adverts now publicise live betting offers in some form or another, often as part of a football betting promotion. But what is live betting? And how does it apply to football?
Live betting is betting which takes place whilst a football match is actually taking place. To be properly successful at it, the punter really needs to be watching a live stream of the game. It also makes being at a live game potentially more exciting. There is a multitude of markets on which punters can bet live, with almost every event and potential outcome that you can imagine in a game of football having a market available for it.
Accumulators and their huge popularity
If you have been paying any attention at all to bookies’ adverts on TV, you will have heard about ‘accas’. This is a shortened form of ‘accumulator’ which is a type of bet which has become a staple of soccer betting. Many a football betting promotion revolves around rewarding punters who have placed accumulator bets. So what is an ‘acca’?
An accumulator is where several single bets are combined on one betting slip. The odds from each bet are multiplied together, with the winnings from each bet rolling over to be used as the stake for the next bet on the coupon. If one bet on the slip loses, then the whole slip fails. This can make for some exciting wagers, with punters waiting on the last result on their slip to see if they are winners or not.
Watch out for acca guarantees and profits boosts
This form of betting lends itself to football, and makes it possible to combine several low odds bets into one, big bet. When betting on favourites in two-horse races like football matches, this can make for a very lucrative strategy. You can also sometimes pick up a bonus football bet when betting using accumulators at certain bookies.
You may also have noticed accumulator guarantee offers in place at some bookies. This is where you can receive your stake back as a free bonus football bet if one selection on your accumulator fails. This can be a useful bonus to have up your sleeve, and can take some of the risk out of a long odds accumulator. Other bookmakers also offer profits boosts bonuses to punters who place winning accumulator bets. The percentage by which the winnings are boosted usually depends on the number of selections on the winning betting slip. The more selections on the slip, the more the profits will be boosted.
Advice for football bettors
If you are thinking of using your football betting no deposit bonus soon, then there are some things you need to consider before diving into the best football betting sites in the UK. As with any other type of sports betting, successful football betting requires you to have a good base of knowledge about football. That may sound obvious, but some people will still, largely due to football’s massive popularity as a sport, fly into making extravagant bets on the basis that they watch Soccer Saturday on Sky.
Research as much as you can
Whatever type of football betting you favour, it is absolutely vital that you do plenty of reading and research, if you want to be a successful punter. Every bet you place, especially live bets, need to be backed up by plenty of knowledge about the sport. This includes knowledge about how games tend to pan out, and the kind of patterns that you can expect to see in a football match. This is particularly important if you are live betting on something like the amount of corners in a half. If a team is down to 10 men and defending a 1-0 lead, for example, they are likely to concede more corners than usual.
As well as recognising patterns of play and having some insight into how to predict the shape of matches, you also need to be well aware of the individual players in teams, and their strengths and weaknesses. This can be useful when betting on markets like the next goal scorer. Certain players thrive when their backs are against the wall, and some strikers specialise in grabbing late, crucial goals after they come on as a substitute. Insight such as this is invaluable to a successful football punter.
Focus on specific leagues, competitions or teams
If you are wondering where to wager your bonus football bet, then it can pay to research specific leagues or competitions. If you focus on a small number of leagues and teams, then you are more likely to be able to develop your knowledge and improve your chances of placing winning bets. Spreading your research too widely means that you are more likely to miss details which could turn out to be important. You can also often find better value bets on markets that are associated with more obscure leagues.
Choose the right bookie
It is also a good idea to look out for bookies which offer football punters good deals on promotional bonuses and odds. Admittedly, this is something of a crowded marketplace these days, but bookies to tend to offer football punters some really good deals. So look out for the best football betting promotion you can find. This might be an accumulator guarantee or a profits boost, as well as a bonus football bet. Many promotions are also attached to specific competitions, such as the Champions League, so keep your eyes peeled for those too. Make use of sites like ours to help you find the best promotional offers and bonuses.
Football betting: Fun and exciting, but you need knowledge
Football betting offers plenty of opportunities to be a successful punter. You need to make sure that you properly understand the markets on which you are betting, though, and how those markets operate in a football context. You need sound tactical and strategic knowledge of football, and how patterns of matches develop in certain situations. Of course, you also need plenty of knowledge about the game in general, and you need to stay up-to-date with all of the latest news. Focusing on certain leagues or competitions, especially more obscure ones, can also help you to develop key knowledge that can be useful in betting.
