When hearing about 'football betting odds', many people might think it's just a series of numbers, simply flashing on the screen for players to choose from. But no, to achieve victory in this game, you need to fully understand what those numbers mean. Only then will your football betting win prediction become much easier.
However, for beginners who are just getting their feet wet in the betting world, understanding how to calculate football betting odds can feel confusing and complicated. But don't worry, with the football betting odds reading guide from Wintips, you will quickly become a seasoned player in grasping various types of bets.
Before getting to grips with how to read football betting odds online, here are some common symbols often used in the bookmakers' odds table:
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The home team (Home) will be placed at the top, and the away team (Away) at the bottom.
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The team in the favored position (the stronger rated team) will be highlighted in red, while the underdog team (lower rated team) will be in black.
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The favored team will be given a corresponding handicap by the bookmaker against the underdog team to create balance.
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If both teams are rated equally by the bookmaker, the handicap in this case will be 0, and both teams will be highlighted in black.
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On the football betting odds table provided by the football betting analysis website Wintips, you will typically see all three lines of Asian handicap, European odds, and Over/Under fully displayed, along with the odds for both the first half and the entire match.
In the following part, Wintips will delve deeper with you into each type of bet and reveal the secrets in effectively reading football betting odds to help you become a 'superhuman' in the betting world and potentially 'conquer' major bookmakers.
How to read football betting odds online to win big How to read Asian handicap football betting odds
Asian Handicap (also known as Asian Handicap) is a type of bet that allows players to choose between two betting options: the upper-hand team or the lower-hand team. Asian Handicap introduces a handicap element to create a balanced opportunity between two teams, where one team is given a "handicap" (a fictional number of points or goals) to equalize the playing field. In summary:
Fundamentally, the Asian Handicap is a betting system where bookmakers provide odds to help players balance the chances between two teams. In Asian Handicap, each team is assigned a negative or positive value, indicating the strength or weakness of that team compared to the opponent.
The upper-hand team will be assigned a negative value (e.g., -0.25, -0.5, ...). Conversely, the lower-hand team will be assigned a positive value (+0.25, +0.5, ...).
With the "handicap" offered by the bookmaker, you have the option to choose either the upper-hand or lower-hand team based on your understanding of the football odds.
For example, in a match between Manchester United and Arsenal, the bookmaker may set the Asian Handicap as Manchester United -0.5 and Arsenal +0.5. Therefore, Manchester United will have a "handicap" of 0.5, equivalent to 0.5 goals. This means that if you choose the upper-hand team Manchester United in this case, you will only win the bet if Manchester United wins. On the other hand, if Arsenal wins or the match ends in a draw, you will lose the bet.
Level handicap (0 handicap)
To understand a "level handicap" in betting, imagine team A playing against team B, and experts assess that both teams have an equal chance of winning. In this case, a level handicap is introduced, where both team A and team B start with a virtual score of 0. This is why a level handicap is also called a “0 handicap.”
Therefore, when you bet on this type of handicap, if the team you choose wins, you win money according to the odds offered. If the team you choose loses, you lose your bet. If the match ends in a draw, your initial stake is refunded.
Half handicap (0.5, 1.5, 2.5,… handicap)
In this type of bet, the handicap offered by the bookmaker corresponds to numbers like 0.5, 1.5, or 2.5, depending on the perceived strength of the two teams. The stronger team is assigned a negative value (e.g., -0.5), and the weaker team a positive value (e.g., +0.5).
For example, if there's a match between Man United and Liverpool with a half-ball handicap, and Man United is considered the stronger team, then the betting odds might show Man United at (-0.5) and Liverpool at (+0.5). If you bet on Man United -0.5, you only win the bet if Man United wins. If Liverpool wins or draws, you lose the bet.
Another scenario is a handicap of Man United -1.5 and Liverpool +1.5. If you bet on Man United, you only win if Man United defeats Liverpool by a margin of at least two goals. Otherwise, even if Man United wins by a single goal (e.g., 1-0, 2-1) or if Liverpool draws or wins, you lose your bet.
Whole handicap (1, 2, 3 handicap)
In this type of bet, the handicap is calculated in whole goals. For example, with a handicap of 1, the weaker team starts with a virtual advantage of one goal. If you bet on the home team (-1), the home team must win by at least a two-goal margin for you to win your bet. If you bet on the away team (+1), you win if the away team either wins or draws. If the match ends with the home team winning by exactly one goal, the bet is a push, and your stake is refunded.
For instance, in a match between Man United and Liverpool with a 1-goal handicap and Man United being favored, if you bet on Man United (-1), you win if Man United wins by a margin of two or more goals (e.g., 2-0, 3-1). If Man United wins by a single goal (e.g., 1-0, 2-1), the bet is a push. If Man United draws or loses, you lose your bet.
The interpretation is similar for other whole handicaps like 2, 3, etc.
Quarter handicap (0.25, 1.25, 2.25,… or 0.75, 1.75, 2.75,…)
Quarter handicaps are represented as decimal values, for example, 0.25 (equivalent to a quarter-ball handicap), 1.25 (one and a quarter), 2.25 (two and a quarter), and so on.
For example, with a 0.25 handicap, if team A (-0.25) is the favorite and team B (+0.25) is the underdog, the following scenarios can occur:
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If A wins, those who bet on A win, and those who bet on B lose.
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If B wins, those who bet on A lose, and those who bet on B win.
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If the match ends in a draw, those who bet on A lose half their stake, while those who bet on B win half their stake.
With a 1.25 handicap for team A (-1.25) and team B (+1.25), the scenarios are:
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If A wins by two goals or more, bets on A win, and bets on B lose.
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If A wins by only one goal (e.g., 1-0, 2-1), bets on A lose half their stake, while bets on B win half their stake.
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If the match ends in a draw or B wins, bets on A lose, and bets on B win.
With a 0.75 handicap for teams A (-0.75) and B (+0.75), the possibilities are:
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If A wins by two goals or more, bets on A win, and bets on B lose.
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If A wins by only one goal (e.g., 1-0, 2-1), bets on A win half their stake, while bets on B lose half their stake.
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If the match ends in a draw or B wins, bets on A lose, and bets on B win.
The same interpretation applies to other quarter handicaps (1.75, 2.75, etc.).
How to read European football betting odds
Unlike Asian handicap football betting, which only offers two choices between the favored team and the underdog team, European football betting offers three options for players to choose from. These include:
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Option 1: Choose the home team (Home) to win.
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Option 2: Choose the away team (Away) to win.
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Option X: Choose a draw.
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This is also why European betting is often referred to by bettors as the 1X2 market. In reading European football betting odds, the most important factor you need to pay attention to is the odds offered by the bookmaker corresponding to the three options 1X2.
For example, in a match between Liverpool and Man United, the bookmaker's odds for Liverpool (Home – option 1) are 1.60, Man United (Away – option 2) are 2.00, and a draw (option X) is 3.00:
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If you bet 100 dollars on option 1 and Liverpool wins, you will receive 160 dollars (including your original 100 dollars). If Man United wins or the match ends in a draw, you will lose your 100 dollars.
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If you bet 100 dollars on option 2 and Man United wins, you will receive 200 dollars (including your original stake). If Liverpool wins or the match ends in a draw, you will lose your 100 dollars.
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If you bet 100 dollars on option X and the match ends in a draw, you will receive 300 dollars. If Liverpool wins or Man United wins, you will lose your 100 dollars.
How to read Over/Under football betting odds
The Over/Under bet (also known as the Total bet) is one of the most popular types of bets in soccer betting. With this type of bet, you don't need to focus on the win, draw, or loss outcomes of the match, but rather the only thing you need to pay attention to is the total number of goals scored by both teams when the match ends and the Over/Under level set by the bookmaker.
In reading Over/Under soccer betting, players will have two options for betting. These are:
Over bet: You choose this option if you predict that the total number of goals scored in the match will be greater than the level set by the bookmaker.
Under bet: You place your trust in this option if you predict that the total number of goals in the match will be lower than the level set by the bookmaker.
For example: In the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Over/Under betting odds are set at 2.5, meaning the bookmaker predicts that the total number of goals in the match will be between 2 and 3.
If you bet on Over and the total number of goals in the match is 3 or more (with scores such as 2-1, 3-0, 1-3, 2-2, for example), you will win the bet.
If you bet on Under and the total number of goals in the match is 2 or less (with scores such as 0-0, 1-0, 0-2, 1-1, for example), you will lose the bet.
Thus, Wintips has just taught the most basic way to read soccer betting for newcomers to the world of betting. Each type of bet has its own attractiveness and different ways to analyze and predict soccer betting. To be able to win, you need to thoroughly understand how to read soccer betting and also learn from the experience of predicting and analyzing at Wintips (superbettips.com) – the ideal website for players who want to "conquer" the bookmakers.
