A lottery, throwing your money away etc. we all know how betting in football can be seen by the average person.
Well, considering the fact that sports gambling is a game of chance, it’s really no wonder, is it?.
With a potential of massive rewards, maybe a light flutter using your spare change wouldn’t all together be a horrendous idea.
Betting on the Premier League, however, can seem a daunting task. Like being hit in the face with a cricket ball of facts and stats it’s difficult to know where to begin.
Do you even know what the terms used on the various betting markets mean? With that in mind, here’s our guide on betting odds explained.
Fractional odds
Fractional odds follow the concept of [the amount you win]/ [your stake] and that’s why you will see the odds written as 10/2, 1/4 and so forth.
For 10/1, for example, it means that if you stake $1 on that particular market, you will stand a chance of winning $10. The same is true with 7/2 – you will receive $7 on top of your original stake of $2.
If it is 2/7, however, it simply means for every $7 you stake, you may win $2. For 5/11, it also means that for a stake of $11, you stand a chance of winning $5.
Decimal odds
For punters and bookies alike, decimal odds are a lot easier to understand compared to fractional ones and it’s easy to see why. It is easy to understand that 3.90 is a bigger odd than 2.79, unlike 11/2 versus 6/7.
When calculating the potential winnings, one will only need to multiply the amount to be staked on a particular market with its odds. If it is 1.69 for Chelsea to defeat Fulham, for example, a stake of $100 will, therefore, yield $169 in total if Barcelona eventually carries the day.
Home/Away
Normally indicated as 1, X and 2, this market simply expects you to choose the outcome of a match. If you think it’s going to be a win for the Home team, you may bet 1; if it’s likely to be a draw, you can go for an X, while and a win for the away team effectively means you choose 2.
A perfect example is when Chelsea, the home team, is playing Everton. 1 will stand for Chelsea, while 2 will represent Everton. An X indicates the likelihood of the game ending as a draw.
Under/Over
In any EPL match, the total number of goals can be 0, 1, 2 or just about any number. This market, therefore, is based on the overall number of goals scored in a single match and appears as Ov0.5/Un0.5, Ov1.5/Un1.5, Ov2.5/Un2.5 and so forth.
If you would like to predict that the total number of goals between Man City and Tottenham will exceed 3, you simply choose Ov2.5. However, for another match that is likely to end with 2 or fewer goals, you simply choose Un2.5.
Half Time/Full Time – HT/FT
With this market, you predict the outcome of a match on both halves. Some of the options under this market are 1/1, 1/2, 2/2, and X/X among others.
If you are confident that Arsenal (home team) will win on both halves, for example, you simply go for a market indicated 1/1. If the game will end as a Draw on the first half and an Away Win overall, you go for X/2.
Correct Score
With this market option, punters simply choose what they see as the outcome of the game. If it is likely to end as 0-2, they just choose that.
Both Teams to Score
This market has only two choices – a Yes or a No. A Yes (or GG) means that the game will not end with a Clean Sheet; both teams will score each other. With GG, the outcome doesn’t matter so long as there’s no clean sheet. However, a No, is the exact opposite of a Yes – the game must end with at least one Clean Sheet.
Asian Handicap
Under Asian Handicap, teams are handicapped based on how strong they are. The stronger team is given a higher likelihood of winning by getting awarded with ‘imaginary’ goals even before the match starts.
The opponent is also given a chance of winning by getting awarded with ‘imaginary’ goals.
So, if it is Man Utd vs Newcastle Utd, Asian Handicap of 2 goals on Man Utd means that even if Newcastle triumphs by one goal or the game ends in a draw, whoever had waged on Man Utd to win is considered a winner.
However, if an Asian Handicap of 3 goals is given to Newcastle Utd and Man Utd eventually wins by a 4-goal margin, a bet on Newcastle Utd will be considered lost.
European handicap
Unlike the Asian Handicap, this one doesn’t reduce the markets to two selections. If, for example, Liverpool is playing Burnley and a Euro handicap of 1:0 gives the home team an advantage of 1 goal. If the away team is given a head start of 0:2 goals, then a draw of any kind or a home win of fewer than 2 goals still considered the bet a win.
With a head start of a single goal to Burnley and Liverpool wins by two or more goals, then from its result, you deduct the single goal already given to Burnley (-1). A draw for Spain effectively means the wagering option (-1) wins while a win for Burnley means options (+1) wins.