Welcome to the Odds1x2.com guide to sports betting. Whether you’re a betting novice, a customer who bets occasionally or a regular online punter, this article can help to inform you and become better at betting!
We look at the basics when it comes to placing a bet on sports. We look at the sports and betting markets that are generally the most profitable for customers, while we also examine areas such as In-Play and Cash Out.
What is Sports Betting?
Let’s keep things simple to start with. Sports betting involves you staking money on a particular selection to win on a particular betting market. Customers nominate how much they want to bet at a selected price and the bookmaker will either settle this as a winner or a loser.
Sports betting online is only possible if you have at least one betting account although many customers have multiple accounts so that they can get the best odds that are showcased on Odds1x2.com.
How to Open a Bookmaker Account?
Here at Odds1x2.com, we work with several leading bookmakers to provide customers with our odds comparison grids. We would recommend any of these operators if you’re looking to place bets online, with these bookies scoring highly across several categories and they all offer a welcome bonus.
To open a bookmaker account, you simply need to visit the operator website in question. You should be taken to a landing page where you need to click on the “Join Now” button and that will take you through to the registration page.
On the registration page, you can fill out a few personal details such as name, address and date of birth. You will then need to register a payment method and there are usually a range of options. You can register a debit card, a credit card or instead use an e-wallet solution such as PayPal, Neteller or Skrill.
Once you have a payment method registered, you can then make a first deposit with your bookmaker so that your betting account is funded. Most bookies require you to deposit a minimum of £5 or £10 to get started and it’s worth making sure that you qualify for the biggest possible welcome bonus with your first deposit.
With a funded account, you are now ready to start betting! You can access the latest sports betting markets that are available before choosing a particular selection that you like and betting accordingly.
How Do Betting Odds Work?
A bookmaker will give you the choice of viewing the odds in fractional or decimal format. An example of fractional odds would be 10/1. This means that for every £1 you bet at these odds, you would win £10 along with your £1 stake back (you always get your stake back if you win a bet).
The decimal equivalent to 10/1 is 11.00. The potential payout would be exactly the same with this bet, although the 11.00 includes the winnings that you would get if you placed that bet, i.e. the £1 stake along with the £10 winnings. Your odds format simply comes down to personal choice.
If a horse is trading at 10/1 (11.00) to win a race, it implies that there’s roughly a 10% chance of that horse winning. Alternatively, you might find a horse available at evens (2.00) for a race and that would suggest the runner has a roughly 50% chance of winning. A £1 bet at evens (2.00) would yield a profit of £1 plus £1 back which is why punters tend to bet larger stakes on smaller priced selections.
Each bookmaker will create their own betting odds for a particular sport and competition. For example, you can visit any betting website and view the latest Premier League match coupon. You’ll find the list of games along with accompanying prices for each team.
Do the Betting Odds Ever Change?
Yes, frequently! Whether you’re betting on football, horse racing or tennis, the odds are constantly subject to change. A bookmaker will price up a football match several days in advance although the odds will often be altered as we approach kick-off, especially if a particular team has been popular with customers.
It generally follows that if a bookmaker receives a large number of bets on a particular selection, then the odds will shorten. Sometimes a horse might be 10/1 on the morning of a race but end up going off as a 5/1 shot. Similarly, you might find the odds about a betting selections lengthen if the punters are keen to bet elsewhere.
We’ll explore In-Play betting later in this article although it goes without saying that live betting markets see the odds change on a constant basis in the same way that you might see on the stock market. With every kick of the ball, the pattern of a football match will change and so will the odds.
How Do I Choose How Much to Bet?
The most important thing is that you always bet responsibly. None of us like losing with our online bets, although you should only gamble what you can afford to lose. Risking more money than you’re comfortable with is not the best way forward and there are no guarantees of any returns with your online bets.
If you’re new to online betting, we would recommend that you start with small stakes until you’re comfortable with the process of placing a bet and seeing what returns can be enjoyed along the way. You can then gradually increase your average stake based on how well you’re doing.
Many betting customers have a rough staking plan. As mentioned, betting £1 on a horse at evens would only yield a £2 return, while backing a horse for the same stake at 10/1 would see an £11 return. That means the best way forward is often to bet larger amounts on shorter-priced selections and smaller amounts on larger-priced selections.
Sometimes a staking plan is graded according to how strongly you feel about a selection. You might think that an outsider is too big at 20/1 in a horse race and bet small stakes on that selection. Conversely, you might think Liverpool at evens is a massive price and bet your maximum stake here.
Every online bookmaker now allows you to set a deposit limit when it comes to funding your betting account. This can be set on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to make sure that you bet sensibly and it will also help you shape some kind of staking plan.
Football is now the most popular sport to bet on. During the football season, there are matches taking place on a daily basis, while the weekend coupon is dominated by games from popular European competitions such as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga.
Many customers like to place football bets on a match-by-match basis. So for a game like Manchester City v Liverpool, a customer might look at the match odds along with the countless other betting markets that are available for this game.
In addition to betting on which team will win a football match, you can also bet on First Goalscorer, Correct Score, Both Teams to Score, Over/Under Goals, Corners, Bookings, Half-Time/Full-Time, Scorecast, Wincast, Half-Time Result, Half-Time Score and Asian Handicap.
The football match market that you choose depends on your opinion on what’s going to happen. If you have a strong feeling about which team will win the match and you think the odds look fair, then you can simply go ahead and bet on the 1x2 market. Alternatively, you might have a hunch that the game will be low-scoring and bet on Under 2.5 Goals accordingly.
If you enjoy betting on football, then it’s likely that you’ll love placing football accumulators. Also known as accas, these type of bets are popular because they generally don’t involve risking a large stake and they provide plenty of excitement along with the possibility of enjoying a large return from a small outlay.
You can combine teams from different leagues in your accumulator and there is no limit as to how many selections you can make. Some customers will choose upwards of ten teams in their multiple bet, although this naturally carries a greater risk than picking an acca with four or five picks instead.
If you choose to combine two teams in a bet, then you’re effectively placing a double. Three teams would be a treble and anything beyond that is described as an accumulator. Every bookmaker will allow you to click on a team which will then automatically populate an online bet slip.
It’s worth noting that when you place a football accumulator, you need each team in that bet to win. Once a particular team fails to win their match, your acca can no longer land the potential return, although there are often promotions which means you can get Acca Insurance if one leg lets you down.
How to Bet In-Play?
We firstly recommend you place pre-match bets before you try In-Play betting. It’s helpful to get used to how betting and staking work before you start punting on live markets where the odds are constantly changing.
Once you feel confident enough to try In-Play betting, take a moment to watch the live markets in action at a bookmaker website. It might be a football match taking place and you can take a look at the way that the 1x2 odds and other markets change according to what is happening on the field of play.
The actual process of In-Play betting works in the same way as pre-match betting. You locate a betting market of interest, make a selection at the odds that you like and nominate your stake. There is then usually a time delay of around five seconds to bet placement and your wager is struck.
We recommend that you are watching the sporting event in question when you are betting In-Play. Betting blindly on live markets puts you at a disadvantage to the bookmakers who are sure to be monitoring every second of the action.
Indeed, the whole beauty of In-Play betting is the fact that you can watch what’s happening on the field of play before striking your bet. You might have noticed that one team is heavily dominant and look likely to score soon. Alternatively, there might be a player who seems to be on the verge of scoring the next goal.
How to Enjoy Cash Out on Your Bets?
Cash Out is a fairly new feature in the world of online betting although it has transformed the landscape and now offers punters a greater degree of flexibility with their betting than ever before.
When you place an online sports bet, there is often the chance to Cash Out depending on your bookmaker and the actual market in question. Cash Out markets are often highlighted on a betting website and it effectively allows you to close out your bet before it’s settled.
For example, you might back Manchester City at 2/1 to win against Liverpool, placing a £50 bet which would mean an overall return of £150. However, City might then take the lead before half-time and you could be offered a Cash Out value of £100.
It would then be your choice when it comes to taking the £100 or instead stay in the bet and hope for the bigger return of £150. The Cash Out value would continue to change after the restart and it’s the customer’s choice whether to take the early money or remain in the bet and wait for it to be settled as a winner or loser.
Some bookmakers such as bet365 offer customers the chance to enjoy Partial Cash Out. This means taking some money out of the bet but keeping a portion on that particular selection and see how it plays out. Cash Out can be used to bag some early winnings or alternatively limit potential losses should the bet not work out how you imagined.
How Do I Get the Best Odds?
You’re at the right website to enjoy the best odds on a consistent basis. Here at Odds1x2.com, we work with the leading online bookmakers to provide odds comparison grids so that you can always find the best prices about a football team, horse or tennis player.
Getting the best odds on a consistent basis means that you stand a greater chance of making a daily, weekly or monthly profit. You will have to be prepared to open several different betting accounts in order to enjoy the maximum benefit of best odds, although there are advantages to having accounts with different bookmakers.
For starters, you will enjoy a welcome bonus every time you open an online betting account, along with the various promotions that an operator is running at that time. You can also benefit every time that Odds1x2.com highlights that they are offering the best price about a betting selection which interests you the most.