How Does Soccer Betting Work

Live betting, also known as in-play or in-running betting, is the process of placing a bet on a sporting event after it has started. For example, you can bet on different aspects of a football match after it has already kicked off and throughout the duration.

Another common form of soccer wager is called goal line betting. First oddsmakers estimate the number of goals for a match and punters need to decide whether more goals or fewer goals will be scored. This form of wagering is also commonly called totals betting or over/under betting. This doesn’t require choosing a winner. In betting against the spread (ATS) terms, you’re giving your team a +0.5 handicap so that they can either win or draw the match. However, when choosing two of the three possible outcomes, bettors can also place a double chance bet on the outcome to be a win for either Team A or Team B.

Soccer Betting Tips You Can Use Right Now That Work. There are hundreds of great soccer betting tips that you will come across as you progress in your soccer betting. Consulting a reliable soccer betting forum is always recommended. However, the following soccer betting tips are a great place to get started: Soccer Betting Tip #1: The More the. How Does Soccer Betting Work? The fundamentals of soccer betting do not differ too much from the structure of other sports, however there are features of the game of soccer that are reflected in the way its betting works. There are a few ways to bet on soccer: betting on the outcome of the game, betting on the spread, betting on the over/under of the total amount of goals scored in a game, and lastly, placing.

It takes away the need to study statistics and puts you at the heart of the action, giving you the chance to change your bet or place a new one during the event. When you’re feeling ready you can check out this site to find the best live sports betting options.

Explaining Live Betting

How does live betting work? I hear you all mutter.

Well, basically, the online sportsbook you’re using will have set odds on a match or event before it takes place.

These odds will change several times after the event starts, depending on what happens.

If Team A were an odds-on favourite before kick-off and Team B takes the lead after a couple of minutes, the odds will change to reflect this. Team A may still be favourites to win, but they now have less chance of doing so. This will raise their odds.

Therefore, a person wishing to bet on Team A will get better odds than they would have if they’d placed the bet before the game started.

It isn’t just goals in a football match that change the odds. Every action during a sporting event will change the potential outcome, altering the betting odds in the process.

How Do Soccer Odds Work

The odds are decided by the individual sportsbook, using a computer algorithm which constantly updates the information. Then, depending on what is happening in the event as well as past outcomes of similar events, the odds are changed.

When something significant happens during the event, the sportsbook will usually suspend betting for a few seconds so the computer can work out the new odds. Betting will then continue. This will happen several times throughout an event, giving you up-to-date odds reflecting what is happening in the live event.

More Ways to Win

There are several advantages to betting live, or in-play.

Firstly, you can see what’s happening before deciding to gamble your hard-earned cash. If you fancied a team in a match which looked too close to call, you could wait until after the first few minutes have been played before placing a bet.

There’s also the added possibility of betting on different aspects of the event, like picking the winner of the next frame in a game of snooker or betting on who will win the next point in a tennis match.

How Soccer Betting Works

This gives the punter more ways to win, as it provides several different betting options they didn’t have before the event started.

One of the main benefits is the ability for the punter to change their mind during an event.

Maybe, the bet on Team A looked like a “dead cert” after studying statistics before the match. However, after thirty minutes when they’re a goal down and have had a player sent off, the bet doesn’t seem so great after all.

The punter can now place an opposing bet, using the new information acquired since the game started.

Basically, it gives the punter more chance of winning because they have more knowledge of a sporting event than they did before.

Obviously, as with any form of gambling, this isn’t a certain way of winning. A deflected last minute goal or a missed pink to the middle pocket may mean the punter still loses.

Want some live betting tips?

Our expert tipster offers live betting tips to some select folk, if you would like to talk to him about this, please fill in the form in our live betting section.

Be Responsible

Live betting gives you the potential to place different bets on several different outcomes throughout the duration of a sporting event.

This means there’s an increased potential of losing a lot of money. Therefore, anyone wishing to gamble in this way must set themselves a limit before the event and stay calm and clear-headed throughout. Remember a good strategy is to focus on losing less.

It’s easy to become frustrated and/or annoyed if you place a bet on one team, only for the opposition to score a minute later. Gambling when your judgement isn’t clear is a sure-fire way of emptying your wallet or bank balance.

So, set yourself a limit and have fun. After all, gambling is a form of entertainment and live betting will add to the excitement if you do it responsibly.

WHAT IS SPORTS SPREAD BETTING?

Sports Spread Betting is without doubt the most exciting form of sports betting available. Here, we address some key topics and answer some common questions; use the list below to jump to the section that you're interested in:
- Sports Spread Betting Explained
- Is Sports Spread Betting Risky?
- How To Place A Spread Bet On Sports
- Sports Spread Betting For Beginners
- How Does Spread Betting Differ From Fixed Odds Betting?
- Sporting Index £50 Welcome Offer

- SPORTS SPREAD BETTING EXPLAINED -

It's important to understand the concept of the terms 'Buying' and 'Selling'. This really is one of those things that sounds complicated but is actually very simple. Fundamentally, the 'spread' is the range within which we believe the result of a given market will fall. This spread is comprised of two numbers - a 'Sell' price and a 'Buy' price. If you think the final result of the market will be greater than the Buy price then you would 'Buy'. Conversely, if you think it will be less than the Sell price then you would 'Sell'.
In football for example, the spread for the Match Total Goals market might be 2.9-3.1 - this simply means that, on average, we think there will be a total of three goals in the game. If you think there will be more than three goals in the game you would 'Buy', but if you think there will be fewer then you would 'Sell'. It really is that simple!

Below, we answer common sports spread betting questions, explain how to place your first spread bet and supply some sports spread betting tips for beginners.

- IS SPORTS SPREAD BETTING RISKY? -

The amount of risk involved is entirely up to you and there are a number of steps that you can take to avoid taking on more risk than you would like.
1: USE SMALL STAKES – You can stake as little as 1p on selected markets. You might not win big amounts with small stakes but you can be confident that the size of any potential losses will be small and your betting bank will go further, allowing you try out a greater variation of our markets.
2: PICKING THE RIGHT MARKETS – The markets we offer have varying degrees of volatility. A market such as Total Goals in a game of football is unlikely to experience a result that is too far from the spread. Total Goal Minutes, however, could well settle a long way from the spread, in either direction. Read more about how football spread betting works.
3: CUT YOUR LOSSES – If you have placed a bet that is clearly going against you, the safe option could be to protect your balance and cash out of the position before it gets any worse. Cut your losses early and protect your betting bank.

How Does Soccer Spread Betting Work

- HOW TO PLACE A SPREAD BET ON SPORTS -

Placing your first Spread Bet is possibly the most exciting bet you’ll ever place! For some, it’s a daunting prospect but we’re here to explain how to bet on a spread and enjoy it!
As explained above, for your first bet we recommend using smaller stakes and picking a low volatility market – that is, a market where the most likely outcomes are not going to be too far from the ‘Sell’ and ‘Buy’ prices. We’d also recommend that you pick a market that allows you to work out the worst case scenario. For example:
Total Goals in a football match may be priced at 2.8-3.0 and so the worst-case scenario if you place a ‘Buy’ bet is a loss of three times your stake because the lowest possible outcome is a settle price of 0 goals in a match that finishes 0-0. Here, if you had placed a ‘Buy’ bet with a stake of £5 per point the worst-case scenario is a £15 loss, calculated as:

(Settled Price – Buy Price) x Stake
(0 – 3) x £5
-3 x £5 = £15 Loss

Of course, it follows that if the game is a 3-3 thriller then the market would settle at six and the profit would be calculated as:

(Settled Price – Buy Price) x Stake
(6 – 3) x £5
3 x £5 = £15 Profit

Another example could be the Team Total Sixes market in an ODI Cricket match which may be priced at 4-5 and so the worst-case scenario if you place a ‘Buy’ bet is a loss of five times your stake because the lowest possible settle price is 0. Here, if you had placed a ‘Buy’ bet with a stake of £5 the worst-case scenario is a £25 loss, calculated as:

(Settled Price – Buy Price) x Stake
(0 – 5) x £5
-5 x £5 = £25 Loss

Again, it follows that if the Team hits ten sixes then the market would settle at ten and the profit would be calculated as:

(Settled Price – Buy Price) x Stake
(10 – 5) x £5
5 x £5 = £25 Profit

Soccer Spreads Explained

In each of the above cases you are in the position of being able to calculate what your worst possible loss could be whilst knowing that, with spread betting, for every additional goal scored or six hit over the ‘Buy’ price your potential profits increase!

For new accounts: When using your Welcome Offer of £50 promotional betting cash, remember that this does not give you a £50 stake, or 'free bet', on a market, it simply covers any losses that you make up to £50 without requiring you to make a deposit! Using the above Total Goals example, let's look at what would happen if you tried to place a £50 stake on a 'Buy' bet, and then the worst-case scenario happened (a 0-0 result):

(Settled Price – Buy Price) x Stake
(0 – 3) x £50
-3 x £50 = £150 Loss

This is obviously more than the £50 of losses that your Welcome Offer would cover and so, depending on your account type, you would not be allowed to place this bet unless you made further deposits to cover the additional potential losses.
If you are new to spread betting and would like to be in complete control of your risk level then we would recommend that you request a 'Limited Risk' account – this particular account type will display the maximum potential win and loss amounts within the bet slip so that you will know exactly where you stand before placing each and every bet! If you would like to switch to a 'Limited Risk' account please contact our Customer Services team via [email protected] quoting your account number.

- SPORTS SPREAD BETTING FOR BEGINNERS -

If you’re new to sports spread betting then there a few things that you can do to ease yourself into it before you start upping your stakes and trying new markets. Here are the Sporting Index top sports spread betting tips…
1: Start with small stakes. We mentioned this above but it bears repeating! You probably won’t win a lot of money but more importantly, you’ll be in control of your losses. This means you can make your betting bank go further.
2: Stick to markets where you know the worst-case scenario and then build up from there. Good beginners’ markets are those that will not settle too far from the spread price – think Total Goals instead of Total Goal Minutes.
3: Make sure you know exactly what the market is and how the result is calculated. Most of our markets are intuitive but some are more complex; to find out how a market works use the ‘i’ symbol next to the market name.
4: If you’re not sure on anything, don’t get involved in the action – our excellent Customer Services team are always available to answer your questions.
5: Make the most of promotions! Make sure that you are subscribed to receive both emails and texts otherwise you’ll be missing out on our promotions that we send to thousands of clients every single week.
For more information on our markets and some sports spread betting examples you can navigate to the sport of your choice below. Cricket fans can find out how cricket spread betting works whilst if you’re a fan of horse racing you can get the low down on how to spread bet on horse racing here.
Use the grid below to navigate to your favourite sports and find out how to spread bet on them!

How Does Soccer Betting Work

Best Soccer Bets Today

- HOW DOES SPREAD BETTING DIFFER FROM FIXED ODDS BETTING? -

With spread betting you can make better use of your sporting knowledge than with fixed odds. With fixed odds betting you have a simple 'win or lose' scenario and you know exactly how much you stand to win or lose as soon as you strike your bet. With spread betting, how much you win or lose is determined by how accurate you are. There are a great deal more than just two possible outcomes with spread betting and the more right you are, the more you win. By the same token the more a result goes against you, the more you stand to lose.
Take Batsman’s Runs as an example, with a fixed odds bet you might be offered a market on whether a batsman will reach 100 runs in a game. Let’s say the England captain’s odds on scoring 100 in a one-day game are 4-1 (or 5.0 in decimal odds). Were you to place a £10 bet on this you know that if the player gets his 100 runs you’ll get £50 returned and if he fails to break that mark you’ll have lost your £10 stake.
Now let’s say for the same match the England captain’s total runs spread is set at 60 – 65. Backing him to be a centurion you’d want to buy at the 65 ‘Buy’ price and staking £2 per point you’d be in profit for every run above 65 the batsman scores. Should he reach 100 then that’s a profit of £70 because 35 runs over the buy price multiplied by your £2 stake makes £70. But it doesn’t stop there because if that same batsman beds in and racks up a really meaty Brian Lara-sized total your profits improve yet further. In fact, every single run means more money. If he makes it to 150 runs that’s another £100 on your total win (50 more runs times your £2 stake makes £100) and should he reach 200 you’d find the market now at 135 points over and above the spread, turning your £2 stake into a £270 return.
With your fixed odds bet all that matters is the batsman’s reaching 100 – if he gets there, you get your money, if he fails, you lose. With your spread bet you’re going to be as invested in the batsman’s total runs scored as he is, willing him on to post a higher and higher total with every ball delivered! What’s more, the batsman scoring 99 runs and falling 1 short of a century would see your fixed odds bet lose. But your spread bet still makes a return of £68 because the market has settled at 34 points above the original spread ‘Buy’ price of 65 that you took (34 multiplied by your £2 stake means £68 back for you). Ultimately more runs means more money but of course on the flip side should the batsman post an underwhelming total, or worse yet fail to score at all, your loss is dependent upon just how far below your buy price the final score was. With your £2 staked at the buy price of 65 the batsman being out for a duck would see the market settle at zero and you’d have just lost 65 times your stake. Whereas if he makes just 50 runs, your loss is just 15 times your stake.

Obviously you would want to have heeded our advice above and know that your worst case scenario would be a loss of £170 buying at £2 a point. But as soon as the batsman is off the mark you know that worst case scenario has been avoided and every run scored brings you closer to the point at which you’re in profit and beyond! Additionally, since it is a more volatile market you may want to reduce your stake to 50p, for example.

- DO SPORTING INDEX HAVE A NEW ACCOUNT OFFER? -

How Does Soccer Betting Odds Work

Indeed we do, and it's certainly one of the more generous offers in the world of online sports betting. New accounts will receive £50 of promotional betting cash to bet with for seven days! Effectively, this money allows you to bet with us knowing that any losses that you do make in the initial seven day promotional period, up to the value of £50, are covered by us! This promotional betting cash is non-withdrawable and any losses that you make over £50 will be your liability to cover. However, any profits that you make on top of the £50 will be credited to your account as real cash at the end of the seven day promotional period. Bet with our money, not yours and learn how to spread bet with Sporting Index today!
Read the Full Terms and Conditions here. This promotion is only applicable to new accounts. Note that account opening is subject to suitability checks.

Spread Betting involves risk. Losses may exceed deposits.