Why bet soccer?
One big reason to be interested in soccer as a wagering option is the fact that the entire world has professional leagues for the sport, meaning that almost any time of day, any day of the year, you can find a soccer game on which to place a bet. If you focus the majority of your betting on American sports, your window of betting options is limited to a relatively finite number of hours each day and week. World football allows you to fill in many of those dead betting hours with wonderful wager options.
Additionally, most countries’ professional soccer leagues have 15+ teams in each division, play 30+ games per team per season, and have seasons that last around 9 months. On top of that, most countries have several tiers of professional futbol. Further, there are several major year long tournaments which feature matches every few weeks or so. In other words, there is always a huuuuge bevy of betting options from which to choose. From a handicapping standpoint, imagine how difficult it is to have tight, accurate lines for each of these hundreds of simultaneous games, especially with the advent of live in-game wagering, etc. There are bound to be some soft lines that a smart bettor can exploit.
There are some other reasons why a bettor might gravitate towards world football. The start times are almost always hard and fast. Unlike the four major American sports where you often have odd start times due to pregame activities, soccer games tend to begin on the hour or the half hour and generally kick off at their listed time. It is increasingly enticing because there are no commercial stoppages except for halftime in soccer. This makes it far easier to predict when the first half and the game itself will end. Bettors that have to wait for one bet to clear before placing another on their account will find this organization far less frustrating and easier to plan around than U.S sports.
What are the most popular soccer bets?
Understanding the types of bets in soccer is vital, yet quite user-friendly. The primary bets include:
- Moneyline wager on Team A, Team B, or Draw – you are either choosing Team A or Team B to win in regulation or you are wagering that the two teams will be tied after regulation (a.k.a. draw).
- Goal line wager on Team A or Team B – in this wager type, there will be an (or several) option(s) for each team to win (or lose) by a certain number of goals or more (or less). That could be winning by ½ goal, 1 goal (where winning by 1 goal would be a push), 1 ½ goals, etc.
- Total goals wager – here, you can choose whether the two teams playing each other will combine to score over or under a set number of goals. The most prevalent total is 2.5 goals, but you can find totals of 2 (where two totals goals scored is a push), 3, 3.5, etc. One unique Total Goals option you will occasionally see is Over/Under 2.25 goals or Over/Under 2.75 goals. When betting Over 2.25 goals, half of your bet is on Over 2 goals and half is on Over 2.5 goals. So, if the game ends with 2 total goals, you would push on half of your wager because there were exactly 2 goals scored, and lose on the other half of your wager because it stayed under 2.5 goals. Similarly, if you wager Over 2.75 goals, you are risking half of your wager on Over 2.5 goals and the other half on Over 3 goals. So, if the game ends with three total goals, you would win half of your wager since it was Over 2.5 goals, and push the other half since it was exactly 3 goals.
What do you need to know about the soccer leagues in which Max Profit specializes?
In subsequent posts, we will break down a few important countries’ soccer league structures as well as important tournaments and cups played both domestically and between nations. As mentioned, almost every country has a professional league, but, as in all aspects of sports wagering, it is important to set limits for yourself regarding the scope of betting options upon which you feel you have the time and desire to focus. We prefer to dig deeply into a finite number of leagues and tournaments, as opposed to merely having a cursory knowledge of a larger quantity. Our energies are primarily concentrated on the following countries/leagues: England (Premier League), Spain (La Liga), Germany (Bundesliga), Italy (Serie A), France (Ligue 1), Holland (Eredivisie), and the United States/Canada (Major League Soccer). Regarding major tournaments, Max Profit Sports will give you insight into all of the aforementioned countries’ domestic tournaments and cup matches, as well as the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the Euros and all qualifying matches, the FIFA World Cup and all qualifying matches, Copa America, and the Gold Cup.