World Cup Betting Basics
The World Cup is now only a few short weeks away. Despite our American centric views leading us to believe the world’s sports gambling revolves around only the Superbowl and March Madness, the Copa Mundial is the single largest sporting event for bookmakers around the world. To help get you geared up for the tournament, we’ve got the gang back together…kind of. Trusted host of the OTL podcast Drew Collins and savvy soccer punter James Kempton along with myself will be with you every step of the way breaking down the groups, identifying over/undervalued sides, and trying to find every angle possible to make you money this summer. To kick things off the right way on our maiden voyage into soccer podcasting we covered different bet types, futures, props, and plenty of general discussion to get you started
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Key Terms for betting soccer:
3 Way Line – Soccer’s version of a moneyline wager, this bet is for regulation time only (does include stoppage time) and requires bettors to pick either of the 2 sides side or that the game will end in a draw. Typically the draw is the bookmaker’s best friend, especially in games of this magnitude, where teams are more than happy to get a result and bettors ignore the possibility for a tie. Remember this bet will still be offered during the knockout stage (despite one team needing to advance) but has been known to cause confusion among novices when games to go extra time or a shoot out.
2 Way Line – The easiest line to understand in all of soccer because it’s a pointspread. Yes, most lines will only be -.5 (with juice attached) but when a total is set at 2 goals even the greenest bettors begin to understand why quickly. In club soccer you can often see numbers as high as -2.5 goals but the majority of World Cup games will be hotly contested meaning prices will always reflect the value of a single goal.
Goals Market – Put plain and simply, the over under. Again, this bet does not include any extra time. In 2010, 14 of the 16 games played in the first leg of the group stage only saw 2 goals or less. Be prepared for a whole lot of defense and congested offensive thirds when teams play not to lose instead of trying to win their opening round matches.
Asian Handicap – This can be one of the more unique betting options for folks unfamiliar with the terminology. Essentially you have 2 bets at slightly different prices allowing you to win (or lose) half your bet while pushing the other. For example England and Italy’s O/U for the first match is listed at 1.75 at some books. That means if you bet $100 on the game, $50 will be at under 2 and the other $50 is at 1.5. If the game falls 1-0, you’d win your whole stake whereas a game that ended 1-1 means you’d push half your bet and lose the other. It’s slightly confusing at first although it will make a lot more sense for new bettors when they realize how valuable a .25 goal is worth on both the goal line and towards totals.
