An expert guide to online sports betting in the UK
The first bookmakers appeared in the middle of the 19th century when people began to collect the bets of several punters. At that time, it was horse racing. And it gradually spread to other sports. Then, came the Internet allowing online sportsbooks UK to offer punters a wide variety of bets on sporting events taking place all over the world. And while the methods remain the same as in the 19th century, online sportsbooks offer all the more betting types and methods. Here is our expert guide to online sports betting in the UK.
The main types of bets
The 1X2 bet (or 1-2 if a draw is impossible) is the most basic form. It is simply a matter of predicting the winner of a sporting event. Many betting websites similar to this site for sports betting Thailand can offer, as well as a number of other sportsbook companies will more often than not have a wide selection of these types of bets available. 1 means that the home team wins the match. X represents a draw. And 2 is a victory for the visiting team. If you bet on the correct outcome of the match, your win will be your bet multiplied by the odds associated with the result.
Handicap (or spread) betting: during a sports match, if one competitor is objectively inferior to the other, the bookmakers can add a lead. In football, this will be one or two goals ahead.
The half-time bet: similar to a 1X2 bet, however you have to bet on the score at the break.
Half-time / end of the match bet: in this case, you bet on the team that will be ahead on the scoreboard at the two key moments of the match. There are 9 possible combinations: 11, 1X, 12, X1, XX, X2, 21, 2X, 22.
Correct score: you have to predict the final score of the match. This exercise is very difficult. However, it can pay off if you have the right intuition.
There are many more simple bets such as the number of goals, where you have to bet on the total number of goals scored in a match. There is also +/-, where you have to predict whether the total number of goals will be more or less than the number the bookmaker offers. Also very popular: the even/odd bet, where you predict whether the total number of goals will be an even or odd number. There is also the margin bet to bet on the final goal difference between the two teams. And finally, ante-post bets where you must to predict the final winner of a major competition, such as the Premier League, usually before the season kick-off.
To enhance winnings on easy odds, there are also combination bets where bets are made on several sporting events simultaneously. In this case, your winnings will equal to the multiplied odds and stake.
Bookmakers often offer the possibility to make double bets on a set of four games, called “2/4 system” or “2 on 4” or “2 on 4 accumulator”.
Finally, system bets are groupings of several combined bets where not only the sporting events are mixed, but also the different possible outcomes. There are many possible combinations that can involve from 4 to 247 bets on 3 to 8 sporting events. It goes without saying that this type of bet is reserved for experts.
Live betting
Thanks to the possibilities offered by the Internet, it is now possible to bet on sporting events while they are taking place. This type of betting requires analytical skills on the part of the bettor in order to analyse the development of a sports match, to see which team is dominating, or which player is starting to weaken. And above, it takes a lot of reactivity and you have to know how to make the right choices quickly. There is hardly anything more thrilling than following a sports event and being able to bet on it live.
It is possible to bet on many different elements. In football, for example: who will be the next team, or even the next player, to score a goal, in how long, who will get the next yellow/red card, the final number of goals/corners/faults… In tennis, you can bet on the first player to score an ace, to commit a double-foul, to win on his opponent’s serve… The possibilities are immense. And, of course, the odds are constantly changing depending on the match.
Expert betting methods
The Surebet
The odds set by a bookmaker are obviously calculated in such a way that you cannot make money betting on the two or three possible outcomes of a sporting event. But nothing prevents you from betting on these two or three outcomes at two or three different bookmakers. That’s what Surebet is all about: a combination of bets that are bound to make the player win.
Indeed, when properly applied, this method is sure to bring a profit to the bettor, regardless of the outcome of the sports match. To do this, you have to study and compare the odds offered by several bookmakers, then select the most interesting odds according to each possible result. It is possible to make a Surebet only if the sum of the inverse of the best odds is less than 1, i.e.: 1/odd A + 1/odd B (+ 1/odd C) < 1
In this method, for a total bet of €98.89, you are sure to win €100 and thus make a profit of €1.11. It’s not much, but since this method is a winner every time, you can make several bets a day and thus make your capital grow slowly but surely.
The Valuebet
This method is riskier than the previous one because it is based on the bettor’s subjectivity: it does not guarantee a systematic win. It is in fact a matter of spotting odds proposed by a bookmaker that you think is higher than what it should be, according to you. In other words, the outcome of the sports match seems even more certain than what the bookmaker thinks. There is the possibility of making a Valuebet if the odds proposed by the bookmaker multiplied by your own probability is greater than 1, i.e.: odds x probability (in %) > 1
Again, this method is very subjective. You are advised to consult the odds offered by other bookmakers in order to calculate your probability.
