Football Betting

How To Bet: Under/ Over Goal Betting Explained

Posted on by Dan

One of the most popular modern day betting markets is the number of goals in a game – usually the Over/Under 2.5 goals line.

This sometimes confuses people who are new to football betting as there is obviously no such thing as half a goal!

So what exactly are you betting on when it comes to Over or Under 2.5 goals?

Allow me to explain.

What Does 2.5 Goals Mean?

The term 2.5 goals is used because you are betting on one of the following:

  • 2 goals or less being scored (The Under 2.5 goals market)
  • 3 goals or more being scored (The Over 2.5 goals market)

The number 2.5 is used because it falls in the middle of both markets.

You either think a game will be a low scoring one with 2 goals or less OR you think there will be goals a-plenty, with 3 goals or more.

If you bet on less than 2.5 goals and the game finishes 0-0, 1-0, 0-1 or 1-1 then your bet is a winner.

Yet if bet on less than 2.5 goals and the game finishes 2-1 or higher, then your bet is a loser.

And as the number of goals on average in a football game hovers around the 2.5 marker (although this varies based on trends, leagues and time of year) then its the usual market on offer.

 

Over/Under 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and More!

The Over/Under 2.5 goals market isn’t the only option available to you though. If we look at the odds for this sample game, we can see a whole range of Over/Under goal lines:

The majority of bookmakers (43) are pricing up the Over/Under 2.5 goals line, but there are also a number at Over/Under +0.5, +1.5, +3.5, and so on.

Although they sound confusing, some of these these lines are actually relatively easy to understand as follows:

  • Over/ Under 0.5 goals means you want either 1 goal (over) or more or no goals (under).
  • Over/ Under 1.5 goals means you want either 2 goals (over) or more or 1 goal or less (under).
  • Over/ Under 3.5 goals means you want either 4 goals (over) or more or 3 goal or less (under).

Other Common Over/Under Goal Lines

The Over/Under lines don’t stop there, as you can often regularly bet on a whole range of other similar markets.

Many bookmakers for example will offer an Over/Under 2 goals betting market. The difference between this and the Over/Under 2.5 goals line is that you get your money back if the game has exactly 2 goals.

Finally to make this just a little more complex, you can also split your stakes by using the Over/Under 2.25 goals market. One half of your stake will go on the 2.5 goals line and the other half on the 2 goals line.

I appreciate this might sound complex so to help explain more, here is a quick summary guide to the different Over/Under lines and what it all means!

Learn More With A Smart Betting Club Membership

If you enjoyed this article, you can find more like this in the in-depth Pro Gambler Blueprint supplied to all new Smart Betting Club members, which provides everything you need to set up your betting properly.

This 100-page blueprint features advice and guidance from seasoned professional gamblers in seven easy to follow sections:

  • Part One: Solid Foundations – Avoid common newbie mistakes by getting your betting off on the right foot.
  • Part Two: Money Matters – Betting bankroll management and how to maximise your profits
  • Part Three: Mindset and What Makes A Winner– Key lessons on what really matters from betting pro’s
  • Part Four: What To Bet On – Football and Horse Racing absolute essentials
  • Part Five: Being Realistic – Tipsters or Systems? How to decide what suits you best
  • Part Six: You’re The Boss – How to develop your own betting niche and become your own expert
  • Part Seven: Bookie Bashing – How to keep under the bookmaker’s radar

 

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We have over 11 years experience of helping people make money betting and have plenty on offer to help you make 2017 your best punting year yet.

 

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Best Regards,

Peter Ling
Smart Betting Club Editor

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Football Bulletin: Can Arsenal be fabulous without Fab?

Posted on by Mike

With the transfer window now closed and the international break over its back to business as usual as form and team line-ups will now begin to settle.

After the 8-2 humbling at Old Trafford, Arsenal probably had the most pressing need to act decisively and it was a fairly run of the mill transfer deadline until Arsene Wenger was finally persuaded to do some deals. The highlight appears to be the signing of 75 times capped, 6ft 6in German centre back Per Mertersacker.

Common sense says though that the losses though will be hard to square in the short term: Nasri, Clichy and especially the captain Fabregas are key players, especially so in an Arsenal side lacking squad depth and experience.

But will Wenger’s dealings satisfy the Arsenal faithful in light of the dire start to the season? Can Arsenal be fab without Fab? Continue reading →

Dark horses, sleepers and teams to avoid this football season

Posted on by Dan

Today we released SBC’s Essential Guide to Football Betting stacked with free systems, tipster and analysis for the 2011/2012 football season.

We couldn’t fit all this content in a single edition, so as a special bonus we have made available one of the sections for all to read.

Editor in chief Greg Gordon asked a selection of the football experts that we monitor to provide some ideas on dark horses, sleepers and teams to avoid in this coming football season….

Dark Horses, Sleepers and Teams To Avoid

Having covered The Premiership, We set our caucus of top tipsters the onerous task of unearthing value bets hidden with the morass of Europe’s football markets.

Here is our rundown of the best long-term wagers on offer, those teams to oppose and teams we should side with.

England

Like Scott Armstrong of The Sportsman, Greg Gordon of Scottish Football Bets, and Phil Brown of Betting Laying Club have taken a shine to Brighton.

Phil Says: “I feel Brighton under the guidance of Gus Poyet will give the Championship a real go this season at 20/1 and expect their big signing Mackail-Smith to score plenty of goals.” Continue reading →

Football Betting: The State of the Nation

Posted on by Mike

In this special blog posting, SBC Editor Greg Gordon, himself a scout and proven football tipster from the Scottish leagues as well as a deep thinker on the sport helps examine the state of the modern game from a betting and tipping perspective.

Where We’ve Been

As Sir Alex Ferguson might say: “Football, bloody hell!” Another season over but after 10 months where the front page coverage dominated the back pages it’s a hard one to weigh up.

Amidst Rooney-gate and ref strikes, mail bombs and super injunctions occasionally some football did actually break out.

Barcelona confirmed their pre-eminence in the world game with a panache no-one else will likely match, for as long as the Catalonians’ retain their focus.

Elsewhere winners appeared to emerge almost by default and it wasn’t just some leading tipsters who endured a season of two distinct halves.

In The Bundesliga virtually every club changed their manager at some stage – contributing nothing to a muddling competition that was as dull in the second half as it had been exhilaratingly car crash before the winter shutdown. After losing The Carling Cup final, Arsenal’s points-per-game total thereafter put them in 14th – below Wigan, Wolves and Blackburn as they ‘earned’ another fourth placed finish from a season that had intermittently promised more.

Continue reading →

How To Bet On Corners

Posted on by Dan

We wanted to share an excellent article written by Scott Armstrong of The Sportsman service back on January 10th about betting on corners in the English Premier League. He regularly advises bets in this market for his subscribers and uses his own research and stats on this market to pick out value bets that the bookmakers offer.

If you are looking to make money betting, you could do a lot worse than specialise in such a market, or follow an expert like Scott!. There are plenty such experts in our Smart Betting Club Hall of Fame.

Over to Scott and his corner market analysis of the action just a few weeks ago…

A return to looking at Premier League sides corners statistics this week as I pinpoint some recurring areas to look for profit. 11.5 is the line I am using for the over’s and under’s corners mark. Tottenham with the marauding Gareth Bale are proving to be Kings of the over’s. In 16 Premier League matches Spurs have gone over on 11 occasions, a 69% strike rate. They are especially prevalent at home with 6 from 7 League matches at the Lane going over. Conversely there’s not a great deal of corner action at the DW stadium where all 9 of Wigan’s home matches have went under 11.5 corners.

With half the season almost gone in the Premier League it looks safe to say that Wolves tremendous corners record is not merely a freak occurrence. With 16 matches played the team who sit 2nd bottom of the league have gained corners supremacy in 8 games, drawn 6 and lost just 2. The best way to make a profit from this knowledge looks to be to play them gaining a corners handicap against the League’s elite sides. At Stamford Bridge they drew with Chelsea on the corner count 8-8. Away to Manchester United they lost only 2-3 and at home to Arsenal they out cornered the League leaders 5-3.

Two teams to oppose on corners markets are Blackpool and Blackburn. Blackpool love an open match although their total match corners have not been particularly high. From 15 matches they have only won corners supremacy 4 times and have particularly struggled at Bloomfield Road gaining most corners in only 1 match from 6.

Of the promoted sides West Bromwich Albion with the likes of Chris Brunt and Graham Dorrans are faring best when it comes to racking up corners winning corners supremacy in 7 matches from 8 a 88% strike rate.

Bets to look out for: Spurs over the 11.5 corners line at around 10/11. Wigan under 10.5 corners around evens at the DW and Wolves on the corners handicap +4 against the elite sides in the league at evens/11-10. Oppose Blackpool at home on the corners count and side with West Brom corner supremacy at home.

This is just one excellent niche betting strategy that many of the recommended tipsters we feature at the Smart Betting Club help to make money.

The Sportsman's Weekend Wager Article

Posted on by Mike

This weeks column from Scott of The Sportsman service came in a bit too late to appear in Fridays Weekend Wager email so we have posted it below. Enjoy!

“Play Your Cards Right”

A huge game within the context of Scottish football takes place in Glasgow this weekend as Celtic and Rangers put their 100% league winning records on the line.

The layers are going to make few if any mistakes in a big match like this as they will have covered all bases but let’s see if any angle can be found for profit. Match prices are the first starting point. As far as I know and contrary to popular folklore the layers don’t offer different prices in Glasgow shops depending on what side of the city you reside in. Celtic I had pencilled in at 6-4 and they are a little shorter at a best current price of 11-8. The surprise for me is that Rangers are available at 5-2 in place. A slice of that price could find you in an advantageous trading position especially after the away sides decent performance midweek against Valencia.

Just two matches out of the last eleven have finished 0-0 and if you fancy goals to be scored one avenue to consider is laying 0-0 at half time around 2.2 if you can obtain that price. With regards to the overs and under’s the last 14 matches have generated only 31 goals, an average of 2.21 per match. The one area I will be keen to see prices on is the bookings market. I would suggest if you can get over 55 booking points on any bookmakers who price up early at around evens then you have found yourself value.

In the Glasgow area this match has the feeling of the biggest match between the two for years – a powder-keg ready to explode. The average total bookings points over three seasons at Celtic Park is 84. It’s notable over the same time period that Rangers have picked up most bookings in all six matches averaging 55 bookings points to Celtic’s 29 – quite a difference. Player to be booked anytime is also worthy of consideration and David Weir, Rangers captain has been booked in three of the six matches he has played in, making him around an even money chance, Skybet go 9-4.For a bigger price Rangers striker Steven Naismith has been cautioned three times at Celtic Park in the three matches he has participated in over the last three seasons. He has got to be worth a shot of going in the book again at 11-2.

Match arbiter Willie Collum has not refereed any Old Firm match within the time period looked at, but this season in the SPL has issued an average of 38.75 bookings points including eight yellows in the game between St Mirren and Hamilton so can be handy with his cards. At this stage then bets to look out for are bookings points totals, the away side to collect bookings supremacy and smaller plays on Weir and Naismith of Rangers going in the book.

Recommended to Sportsman members:- 0.05 pts Naismith booked anytime @ 11-2 & 0.05 pts Weir booked anytime @ 9-4 with Skybet. Look out for other layers prices going up as undoubtedly Skybet won’t stand those odds.

The Sportsman’s Weekend Wager Article

Posted on by Mike

This weeks column from Scott of The Sportsman service came in a bit too late to appear in Fridays Weekend Wager email so we have posted it below. Enjoy!

“Play Your Cards Right”

A huge game within the context of Scottish football takes place in Glasgow this weekend as Celtic and Rangers put their 100% league winning records on the line.

The layers are going to make few if any mistakes in a big match like this as they will have covered all bases but let’s see if any angle can be found for profit. Match prices are the first starting point. As far as I know and contrary to popular folklore the layers don’t offer different prices in Glasgow shops depending on what side of the city you reside in. Celtic I had pencilled in at 6-4 and they are a little shorter at a best current price of 11-8. The surprise for me is that Rangers are available at 5-2 in place. A slice of that price could find you in an advantageous trading position especially after the away sides decent performance midweek against Valencia.

Just two matches out of the last eleven have finished 0-0 and if you fancy goals to be scored one avenue to consider is laying 0-0 at half time around 2.2 if you can obtain that price. With regards to the overs and under’s the last 14 matches have generated only 31 goals, an average of 2.21 per match. The one area I will be keen to see prices on is the bookings market. I would suggest if you can get over 55 booking points on any bookmakers who price up early at around evens then you have found yourself value.

In the Glasgow area this match has the feeling of the biggest match between the two for years – a powder-keg ready to explode. The average total bookings points over three seasons at Celtic Park is 84. It’s notable over the same time period that Rangers have picked up most bookings in all six matches averaging 55 bookings points to Celtic’s 29 – quite a difference. Player to be booked anytime is also worthy of consideration and David Weir, Rangers captain has been booked in three of the six matches he has played in, making him around an even money chance, Skybet go 9-4.For a bigger price Rangers striker Steven Naismith has been cautioned three times at Celtic Park in the three matches he has participated in over the last three seasons. He has got to be worth a shot of going in the book again at 11-2.

Match arbiter Willie Collum has not refereed any Old Firm match within the time period looked at, but this season in the SPL has issued an average of 38.75 bookings points including eight yellows in the game between St Mirren and Hamilton so can be handy with his cards. At this stage then bets to look out for are bookings points totals, the away side to collect bookings supremacy and smaller plays on Weir and Naismith of Rangers going in the book.

Recommended to Sportsman members:- 0.05 pts Naismith booked anytime @ 11-2 & 0.05 pts Weir booked anytime @ 9-4 with Skybet. Look out for other layers prices going up as undoubtedly Skybet won’t stand those odds.