If you’re starting out in the world of football betting but don’t know where to begin then don’t worry – our football betting guide is here to take you through the basics. From understanding how odds work to discovering the types of football bet available, Paddy Power has you covered.
In this guide we’ll outline the foundations of how to bet on football. You’ll learn the most popular bet types, what live football betting is all about, and how to stream football and bet online. Discover how to bet responsibly and use your knowledge to your advantage.
Begin your journey into football betting online by boosting your know-how of this wonderful sport – and you never know, you might prove to be a natural winner!
How to bet on football
Betting on football is pretty straightforward. It’s the most popular sport on the planet, so no wonder the process for making bets is as pain-free as possible. To place a football bet, first you need to sign up to a Paddy Power account. Once you’ve activated your profile, passed ID checks and made a deposit, it’s time to head over to the sportsbook.
You’ll find all the latest football odds via the sidebar on the Paddy Power website, or from the tab in our app. Click on ‘football’ and then explore the various competitions coming up. You’ll find games from across the world, from Champions League betting to Women’s World Cup odds. We’ll also point out live betting options, same-day games, and any bet boosts available.
Once you’ve found the game or tournament you want to bet on, explore the odds and find an outcome you like the look of. That could be, for example, betting on Denmark Women to beat China in an international game. Click on Denmark’s match odds, enter your stake in the bet slip on the right, check your potential profit, and hit Place Bet when you’re happy with the wager.
And that’s it. You’ve now placed a bet on football and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the game!
Football betting
Apologies for the pun but there are literally scores of football betting types to choose from. Betting on football can get incredibly intricate and there’s always someone who wants to impress their mates with a 15-fold accumulator that we all know will never win.
Let’s strip football betting down to the basics. There are five core betting markets that dominate any league. These are:
- Match betting – Wager on the result of a game. You can bet on a home win (1), draw (X) or away win (2).
- Correct score – Predict the score in a match and you’ll likely get a bigger payout at better odds than a match bet.
- First/last goalscorer – Bet on who will score first/last in a match, or who will score first/last for one of the teams.
- Over/Unders – Bet on how many goals are scored, or how many corners are awarded, in the game. You can bet over or under a specific line. For example, you bet on under 2.5 goals being scored in a game between USA and Egypt. It it ends 1-0 to USA, you win your bet.
- Handicaps – In handicap betting, you give one team a boost or a disadvantage in order to level out the odds. For example, you bet on Wales to beat Spain with a +2.5 goal handicap. If Wales lose even by two goals, you win your bet. Likewise, you might bet on Spain to win with a -1.5 goal handicap. They therefore need to win by two goals for you to win your bet.
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Best bets for football
There’s an unlimited number of football tipsters out there, who champion their own way of doing things and claim to know the secret to how to make money betting on football. While we reckon we’ve got great football tips, there’s no beating your own intuition and knowledge when placing a bet.
Here are some smart football bets to consider for newcomers to the sport:
- Back the home team – If you’re stumped for a clear bet option then the home team is usually worth backing. The home team wins 47% of the time in the Premier League.
- Start with Double Chance – A Double Chance bet is when you bet on two of the three possible outcomes happening. Either Home Win and Draw (1X), Draw and Away Win (X2) or Home Win and Away Win (12). This reduces your chances of losing a bet. You might not win much profit but it’s the perfect wager for newcomers.
- Rely on strikers – It’s always tempting to back a centre-half to score the opening goal in a game, but more often than not a team that relies on strikers for their goal tallies usually produces predictable results. If you’re betting on the first goalscorer for the first time, choose a striker or someone you know takes free kicks and penalties.
Best football betting tips
As for tips, we’ll let our tipsters do the day-to-day stuff. Below are some good habits to get into when it comes to football betting and planning your wagers in advance:
- Look at form outside of derbies – If there’s a game without bragging rights at stake, look at the form of both teams to weigh up which is better equipped for the game. There’s no local pride to distract the players so the game should be more predictable.
- Keep it simple – There’s time to overcomplicate your wagers further down the line. To start, keep to simple bets like correct score and match winner, and get a feel for the sportsbook.
- Set a budget – Never exceed your limits by setting a bet budget for the day, week or month. You can do this either via a deposit limit or a loss limit, or keep a figure in mind. Doing this means you won’t risk everyone on one bet, and can still have fun the next day!
- Live stream games – Maximise your knowledge of the game and time your bets to perfection by playing the football live stream alongside your chosen game. Just look for the green PLAY icon next to fixtures for those available on stream.
Live stream football and bet
As we just mentioned above, you can live stream football and bet online at Paddy Power. This gives players the added boost of being able to follow the odds in real time, and place bets in an instant. Our live streams cover some of the world’s biggest leagues and tournaments, and are accessible to all with a Paddy Power account.
Streams run alongside the odds, so you can easily flip between markets and find a bet that’s right for you. Many players live stream football and wait for the first goal to be scored. If it goes against the run of play then it’s the perfect moment to wager against the scoring team. It’s also much easier to bet on the goalscorer markets when you can monitor how players are performing in real time.
Read more about how to watch live sports, including football, in our Help Centre.
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