Football betting might be the most popular type of sports bet in the world but even the experts trip up on the complex jargon around it.
Most fans who bet on football will know about first goalscorers, anytime goals odds, and that sort of simple stuff. But how many of us really understand handicaps, card points and scorecasts?
There’s no shame in not knowing the meaning of every word in the language of football betting – and Paddy Power is here to help.
Below, we’ve created the ultimate football betting glossary so you’ll know exactly what’s going on when you next place a bet. From understanding Asian handicaps and enhanced odds, we’ve got you covered here.
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Football betting terms
You can bet on corners at Paddy Power
Accas – Another word for accumulators, an acca is a combination bet aimed at boosting your odds. Make more than one selection and your bets will be added together into a super bet. Each leg of your acca needs to win in order for the acca to win. Because of this, your odds – and therefore potential payout – are much higher. Read more about accumulator betting here!
Asian Goal Line – These bets allow you to back a combination of half goals and whole goals in a match, and split your stake across more than one outcome.
Asian Handicap – An Asian Handicap bet levels out the match odds between two teams, by giving the underdog a points advantage. It’s therefore more profitable to back the favourite but they’ll need to win by multiple goals to win the bet. When the odds are evenly matched, this is known as 0 Asian Handicap. Bettors get a refund if the match is a draw. Here’s all you need to know about handicap betting.
Assist – The player who last touched the ball before the goalscorer scores is awarded the ‘assist’ in football. Assist betting is perfect when you want to wager on creative players who are unlikely to score themselves, and set-piece takers. However, if the ball touched an opposition player before the goalscorer then no assist is credited. Read more about football assist betting here.
American Odds – American odds are primarily used in the US to display how much money you win from a $100 bet (of course, they have to supersize everything). For example, the Yankees are +200 to beat the Orioles, who are priced at -150. A $100 bet on the Yankees would get you $200 profit. If you see negative American odds then the situation is reversed. You need to bet $150 on the Orioles to earn $100 profit.
Anytime Goalscorer – One of the best football bets going, the anytime goalscorer market is ideal for those backing players to find the net, but not necessarily first. The odds are smaller than the first or last goalscorer markets, but the chance of you winning is greatly enhanced. If you’re new to this bet type, we suggest backing a player you know won’t be subbed. Then you have 90 minutes to cheer them on!
Bet Builder – Paddy Power has a Bet Builder where players structure their perfect multiples and avoid two selections clashing. They are effectively accas that can’t clash. For example, once you bet on England to score first in a game against Germany, you can’t also add a Germany clean sheet to your bet. Paddy also offers Multi-Match Bet Builders, where you can add detailed outcomes of various games into one big bet. For example: 1) England to beat Germany, 2) England to score first, 3) Scotland to beat France, 4) Scotland to score +2.5 goals. Learn how to place a bet builder bet here!
BTTS – BTTS stands for Both Teams To Score and is one of those picks that dominates many bet slips. Bettors find football fixtures, particularly in the lower leagues where there are some powerhouse strikers and weak defences, and back BTTS across various games in an accumulator. Read our both teams to score betting guide today.
Cards – Bet on red and yellow cards during a match. This can focus on individual players picking up a certain card, or a total number of cards shown for one team, or for both teams.
Card Points – You can also bet on card points, with a yellow card equalling 10 points and a red card 25. Bet over or under a set number of points in a match. This is ideal if you plan to follow a big derby where lots of bookings are expected. Learn how booking points work here!
Cash Out – To cash out in football betting is to close your bet before the game or time period is over. It means you guarantee a win even though your payout is smaller, or you can cut your losses on a bet that is destined to fail. Cash out is one of the best things about live football betting. Learn more about cash out here.
Corners – Bet on corners in football, such as the total number of corners one team or both teams will earn in a game. It’s a simple side bet that can prove hugely profitable. Here’s a guide to betting on corners.
Correct Score – Correct score betting is simply predicting the final score in football. The most common score in professional football is 1-1, which happens roughly 11% of the time.
Decimal Odds – This odds type uses decimal numbers to show how much money you get back for every £1 bet on a winning pick. For example, odds of 3.00 would equate to a £3 return (£2 profit + your £1 stake back). If you bet £10, then you’ll get £30 back.
Double – A double bet in football is when you combine two picks into one bet. Both picks must win for you to secure a payout. It’s the shortest form of accumulator possible and a common choice among punters. For example, you might bet on England to beat France and score +1.5 goals.
Double Chance – Double Chance in football is when you bet on two of the three possible results: Home Win/Draw, Draw/Away Win, Home Win/Away Win. Doing this shortens your odds and therefore your potential profit size, but boosts your chances of winning, because you’re backing two outcomes instead of just one. Check out Paddy’s double chance betting guide.
Draw No Bet – Draw No Bet focuses on the match result, not the score. You get your stake back if it’s a draw. This is ideal for cup games where neither team wants extra time or a replay, or during World Cup group stages where both teams need a victory to reach the knockouts.
Each Way – Each Way bets in football don’t really exist, as they’re primarily for horse racing betting. However, you can consider Each Way in football to be a place bet, where you wager on a team to finish in the top four, six or perhaps even 10 in a league. Paddy offers these outright odds throughout the season!
Enhanced Odds – Enhanced odds are when Paddy increases the price of certain outcomes, so bettors get more profit for the same stake (assuming the outcome wins!). We call them Power Prices! A perfect example of this is enhancing the odds of Wales to score first in a National League game against Spain, from 4/1 to 6/1.
Evens – When odds are Even, it means you get an equal profit to your stake. So, if you bet £10 on a team to win at Evens, you’ll get £20 back. Evens odds look like this: 1/1, 2.00 or +100.
First Corner – Teams favoured to win a match usually earn the most corners in a game, but what about the first corner? If you know an underdog favours a fast start then backing them to win the first corner, at high odds, could be worthwhile.
Goals and cards are popular things to bet on
First Goalscorer – A simple bet on the first player to score in a match. If your player is subbed off before a goal is scored then your bet isn’t refunded. You can get high odds on a substitute to be the first goalscorer, as well as defenders.
Fractional Odds – Fractional odds display the profit you’ll get from your stake. For example, you bet on Scotland to beat France at odds of 4/1. On the left is your profit (£4) if you stake the figure on the right (£1). Fractional odds can get a little complicated. A price of 15/8 means you get £15 for an £8 stake, which boils down to £1.87 for a £1 bet. If you get stuck, use the Paddy Power Bet Calculator to figure out your profit from a fractional bet.
Free Bet – Free bet deals like those at Paddy Power give players the chance to bet without the risk of losing a stake. Your free bet will be credited to your account and you can place it on football, but remember that you will only earn your winnings back, not the stake. Free bets usually come with minimum odds too. Read more about Paddy Power free bets here and check out our latest betting promotions.
Full-Time Result – A bet on the final result is perhaps the simplest you can make in football. Also known as a match bet, you can choose the Home Team (1), Draw (X), or Away Team (2). This bet is also sometimes shown as a 1X2 bet, or a moneyline bet in America. Full time result bets usually don’t factor in extra time or penalties if it’s a cup game. You’re betting on what happens after 90 minutes.
Futures – Futures markets let you bet on something way ahead of time, but there is no guarantee those listed in the odds will even feature in the event. For example, you can bet on the futures markets for who will win the World Cup in 12 years time, even though we don’t know who will be competing. Say you back Italy but they don’t even qualify. You don’t get your stake back. So, why do it? Well, the odds are higher in the futures market to make up for that uncertainty.
Half Time Score – Much like the correct score bet, you can predict what the score will be at half time. The most common half time score in the Premier League is 0-0, which occurs roughly 25% of the time.
Handicaps – Give the underdogs a score advantage, or knock a couple of goals off a heavy favourite. Handicap betting is great for evening out the odds, allowing you to wager on unbalanced games such as the FA Cup third round. Again, our football handicap betting guide is the place to go for detail into this bet type.
HT/FT – Bet on the half time result and full time result in one bet. Examples include: Home Team/Home Team, Draw/Home Team, Away Team/Draw.
Head to Head Betting – Bet on individual players going head to head on their stats during a game. For example, you could bet on a Brazil player to score more goals than a France player in a clash between the two countries. Or bet on one hitting the woodwork more times than the other. The possibilities here are endless and you can ask #WhatOddsPaddy to create your own head to heads!
Live Odds – Live odds is a term used for betting markets that run during a game. These odds are in constant flux as they react to what’s happening on the field. Read about in-play betting strategies here.
Live Streaming – Live stream football and bet in-play with Paddy Power across a huge range of leagues and tournaments. Live streaming allows you to bet on live odds in real time and make smarter choices. You need to have a Paddy Power account to live stream matches.
Odds-On – Odds-on means the odds on a team to win are so short that your profit is smaller than your stake. So, rather than Argentina being 4/1 to beat Uruguay, they’re 1/4. Here, you need to bet £4 to win £1 profit (+ your £4 stake obviously). If a team is priced at odds-on then you might consider a handicap to level out the odds.
Outright – Outright markets are where you bet on an outcome of a tournament or league, rather than a specific game. Examples of football outright bets include Premier League champions, teams to be relegated, top scorer, and Player of the Season. Paddy offers plenty of outrights across the world of football each season. Check out these football competitions to bet on today!
Over/Unders – Over/Unders is a catch-all term for bets that feature numbers or stats, where bettors go above or below a certain line. For example, you might bet over there being 3.5 goals scored in a game. If four goals are scored, you win your bet. Likewise, you might bet on a player to score under 1.5 goals. If they score just once, you win. Here’s our guide to over/under 2.5 goals betting.
Own Goal – An own goal in football is when a player scores in their own net. Own goals are credited to whomever diverted the ball over the line. For betting purposes, you’re unlikely to back an own goal unless you use #WhatOddsPaddy. Remember, own goals do not count for first goalscorer bets. If the first goal is an own goal then the market remains open. All bets on the first goalscorer are settled on the next goal scored.
Promotions – Football betting promotions range in scale and size, and they all aim to give bettors a boost. The most common promotions are odds boosts and free bets. Check out Paddy’s football promotions here.
Power Prices – Get Power Prices when you bet with Paddy Power and earn enhanced odds. Paddy picks a number of outcomes every day for odds boosts. These prices usually combine two or three outcomes in the form of an acca.
Team To Go Through – In cup competitions many bettors prefer to back a team to progress, and avoid the hassle of betting on the full-time result when the game might go to extra time or penalties. There are only two choices in this bet option: Home (1) or Away (2).
To Win To Nil – Betting on a team to win without conceding. This is a great bet when backing a heavy favourite, as it widens your odds.
To Win Either Half – You can bet on a team to win either half of football. This means they could be losing 4-0 at half time but, if the match ends 4-2, then they won that second half 2-0.
Scorecast – A scorecast bet is when you predict on the final score and a player to score. For example, you bet on Spain to beat Portugal 3-0 and their left winger to bag a goal. Scorecasts are a great way of supercharging your odds because both outcomes need to occur for you to win the bet.
Stake – Your stake is the money you are willing to risk when making a bet. For example, if you bet £1 on Netherlands winning the World Cup at odds of 8/1, your stake is £1.
Wincast – A wincast bet is when you predict on the match result (1, X or 2) and a player to score. For example, you bet on Northern Ireland to beat Italy and their centre-back to bag a goal. Wincasts usually have shorter odds than scorecasts but are more likely to win.
Win from Behind – Bet on a team to win after going at least one goal down at some point in the game. Backing the favourite to win from behind is a great option if you think the underdog stands a chance of scoring early.
#WhatOddsPaddy – Ask Paddy what odds he’ll give for outcomes that aren’t on the market. If you ask for it, we’ll provide it. Read our #WhatOddsPaddy guide for more detail.
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