Football Betting for Beginners: Odds, Bookie Edge, and the Truth About the House Always Winning

Nearly fifty percent of all money gambled by punters in the UK is spent on soccer, making football one of the most mainstream sports to bet on. As a result, it is crucial for gamblers to have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of the football market.

The proliferation of betting sites, including the enticing odds and promotions across innumerable matches is evidence of the industry’s success. We hope this post will help clear up any questions or concerns you may have regarding football betting and its markets.

Football odds explained

Bookmakers make their living off of odds, which are based on the statistical probability of an event occurring. There are two possible outcomes from a toss of a coin: heads or tails. If no other factors influence the outcome of the toss, then the likelihood of either outcome occurring is 50%.

There is an equal probability of it hitting on heads or tails, so if you wager a 1 dollar and are right, you will win two dollars total (your original bet plus the extra dollar).

However, there are three possible outcomes (including a draw) to a football match result, and these outcomes are very seldom provided at identical odds because they depend on factors such as the player’s ability.

How football betting works

Every week, there are a large number of football matches, and bookmakers offer a dizzying array of odds on every conceivable aspect of those games. Apart from offering unique perks such as EPL live stream Singapore for free, they’ll also offer odds on things like the final score, the number of corners our team takes, and who scores the most goals.

There is a wide selection of bookmakers, each of which works hard to provide you with the best possible odds and promotions so that your bets consistently return a profit. Payouts are made using the initial stake plus any winnings accrued from the odds once the result of the event has been verified and the bet is deemed a winner.

Combining multiple selections into a single bet with increased probability is now made possible with Accumulators. It’s a feature of most football betting Singapore markets.

House/Bookie edge explained

Bookmakers make money on every market for every event they offer by calculating the inferred statistical likelihood based on the odds, which is also known as the bookmaker’s edge, margin, or juice.

If we return to our coin-flip example, a bookmaker who offers this market will likely set the odds on both outcomes at roughly 19/20, or an implied percentage probability of 51.3%. The theoretical bookie edge is 2.6%, calculated as the sum of the implied percentage chances of both outcomes minus 100%, the probability that one outcome will occur.

If a bookie accepts a disproportionately high volume of wagers on one side of the market relative to the other, increasing the bookie’s potential loss and decreasing the likelihood of making a profit, the bookie may change the odds such that the more popular option is less profitable overall.

Is the house always winning a myth?

The old cliche about the house always winning tends to hold true. It originates at gambling platforms, where there is a high degree of standardization among the games offered by different establishments.

Unlike casino games like roulette, where the odds are fixed, football betting is highly unpredictable due to the many factors at play. Different bookmakers place varying amounts of weight on these considerations, which is why identical wagers can be found at widely varying odds.

Although it is still the case that the house almost always wins when betting on sports, especially football, this does not mean that bettors never win.

Finding value in football betting

Remembering that there are no sure bets in football is crucial if you plan on placing any bets. In sports, no matter how much you think you know about a given game, there is always the chance of a surprising outcome.

Because of this, you need to make use of your betting expertise to zero down on a specific game and wager. It’s safer to wager on well-known markets where you already have some familiarity with the players and the odds. You can bet that Top Betting Site SG is committed to delivering the best football betting Singapore experience possible to all aspiring punters!