Football Betting Strategy: Secondary Markets Explained

Contributor | May 13th, 2013

These days, bookmakers are focused on giving the punter as many opportunities to bet as possible, and we see that in evidence with such diverse football betting markets as ‘first goal to be an own goal’, ‘who will register a clean sheet’ and ‘who will concede a penalty’.

'Draw No Bet' and ‘Double Chance’ Markets

If you try to navigate yourself around football betting markets offered by Bet365 Sports, it is difficult to know where to start. However, the markets themselves are pretty self-explanatory. If you want to place a bet on, let’s say, Chelsea to beat West Ham but without there being the chance of a draw, then you can use the ‘draw no bet’ market. If you think that Chelsea will either win or draw at full-time then you can bet on the ‘double chance’ market, which gives you both options, although at a diminished price.

‘Win to Nil’ and 'Correct Score' Market

If you feel that Chelsea are going to win without their opposition scoring, then the best market to use is the ‘win to nil’ market, which allows you to bet on Chelsea not conceding a goal. Predicting the correct score is a very popular market among punters, too; as its name suggests, you are required to guess the correct score at the end of the match. The odds for this market are usually very good, because predicting the outcome is almost pure guesswork.

'Goalscorer' Markets

Predicting the first goal scorer can be equally difficult, seeing as there will be a chance of any one of eight or nine players likely to get on the score sheet. Of course, theoretically, any one of twenty-two players can score, but there is less chance of a defender scoring than a forward, for example. This, along with ‘anytime scorer’, ‘first to score for their team’, ‘last goal scorer’, and ‘first to score two or more goals’ each follow the same pattern: odds are offered by bookmakers for each respective outcome and you simply bet on whichever development you think will happen.

Other Markets

Other popular football markets offered by the majority of bookmakers such as Ladbrokes Sports and Paddy Power Sports include ‘scorecasts’, where you are required to guess the first goal scorer coupled with the correct score'- of the game – a market that can result in a huge profit if you are able to predict correctly. These days, bookmakers even give you the option of guessing how many corners you think one team will win, or how many cards a team may incur, though these markets don’t always offer very good odds.

'Half-Time / Full-Time' Market

Estimating the correct score at half-time and full-time is also a popular option, as is guessing who you will think will be ahead at both stages. For all these secondary football betting markets, the odds provided are bound to be better than the straight ‘win-draw-lose’, so it is worth hunting around for the market that suits you best.