You've probably heard the term "a bookie never goes out of business," and this might be true because of how the majority of bettors make their bets. You can improve your odds of winning by simply following a different route than the crowd.
How to Define An Easy Bet?
Before we get into the bets you should be looking for, let's find out what we mean by 'easy bets.' What we mean by these bets aren't the guaranteed ways to beat betting sites like matched betting or arbitrage opportunities.
Instead, we'll be looking at the specific bets that provide the best probabilities of your selection's accuracy. Keep in mind that these bets still carry risks, so make sure that you practice safe betting.
Double Chance Bet
All sportsbooks likely offer the double chance betting market. This bet is not too different from the usual match result bet, but instead of predicting the result's outcome of winning, losing, or draw, you can bet on two of the match's outcomes.
By betting on the moneyline (or 1x2 line), you'll find three possible outcomes for the game:
- A home win (1)
- A draw (x)
- An away win (2)
However, on some occasions, you can find some better opportunities to win a bet if you think there's a chance for a team to either win or draw.
A double chance bet means that you can bet the outcome for the home team to win or draw, or the away team to end up winning or in a draw.
Example of a Double Chance Bet
Let's take the example from the leading teams of the English Premier League between Liverpool and Chelsea. On the moneyline betting for the 1x2, Liverpool with 1.83 odds is favoured over Chelsea with 4.30 odds and the draw of 3.70.
If you think that Liverpool could end up in a draw, or perhaps a win on the road, then you'll need to bet for those two results on the moneyline. One would instantly lose before the game even started as there only would be one outcome.
However, if you take Chelsea on the double chance bet (2.00) for the Blues to win or draw, then either outcome would have you win the bet.
Over or Under Goals
Almost all existing bookies offer the over and under goals market for all football games. The main idea of the bet is whether or not there will be more or fewer goals than the given target in a single match.
So why is this bet easy? Well, the over or under-market offers tiered options that allow you to flex your bet and win chances easily. Here's an example of over and under goals.
Example of Over/Under Goals
Let's say Manchester United is up against Tottenham in an English Premier League match.
Then, you might have noticed a line while looking at the odds:
- Over 2.5 Goals, 1.53
- Under 2.5 Goals, 2.20
Based on this line, the odds of scoring more than 2.5 goals in the match are slightly lower than those of scoring less than 2.5 goals.
A $100 bet on each outcome can potentially net you a profit of:
- Over 2.5 Goals. $53
- Under 2.5 Goals, $120
From these numbers, it's clear that the slight favourite is the Over 2.5 Goals line.
Sportsbooks may also offer many kinds of goal lines. For example, in the same match from Manchester Utd vs. Tottenham, you might find a goal line that looks like this:
- Under 0.5 Goals, 11.00
- Over 0.5 Goals, 1.05
In this case, a single goal is enough to win the "Over 0.5 Goals" line, which explains the odds of only 1.05 (a $100 bet will only return a $5 total profit). On the other hand, the Under 0.5 Goals line will return a total profit of $1,100 if the match ends up without any score.
Half Time Bets
Halftime bets are a great option if you're looking for a fast-paced bet as it consists of only 45 minutes instead of the entire 90-minute match.
Halftime bets consist of almost every market that you can access in full time. This includes determining which team wins the half, if the 45 minutes will end in a draw or if the team will likely have a double chance (halftime 1X or X2).
The over/under goals are also an excellent option for halftime bets.
Most matches will likely not go over four goals during the first half, making an under 4.5 goals more probable instead of the full outcome.
These shorter bets offer a better chance of them happening than the full 90n minute matches.
Final Thoughts
If you're looking to make slow and steady money from football betting, then these easy bets are the way to go. In football betting, there will always be a risk and a win. The reason is that it's a safer way to bet and you'll make more money in the long term.
