What to Pay Attention to When Betting on Soccer

With over three billion fans around the world, soccer is the most popular sport today. The FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated events, and the five big European national leagues have fans all over the globe. Naturally, this means that there are many people who like to wager on the game now and then.

The online sports betting market has made it easier than ever to make a bet. An already popular activity has garnered an even larger audience nowadays. There are plenty of new fans of football betting who are just now getting into the industry for the first time. So, in this article, we’d like to give them a few pointers for getting started.

Getting Educated About the Sport

The first step should always be education. There are plenty of football fans who’ve been watching for a long time, and know most of the ins and outs of football. However, if you are a new fan, who is only joining in order to place wagers, you will need to learn the basics of the sport before you carry on. It isn’t necessary to know all of the rules, though that would certainly help.

What we are really talking about is familiarizing yourself with the top clubs, national teams, and the best players. By knowing these things, gamblers can make better decisions regarding the odds that they find at a sportsbook. It also makes experiencing the games more fun, as it lends a certain layer of investment for the viewer.

Getting Educated About the Odds

The next step is to learn as much as you can about betting odds and how they work. The odds you rely on will vary widely depending on which online bookie you are using, or where you are located regionally. The best thing you can do is learn about all three of the odds categories that have become popular in the 21st century.

• Decimal: The decimal odds are most common in Europe. These are the most common odds that you will come across when betting on football. The odds display a decimal number which indicates the amount of cash a bettor could win for each 1 Euro wagered.
• Fractional: In the United Kingdom and Ireland, fractional odds are the most common. In these odds, the top number indicates the amount you can win for each wager of the lower number. For example, odds placed at 5/2 mean that you will win 5 Pounds for each 2 Pounds wagered.
• Moneyline: In the USA, moneyline odds are the most common. They rely on positive and negative numbers starting with 100. The negative number represents the favorite, and the positive shows who the underdog is.

There is a lot more that can be said about odds. Odds makers use mathematics and analytics to come up with formulas that more accurately depict exactly how they arrived to their conclusions. So, read up as much as you can about how sports betting odds work, and how you can best utilize them when wagering.