Before you start betting with bookmakers, it is very important to study and understand the main types of betting lines. I offer you an overview guide that describes popular types of bets using sports and eSports events as an example.
Let’s consider the following types of bets:
- Single
- Express
- Systems
- Outright
- Match bets
- Handicap bets
- Totals
- Bets on individual (special) events
- Prematch and Live
Single
A single bet is a single bet on one selected outcome. For example, a team’s victory in a football match, a team’s goal in the first half, or a team’s victory on a separate map (for eSports).
Express (Multiple)
A combined bet on several events. The express wins if all bets on all events win together. In this case, the winning odds are calculated by multiplying the odds of each bet.
Let’s look at the example of a hypothetical match Arsenal – Chelsea. Let’s say we made an express of 3 bets:
- Draw in the match – 1.25
- Any team will score a goal in the match – 1.12
- Any team will receive a yellow card – 1.1
Then the total odds will be 1.25 x 1.12 x 1.1 = 1.54. Usually, 3-6 events with a high probability and odds in the region of 1.1-1.5 are selected for express bets.
Many bookmakers offer players a whole selection of express bets.
The main disadvantage of express bets is the high risk of losing. You lose if you guess any one outcome in the express bet.
Systems
For most bookmakers, a system is a combination of express bets of 3 or more events. In this case, to win you need to guess fewer events than in an express, for example, 2 out of 3, 3 out of 4, 3 out of 5. The ratios may be different for different bookmakers.
Let’s take 3 events from the previous example and a 2 out of 3 system:
- A draw in the match – 1.25
- Any team will score a goal in the match – 1.12
- Any team will receive a yellow card – 1.1
Now to win, it is enough for any 2 outcomes to work – 1-2 or 1-3 or 2-3.
Outright
These are long-term bets events within the tournament. For example, a team’s victory in the World Cup.
Match betting
This is a simple single bet on the outcome of a match (football, eSports, basketball, etc.) – Team (player) victory, Draw.
Handicap betting
Handicap betting is a very popular and frequently used type of betting by bookmakers. It is worth going into more detail here. In sports, as well as in eSports, a large number of matches are held every day, in which a clear favorite and a clear underdog play. Obviously, the odds on the favorite’s victory are very low, and on the underdog’s victory are very high. This leads to the fact that such a match does not arouse interest among bettors, since in order to get a sufficient win you need to bet a large amount on the winner, and a bet on the underdog will be a losing one.
To diversify the betting lines and attract interest to the matches, a handicap is used. The handicap is indicated as a number with a “+” or “-” sign.
- A handicap with a “+” sign is most often used to increase the chances of winning, when betting on an underdog, while the odds decrease.
- A handicap with a “-” sign complicates the winning conditions, when betting on a favorite, while the odds increase.
Thanks to the use of a handicap, the betting pool in the matchesClear favorite – Clear underdog increases, adding outcomes with approximately equal odds. This in turn helps to attract interest in betting on such matches.
Handicap betting in football (soccer) matches
To make it easy to understand what a handicap is, let’s take the football match ManCity – Sparta.
As you can see, the odds for ManCity to win are extremely low and will not give much of a win, and the bet on Sparta to win, although very high, will most likely be a loss. However, using a handicap in this match gives more attractive betting outcomes.
ManCity -2.5 handicap means that to calculate the final result, you need to subtract 2.5 from ManCity’s goals scored in the match. In other words, to win with such a bet, ManCity must win with a difference of at least 3 goals. Let’s look at some examples:
- Score 3:0. Subtract 2.5 from 3 goals, we get the final score 0.5:0. Despite the fact that we took 2.5 goals from ManCity, they still won.
- Score 3:1. Taking into account the handicap, the score is 0.5:1, and the bet does not go through.
A +2.5 handicap on Sparta works the other way around, to help Sparta:
- Score 3:0. We add 2.5 goals to Sparta and get the final score of 3:2.5. The bet does not win.
- The score is 3:1. Taking into account the handicap, the score is 3:3.5 and the bet wins.
In other words, for a bet on Sparta with a handicap of +2.5 to win, Sparta must lose by no more than 2 goals.
It is also worth noting that a handicap with a fraction is called hard, while a handicap indicated by a whole number is called soft. With a hard handicap, the bet either loses or wins. With a soft handicap, a final draw is possible, in which case the player gets his bet back.
Handicap betting in eSports
Unlike football, bookmakers offer more handicap betting options in eSports matches. For example, in CS2, Dota 2, LoL matches of the popular Best of 3 format, the following bets are available:
- Handicap on the winner by maps (in Bo3, Bo5, Bo7 matches)
- Handicap on the number of rounds on the map (CS2)
- Handicap on kills (Dota 2, LoL)
Also in CS2 matches, bookmakers offer interesting bets on the breakaway (handicap) for won rounds when playing on a separate map.
Totals
A type of bet that is no less popular than handicap bets, but has a larger number of lines, especially in eSports. Totals are indicated as a positive decimal fraction with a fractional part of 0.5 and come in 2 types:
- Total Over (TO) – the bet will win if a certain event is repeated more times than the specified total number.
- Total Under (TU) – the bet will win if a certain event is repeated fewer times than the specified total number.
To make it easier to understand, let’s look at examples of totals in football and eSports.
Totals in football
The most popular total in football is the total number of goals scored (in a match or half), and it does not matter who scores them.
- Total Over 3.5 means that for the bet to win, at least 4 goals must be scored in the match – 2:2, 3:1, 1:3, 4:0, 0:4, 3:2 etc.
- Total Under 3.5 means that for the bet to win, no more than 3 goals must be scored in the match (less than 4). A limited set of results will fall under this condition – 0:0, 1:1, 1:0, 2:0, 2:1, 3:0, 0:3, 1:2, 0:2, 0:1.
Totals in eSports
More lines with totals are available in eSports matches (CS2, Dota 2, LoL). The most popular totals in eSports are:
- Totals by maps (in Bo3, Bo5, Bo7 matches)
- Totals by rounds on the map
- Totals by kills (Dota 2, LoL)
Bets on individual (special) events
Any bookmaker will offer hundreds of different bets on different events within a single match.
Popular bets on events in a football match and in a separate half
- Exact score
- Goals scored/missed
- Score difference during the period
- Even/odd number of goals
- Will there be yellow/red cards
- Both teams to score
- Who will score first
- Who will be leading at a certain point in time
- Will a certain player score
- Will there be an own goal in the match
- Who will score next (for live bets)
Popular bets on eSports events using CS2 as an example
- Exact score in the match
- Victory on a separate map
- Victory in the pistol round on the map
- Score in pistols by pistol rounds
- Grenade kill
- Will there be overtimes
- Number of rounds on the map
- Even/odd number of rounds on the map.
Pre-match and Live bets
The names speak for themselves. Pre-match is betting before the start of the match. Accordingly, Live bets are bets already in the process of the match, while it is not over yet.
Prematch
Bookmakers usually form a betting line long before the start of the match. This gives the opportunity to make a preliminary analysis and choose the best bet. Sometimes you can immediately notice a favorable coefficient and place a bet. However, as the match approaches, the coefficients can change, especially if there is a significant volume of bets on a specific outcome.
Features of Live
Many successful bettors focus on Live. There are often cases when everything turns upside down in the first minutes of the match. The main advantage of Live is the ability to quickly respond to events during the game and catch favorable coefficients. Despite the high risks, competent betting management in real time can bring significant profit over the long term.