Understanding Soccer Betting Lines
- Sports Betting Soccer
- Betting Odds On Soccer Games
- Understanding Soccer Betting Lines
- Explain Soccer Betting Lines
- Betting odds represent the probability of an event to happen and therefore enable you to work out how much money you will win if your bet wins. As an example, with odds of 4/1, for every £1 you bet, you will win £4. There is a 20% chance of this happening, calculated by 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20.
- The term “lines” is used a lot in sports betting and it can refer to odds on a bet, or specific lines like the point spread or the over/under total. These lines can change drastically between the time they are initially set by the sportsbook up until when the game actually begins.
Soccer Betting Odds Explained – Understanding Meanings, Tips & Strategies for Odds in Betting (2021) By Ben Gibson. Last modified: 31st May 2020. The Asian line is probably the most common of all soccer wager, however, and it's arguably the most profitable way to bet soccer as well. Lines are given at +/- '.25' or +/- '.75' and what this means, is if you bet a team at - '.75' then half of your wager is placed on -1, and the other half is placed on -0.5. Point spread betting odds. Point spreads are usually set with -110 odds, but pricing often fluctuates at online sportsbooks. This is the sportsbook operators’ house edge. The odds guarantee the sportsbook operator will see a little money over time. When the odds are set at -110, the bettor must wager $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10).
Introduction:
In this article, we will be explaining how to bet on soccer. We’ll explain the numerous methods to bet on soccer and the terminology commonly used. Soccer is a widely-bet sport worldwide and there are a number of different ways to bet an individual game.
Betting the 3-way Moneyline:
In soccer, there are many types of competitions with varying rules so it’s always good to be informed prior to placing a bet. In most competitions, draws may be the final result of the game, so there are 3 different outcomes to bet on between Team A and Team B:
Team A wins
Team B wins
Team A and Team B draw
Soccer bets are based on results after 90 minutes of play or, ‘Regular Time’, which includes any time added by the referee in respect of injuries and other stoppages. Any Overtime, Golden Goals or Penalty Shoot-Outs do not count towards these betting since they are not considered ‘Regular Time’. For example, in the elimination stages of the World Cup, a winner is required in the tournament in order to progress to the next stage, but all bets are settled on 90 minutes of play (Regular Time). Thus, a draw is a possible outcome to bet on even in a game where one team must be eliminated. An example of what a 3-way moneyline would look like is:
France -129
Switzerland +325
Draw +250
Betting the 2-way Moneyline without the Draw:
Another way of betting soccer is to take the 2-way moneyline, also known as “Draw, No Bet” This is betting on the outcome of the game without the Draw. The two possible wagers are:
Team A wins
Team B wins
This form of betting eliminates the option of the Draw, and will likely have inflated odds on the favorite and deflated odds on the underdog to win the match since a draw results in no bet. For example, in a World Cup match between France and Switzerland, odds on the 2-way moneyline would like look:
France -310
Switzerland +272
As you can see, there is no option to bet on the draw, and if the game ends in a draw, the bet is refunded or “No-Actioned”, and is as if the bet was never placed.
Betting Goal Lines:
Similar to betting the 2-way moneyline (without the draw), the Goal Line is a way for bettors to win a bet on multiple outcomes of the game. Goal Lines are similar to Puck Lines in hockey and Point Spreads in football or basketball. A Goal Line is typically 0.5 goals but for games with big favorites, the Goal Line may be 1,1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 and so on. A World Cup match between Argentina and Iran looks like this:
Argentina -2.5 goals (+110)
Iran +2.5 goals (-120)
If you bet Argentina -2.5 goals, then to win the bet they must win by 3 goals or more. On the other side, betting Iran +2.5 goals means to win the bet, Iran can win, draw, or lose by 1 or 2 goals.
Betting Totals:
Totals in soccer work differently than other sports and can be shown in multiples of .25 goals. Since scoring is minimal in soccer, bookmakers will often times set a Total of 2.25 or 2.75. For example, if you bet on the Over 2.25 goals, half your bet is placed on “Over 2” and the other half of the bet is placed on “Over 2.5”. If the game settles on 2, you lose half your bet (Over 2.5) and refunded the other half (Over 2). If the game settles on 3, you win both bets (Over 2 and Over 2.5).
Another example is if you bet on the Under 2.75 goals. In this example, half your bet is placed on the Under 2.5 goals and the other half is bet on the Under 3 goals. If the game lands on 3, you’d lose half your bet (Under 2.5) and refunded the other half (Under 3).
If you’re new to the world of gambling, you need to make sure that you understand the odds before you ever place a bet.
To put it simply, betting odds are a numerical representation of how likely an event is to occur. Take the example of rolling dice. Because there are six possible outcomes from one roll of the dice, there’s a 16.67% chance that you’ll be correct in your guess of which number will be rolled. That’s 100 divided by six, which equals 16.6666666667, to be exact. This translates to a coefficient 6/1 chance of any specific outcome, or 7.0 if you remove the bookie’s margin.
The same basic principle applies to flipping a coin—a coin has two sides, so you have a 50% chance of winning.
Odds can also tell you how much money you will win. Let’s say you’re betting on a team with 4/1 odds in a sporting event. If you bet £/€1 and your team wins, you’ll receive £/€4, plus your stake back for a total of £/€5.

Although it may be confusing at first, it’s pertinent that you grasp how betting odds work if you want to make a go of online gambling or sports betting.
There are basically three types of betting odds: fractional, decimal and U.S. style.
Sports Betting Soccer
Fractional Odds
Betting Odds On Soccer Games
In the past, the most commonly used betting odds globally were fractional. They still remain the most commonly-used and understood in the UK, though Hong Kong and Malay odds are favored in other parts of the world.
When you see 4/1 odds, to use the example above, those are fractional odds. This means you have a one in four chance of winning, or a 20% chance. To put it another way, you also have an 80% chance of losing. That also means the winner will be paid £/€4 for every dollar or pound waged.
The same goes for 9/1 odds. You’ll win £/€9 for every dollar or pound waged, but you also have only a 10% chance of winning and a 90% chance of losing.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are becoming increasingly popular among bookmakers, commonly known as bookies. Most often used in Europe and Asia, decimal odds use a number with a decimal point as opposed to the fractional format.
With 4/1 betting odds, the decimal odds are 5.0. To get this number, you take the percentage chance of winning (in this case, 20%) and see how many time it goes into 100. 100 divided by 20 is 5.
To figure out your winnings with decimal odds, you multiply the odds by your stake, and then subtract your stake from that number. For example, when the odds are 5.0 and you bet £/€10, you multiple 5 x 10 and then subtract 10, for total winnings of £/€40.



Understanding Soccer Betting Lines
U.S. Odds
In the United States, betting odds are expressed using the plus or minus sign. The plus sign indicates the favorite, while the minus is for the underdog. For example, the favorite team might have odds of +250, while the underdog’s odds are -150.
The numbers are calculated according to how much one must wager in order to win $100. Using the example above, you must bet $150 in order to win $100 for the underdog team. If you bet $150 on the underdog team and they win, your winnings will be $250 (your $150 stake + $100 winnings). On the other hand, if you bet $100 on the team with +250 odds, your winnings will total $350 (your $100 stake + $250 winnings). That said, the more you bet, the more you win, obviously. If you bet $150 rather than $100, your winnings with the favorite team would be $400 (your $150 stake + $250 winnings).
Now that you’ve had you know how betting odds work, you should have a better chance of winning, no matter which style of odds your bookie uses.
Explain Soccer Betting Lines
There are a number of online articles that can help you further understand how betting odds work. A little research can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re as successful as possible.