People don’t lose money from soccer betting on purpose, but it does happen. This is because in order to beat the bookmakers consistently, you are going to have to put in a great deal of time and effort. Even the most knowledgeable sports fan in the world, or the most naturally talented bettor, wouldn’t be able to easily make money. Making profits is a difficult task, no matter whom you are.
The best football betting strategy we have come across is a system for betting on.
Don’t pay much attention to this if you’re main goal is to have fun when betting on sports. As long as you’re enjoying yourself, and not losing money you can’t afford to lose, then that’s all that really matters. It’s important to be realistic if your goal is to make actual profits. You need to understand that the road to success is a long one, and that there are no shortcuts. Don’t expect to find some amazing system that will allow you to generate profits with ease. Soccer betting just isn’t that simple.
However, it doesn’t need to be incredibly complicated either. There ARE some simple systems that can help you make money. You just need to learn how to use them properly. Ideally, you should also learn how to adapt them to meet your individual needs. If you know what you’re doing, this can make even the simplest of systems very valuable.
Taking a basic system and developing it further can be a very effective way to make money from soccer betting. It’s difficult to get started though. There are so many different systems you can use, and it’s tough to know which ones to focus on. However, we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you with this extensive article.
Below you’ll find details of twelve simple soccer betting systems. None of these are guaranteed to be profitable, but they all have the potential to be if used correctly. They’re ideal systems if you’re relatively new to betting on soccer, as they’re all fairly easy to implement. They’re good for more experienced bettors too. Most of them can be expanded upon providing you have at least a basic understanding of soccer betting strategy. In some cases, we’ve offered additional advice for how to do that.
This is perhaps the simplest system covered on this page. Although it’s not a system that’s likely to return an amazing amount of money, it’s a very easy way to boost a bankroll by a few bucks. It doesn’t require much betting knowledge at all, so even a complete beginner can use it.
All that’s required here is a small amount of money and access to the internet. An understanding of how online sports betting bonuses work is also useful. The idea is simply to take advantage of these bonuses, by signing up with a few different betting sites. Most sites offer free bets and/or other types of bonus to new customers, and they typically only require a small deposit. In some cases, larger bonuses are available for larger deposits.
Here are some examples of the kind of offers available.
These are real offers from sports betting sites. They won’t necessarily all be available to you, as some sites only accept customers from certain countries. But, wherever you live, you should be able to find at least a few offers to take advantage of. Take advantage of this, because it’s almost like getting free money.
We say ALMOST because bonuses, free plays and free bets always come with associated terms and conditions. A deposit is usually required, and you’ll typically have to place wagers to a specified value before being able to withdraw any bonus funds or winnings. Terms such as this mean that you’re not actually guaranteed to gain any direct financial reward. Especially when bonuses are in the form of free play credits. These credits can only be used for the purposes of staking, and aren’t real funds that can be added to your account.
It’s definitely possible to make a little extra money using this system though, and it’s unlikely to cost very much even in a worst case scenario. So it’s about as close to risk free as possible. Just make sure that you only sign up with reputable and trustworthy betting sites when using this system. Some sites offer free bets and bonuses that look really attractive, but have a tendency to withhold funds if a customer actually manages to win. Clearly these sites should be avoided. For a list of sites that are safe to use, and offer genuinely valuable sign up offers, please check out our recommendations.
This is really just an extension of the above system. It’s ever so slightly more advanced, but it’s still perfectly suitable for beginners. It also has two distinct advantages over simply claiming sign up bonuses. These are as follows.
The biggest disadvantage to claiming sign up bonuses is that this can be done a limited number of times. Sign up bonuses can only be claimed once, as a new customer, and there are only so many sports betting sites worth using. Once you’ve claimed the sign up bonus at each site, there’s no more money to be made. The matched betting system, however, can be used time and time again. This is especially true if you regularly bet online.
Most sports betting sites don’t just offer sign up bonuses. They also offer bonuses based on a customer’s betting activity and a variety of other kind of bonuses too. For example, a site might offer a monthly reload bonus of up to $100. These bonuses tend to come with terms and conditions attached and typically come in the form of free bets or free play credits. This means that you don’t get extra funds put into your online account, but are instead able to use the free bets/free play credits to place wagers. Any winnings from these wagers WILL be added to your account.
This system works regardless of whether bonuses are in the form of additional funds or free play credits. Most importantly, it can be used to make guaranteed profits from these bonuses. The aim is to cover all possible outcomes of a particular market in a way that ensures you come out on top regardless of what happens.
There are several different ways you can do this. For the purposes of this explanation, we’re going to use an example based on betting on the total number of goals to be scored in a match. This is one of the simplest options with this system, because it’s possible to bet on markets with only two options. Please refer to our example below.
To use the matched betting system here, we’d first use bonus funds to bet on either the under or the over. Let’s say we decided to wager on the over, using $100 worth of our bonus funds. We’d stand to win $91 from this wager. Then we’d look to place another wager on the under. We’d need to use a different site for this, and we’d stake a smaller amount using “real” funds. Let’s say we decided to stake $50 for this wager. This would mean we’d stand to win $45.50 at the second site.
Whatever happens now, we’re sure to make a profit. If the total number of goals is over, we’d win $91 at the first site from our bonus funds. We’d lose $50 at the second site, but that still gives us a profit of $41. If the total number of goals is under, we’d win $45.50 at the second site. Although we’d have lost the $100 in bonus funds at the first site, that hasn’t directly cost us any money, so this $45.50 is essentially pure profit.
This is a very simple example, but it highlights the general idea. The system can be used in different ways, as we’ve mentioned, and there are all kinds of adjustments that can be made. We’ve actually dedicated a whole article to this system, which goes into a lot more detail.
This is a very popular system for soccer betting. In its most basic form it requires very little in the way of effort, but is still very likely to lead to hefty payouts. It’s another system that’s great for beginners, although experienced bettors should consider it too. They would probably want to move beyond the basic version though, and apply a little more thought.
The goal with this system is to identify teams that are very likely to win by looking solely at their odds. If the odds are low enough to suggest that a team is a big favorite, then we go ahead and back them. The theory is simply that big favorites are heavily expected to win, so there’s always a good chance of getting a payout.
The fact is that big favorites do win far more often than they lose. That’s why this system is likely to lead to lots of payouts. Only backing teams at low odds will almost certainly result in a high hit rate. With a little luck, it will also result in an overall profit.
On the other hand, a little bad fortune can easily wipe out all the profits and could even possibly diminish your starting capital. Remember that we’re betting at very low odds, so our payouts will also be low. Even just a few unexpected results can wreak havoc n your bankroll.
Now, we still believe that backing big favorites can be a good strategy. It needs to be optimized though. It CAN be profitable even in its basic form, but in reality that’s unlikely. There are too many upsets in soccer. Even the very best teams lose as big favorites sometimes, which is why we can’t just blindly back big favorites and hope for the best. We have to be smarter than that.
So how do we go about optimizing this system then? Ultimately it’s about being more careful with our selections. We shouldn’t back a team for the sole reason that they’re a big favorite. We need to make sure that we’re analyzing each situation properly, and making selections based on more than one fixed parameter. This is something we expand on in the following article.
Unfamiliar with accumulators? We can help! Accumulators are wagers that require more than one selection. Also known as parlays, they’re extremely popular with soccer bettors. Why? Well, they offer HUGE payouts. The odds for each selection in an accumulator are multiplied to give the overall odds. So an accumulator with just a small number of selections can offer an attractive potential return.
Now for the downside; accumulators are hard to win! The odds are high for a reason, as all selections must be correct to earn a payout. If just one is wrong, then the whole wager is a loser. This is why a lot of people think accumulators are bad wagers that should be completely avoided. We don’t agree. In fact, we think they can be very powerful wagers if used in the right way.
Many soccer bettors get carried away by the large potential payouts that accumulators have to offer. They include lots of selections, trying to chase a really big win. This is where they go wrong. The chances of winning an accumulator with lots of selections are very small, and the risk versus reward just isn’t worth it. It’s much better to include just a small number of selections, as this greatly improves the chances of winning.
These chances are improved even further when including only favorites. That’s the basis for this system. The idea is to pick three or four selections that are likely to win, and combine them all into an accumulator. Here’s an example of a three team accumulator that follows this system.
All three selections here are very likely to be correct. Each team backed to win is a big favorite, and playing at home against weaker opposition. Upsets can happen, of course, but we’d expect to win this wager more often than not. And the combined odds are an attractive 2.78. That means we’d win $17.80 for every $10 staked. So even if we won such a wager just half the time, we’d still make a good overall return.
To learn more about soccer accumulators and alternative strategies for using them, please read through the article listed below.
What do we love about betting on soccer? So many things! One of the most appealing aspects of soccer is the vast amount of different wagers to choose from. You’re not limited to just betting on which team will win; there are all kinds of other options too. The double chance wager is one of our favorite options, because it can really help with risk management.
Before we outline how to use this system, let’s first explain how this wager works. Although it can seem a little confusing at first, it’s actually very straightforward. It just allows us to cover two of the three possible outcomes of a game. So instead of backing a team to win, we can back them to either win or draw. It’s an excellent way to increase your chances of earning a payout!
There are always three options with a double chance wager. In a game between Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion, for example, the following options would be available.
If went with the first option, we’d only lose our wager if West Bromwich Albion won the game. Either a Liverpool win or a draw would result in a payout. If we went with the second option, only a Liverpool win would lose us our wager. With the third option, only a draw would lose us our wager.
So, what’s the game plan here? Take the safer option. When we want to back the favorite in a game, but are slightly concerned that it might be a tight game that ends in a draw, we use the double chance to cover both possible outcomes. We’re still going to win if the favorite wins, and we have the insurance of winning even if the game ends in a draw. Essentially, we’re reducing our overall risk of losing, which is obviously a good thing.
There is a trade-off though. As you’d expect, the odds are lower when covering two possible outcomes. So although we’re more likely to win, we have to accept smaller payouts in return. Take the Liverpool versus West Bromwich Albion game just mentioned. Liverpool are the favorites to win, at odds of 1.615. If we want to back the double chance, and also cover the draw, the odds are just 1.15. This is a significant drop. For a $100 wager we’d stand to win $15, instead of $61.50 if backing Liverpool to win outright.
Nonetheless, we still believe this system has merit. There are often times when it’s right to take the safer option, even if the potential payout is significantly lower. The key with this system is identifying when those times are. You don’t want to start using the double chance every time you’re considering backing a favorite, as you’ll be giving away too much value. Use it sparingly. Use it only when the lower odds still over real value.
Developing this particular system involves setting some parameters for when to use it. As we’ve just explained, it needs to be used sparingly. Use it too often and you’ll miss out on value. Don’t use it often enough and you’ll lose wagers that you could have won. This system can be very powerful if you can learn to get the balance right.
Please note; the main purpose of this system is to minimize risk when backing favorites. However, it can also be adjusted to use when backing underdogs. The basic principle is exactly the same really. Instead of backing the underdog to win, you use the double chance to cover the draw too. This again provides a little extra insurance. It’s a good option when you’ve highlighted a potential upset, but can’t decide if the underdog will manage just the draw or an outright win.
This system is very similar to the previous one. It’s used in essentially the same way, just with the draw no bet wager instead of the double chance wager. The potential payouts are slightly higher, but there’s a reduced chance of winning. This is because the draw no bet wager works a little differently than the double chance wager.
With this wager, we pick which of the two teams we think are going to win the game. If they win, we get a payout. If they lose, we obviously lose our stake. If the game is a draw, we get our stake returned in full. So we’ve still got some level of insurance as with the double chance, but we don’t get a full payout on the draw. That’s why the potential payouts are higher. Going back to the Liverpool versus West Bromwich game that we looked at earlier, here’s how the draw no bet market looks for that.
As you can see, the odds of 1.22 on Liverpool are still lower than the 1.615 when backing them outright. However, they’re a little higher than the 1.15 for backing them on the double chance. So when deciding between the draw no bet system or the double chance system, it’s really a case of deciding what we want. Do we want the higher potential payout that comes with a smaller chance of winning? Or do we want the greater chance of winning that comes with a lower potential payout?
Just like the double chance system, this system is about managing risk. And, again, it also needs to be used sparingly. You must try to find the right spots, and only use it when you’re sure you need the extra insurance.
The same rules that are set in place for the double chance system can be applied here too. In order for this to be an effective strategy, it’s important to set some parameters about when it to use. These parameters don’t have to be set in stone, as some flexibility is fine, but you should have some idea when you’re going to follow them.
Note that this system can also be used when backing favorites or underdogs. Another potential adjustment we recommend is including draw no bet selections in small accumulators. This is a good way to get higher payouts while still keeping the overall risk relatively low.
This particular system is one of our personal favorites. We use it a lot, and we’ve had a lot of success with it. It’s very simple, and very low risk. It’s not a system for big payouts, but that’s not the aim here. This system is all about making small profits on a regular basis. There are lots of opportunities to use it, and those opportunities are relatively easy to spot.
What we do here is look for games where we’re confident in our ability to predict how many goals are likely to be scored. Once we’ve made a prediction, we then look to put our money on a low risk option. This gives us a margin for error, in exchange for taking lower odds.
The easiest way to demonstrate this system is to use an example. Let’s look at an upcoming Premier League game between West Ham and Watford. Having studied both teams, we’re confident that there’ll be a few goals scored in this game. Neither team has a particularly strong defense, but they’ve both got good attacking options and goal scorers who are in form. So we think that there’s likely to be at least three goals in this game, and possibly more. We take a look at the total goals market, and see the following.
It seems that the bookmakers don’t fully agree with us here. Over 2.5 goals is nearly even money, and over 1.5 goals is just 1.30. Based on all the other odds, they appear to believe that two goals is the most likely outcome. However, we’re sticking with our prediction of at least three.
Based on this prediction, the logical thing to do here is back over 2.5 goals at 1.909. They’re decent odds for something that we’re confident is going to happen. However, remember that this system is designed to be low risk. So what we’re actually going to do is take the safer option, and back over 1.5 goals at 1.30. That’s a big drop in the size of the potential payout, but we’ve increased our chances of winning. Even just two goals will earn us a return, and remember we’re confident that there’ll be at least three. We just factored in some extra margin on our prediction.
Now, we’re still not guaranteed to win here of course. The game might not play out at all like we expect, and there could easily be just one single goal or even none at all. No system can guarantee a win though, so there’s always a risk of losing. The point here is that we’re keeping that risk to a minimum. We win far more wagers than we lose when betting low risk goal totals, and make a nice overall profit. There’s no reason why you can’t do the same.
What do we like most about this system? Great question! Honestly the biggest appeal of this system is its simplicity. All that’s really required is some ability to assess upcoming games and predict the likely number of goals that are going to be scored. This means that anyone with just a little soccer knowledge should be able to implement this strategy with some degree of success.
We don’t actually recommend spending much time trying to develop or adjust this system. It works well just at is, and its simplicity is a big part of its appeal. There is one small adjustment you might like to consider though, and that’s splitting your wagers across multiple selections. So, for the example outlined above, you could consider putting half your stake on over 1.5 goals and half on over 2.5 goals. This creates a balance between risk and potential reward.
A popular wager among soccer bettors is the first goal scorer wager. This is exactly what the name suggests it is, a wager on which player will score first in a game. The odds for such wagers are typically quite attractive, and that’s largely why they’re so popular. It’s also because a lot of people think they’re able to accurately predict which players are likely to score first.
We don’t really like these wagers. Despite what some people think, it’s VERY hard to predict which player is going to score first in a game. There are just too many variables at play, which is exactly why making a long-term profit is so difficult.
This system is based on a derivative of the first goal scorer wager. Here we bet on players to score at ANY TIME during a game, which is a whole lot easier. We can make reasonable judgements regarding the chances of a player scoring during the 90 minutes, and don’t have to resort to guessing about which one will be the first. This obviously gives us a much better chance of making accurate predictions.
There are three types of players that we recommend considering when using this system. Refer to our list below.
Players that fall into any of these categories always have a fair chance of scoring in a game. We especially like to back defenders who get forward at set pieces. They don’t tend to score too often, but the odds on them scoring are generally higher, plus they offer better value.
Please, whatever you do, do not bet on every single wager just because it involves someone on our list. We need to be a little more selective than that. This system is all about finding the right opportunities, so we must consider other circumstances surrounding a game. Specifically, we need to consider the relative quality of the two teams and how the game is likely to play out.
If one team is much stronger than the other, then we probably don’t want to back players on the weaker team to score. We’re better off focusing on players on the stronger team. This is simply because it’s the stronger team that’s more likely to score goals. If two teams are more evenly matched, we can focus on players from both teams.
We also don’t want to back players to score in games that we expect to be low scoring. If both teams are very defensive, for example, it’s safe to assume that there’s a low chance of ANY goals being scored. If, however, we’re expecting a really open and high scoring game, then it makes sense to back suitable players to score. The more goals that are likely to be scored, the more likely it is that our selections will be the ones scoring.
As with most systems detailed on this page, the ultimate aim with betting anytime goal scorers is to find the very best opportunities for getting your money down. There are a couple of ways you can develop this system in order to find opportunities more effectively, but they require a fair amount of time and effort. You need to analyze past games and players’ past goal scoring records, and try to look for any trends that can help.
There are two things you’re looking for when doing this. First, you are looking for any specific circumstances in which certain types of players tend to score. For example, you might discover that tall players have a tendency to score in games where both teams play a long ball style. Next, you’re looking for specific players that tend to score in particular circumstances. For example, you might discover that a player scores a lot of goals when playing against teams that use a high defensive line.
This kind of information can be invaluable when betting on anytime goal scorers. The simple approach that we outlined above can be profitable by itself. However, if you do some additional research, and develop it even further, it can be a very powerful system indeed.
Earlier we mentioned the various bonuses that online betting sites offer their customers. Most of them offer a range of other promotions designed to provide extra value too. Although these are sometimes “gimmicky,” they are often worth taking advantage of. We particularly like enhanced odds multiples, and definitely recommend spending some time looking for suitable ones to back.
An enhanced odds multiple is basically a pre-selected accumulator. A betting site will pick a few selections for an accumulator (usually three, but sometimes more), and advertise that accumulator as a special offer. To encourage action from their customers, they’ll offer better odds than they technically should: hence the name enhanced odds multiple.
Betting sites realize that most accumulators are almost destined to fail. It only takes one wrong selection and the whole wager is a loser. So they want their customers to put more money on accumulators, as this will typically lead to better margins for them. They might face the occasional large payout, but they tend to make big profits overall from accumulators. These enhanced odds multiples are a good way to get their customers interested in these types of wager. They generally include selections that are likely to win, so they look really attractive. Customers see them, and put their money down without really thinking.
Now, often times this is the correct thing to do. Many betting sites use enhanced odds multipliers as “loss leaders.” They actually want their customers to win them, as they figure this will lead them to start placing more accumulators with their own selections. Once they’ve won one, they’ll want to try to win more. That’s just human nature. So the betting sites happily lose money on these promotional wagers, knowing that there’ll be probably be a long term gain.
However, we don’t recommend backing each and every enhanced odds multiplier that you find. There’s a fair chance that approach will be profitable, but it’s always better to be selective. Try to look for opportunities where you think they genuinely offer real value. If you’re selective, and pick the right spots, this is a system that can offer very good returns in the long run.
Please note that most betting sites limit the stakes for enhanced odds multiples. Because they know they’re offering a good wager, these limits are usually quite low. So you won’t be able to get a lot of money down with this system. That doesn’t matter though, as the goal here is to win little and often. Regular small wins add up in no time.
Most of the systems we’ve discussed so far are fairly generic. They can be applied to all kinds of soccer competitions, all over the world. It doesn’t matter whether we’re betting on the FIFA World Cup, the English Premier League or Major League Soccer. They always have merit, if we use them in the right way.
This system is a little more precise though. It’s about betting on a specific market: Champions League Group winners. Although we generally prefer to recommend strategies and systems that can be used across a wide spectrum, this system is perfect to include on this page. It’s nice and simple, and can easily be profitable. This is the main criteria for all the systems included here.
So, why this particular market then? It’s because, in our opinion, it’s one of the easiest soccer markets to make money from. That’s not to say that it’s so predictable we always know who’s going to win, but every year we find at least a couple of selections that offer good value.
To demonstrate, here’s a list of the groups for this season’s Champions League.
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
---|---|---|---|
Paris St. Germain | Napoli | Barcelona | Bayern Munich |
Arsenal | Benfica | Manchester City | Atletico Madrid |
Basel | Dynamo Kiev | Borussia Monchengladbach | PSV Eindhoven |
Ludogerets Razgrad | Besiktas | Celtic | Rostov |
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
Tottenham | Real Madrid | Porto | Juventus |
Bayer Leverkusen | Borussia Dortmund | Leicester | Sevilla |
Monaco | Sporting Lisbon | Club Brugge | Lyon |
CSKA Moscow | Legia Warsaw | FC Copenhagen | Din Zagreb |
In each one of these groups there’s a maximum of two teams that are realistically likely to top the group. And, in some of them, the winner is obvious. Of course the unexpected can happen, but betting always carries some level of risk. We feel that the risks in this market are pretty low overall.
Take Group H for example. It’s incredibly unlikely that this will be won by a team other than Juventus. Sevilla could possibly pose a threat, but probably not. Juventus’ odds to win this group are 1.62, which offers real value in our opinion. These odds suggest that the bookmakers are giving Juventus roughly a 60% chance of winning this group. We’d give them closer to an 80%+ chance, so backing them is an easy decision for us.
Then there’s Group F. Even though it’s impossible to see beyond Real Madrid here, their odds are 1.53. That’s a really big price for something that’s so likely. Some of the other groups are harder to call, but still offer value. We think the best value here is probably in Group E. We’d give Tottenham around a 60% chance of toping this group, which means odds of anything above 1.65 would represent value. In this example, they’re available at 2.65, which is crazy. Bayer Leverkusen are definitely a threat here, and even Monaco at a push. Tottenham are clearly the strongest team here, so their odds simply shouldn’t be this high.
Honestly, if you know much about European soccer, then you shouldn’t have any trouble at all implementing this system effectively. You probably won’t want to bet on every group, but we’re confident you’ll find a minimum of one or two selections that are worth backing.
This is one of the slightly more advanced strategies featured on this page. It isn’t complicated though, and it’s still relatively easy to understand. You’ll need to be familiar with how live soccer betting works though, so please check out the following page for a refresher..
We actually explain this system fully on the above page, so we won’t go into too much detail here. We did want to include it though, because it’s one of the most successful systems we’ve ever used for betting on soccer. It’s definitely one that we recommend using, regardless of whether you’re a beginner or an experienced bettor.
The idea with this system is to watch games where there’s a clear favorite to win. We don’t bet before the game. Instead, we wait to see what happens during the early stages. Specifically, we’re looking for spots when the favorite goes behind to an early goal. That’s when we get our money down. We back the favorite to recover from this early goal, and go on to win the game.
It might seem like this would be risky, but it’s actually not. Not if we pick our spots carefully anyway. Although it can be hard to recover from conceding a goal early on, this is something the top teams are more than capable of doing. Their odds often lengthen considerably when they do fall behind, which is why this system works. It’s about taking full advantage of any value these increased odds may offer.
Of course, we’re not suggesting that you back every single favorite that concedes an early goal. It’s not always the right thing to do. This is why the system involves watching games. You need to assess WHY they’ve fallen behind, and judge just how likely they are to recover from the deficit.
The final system on our list is also a little more advanced. Again, though, it’s still straightforward enough to warrant its inclusion here. It’s a type of multiple, as it involves more than one selection, but each wager placed using this system covers a single game. The idea is to combine a both teams to score (BTTS) selection with a game winner selection. If you’re not familiar with the BTTS wager, please read our thorough article on the subject.
With this system we try to identify games where we think we know which team will win, and are also confident that both teams will score at least one goal. That might seem like a very precise scenario, but it’s not actually too difficult to find suitable games. There are lots of teams that are strong in attack but weak in defense, and they’re regularly involved in games where both teams are likely to score. So we just need to find games like that where we think we can predict the winner.
A lot of soccer betting sites offer markets for both teams to score and a specific team to win. Even if they don’t though, you can just pick the two selections separately and then combine them into a multiple. This is easy enough to do. The odds for these wagers are usually quite attractive, so this system can be very profitable if you’re able to identify the right opportunities.
We thought it would be best to end this article by listing our top four tips!
We’ve obviously covered a lot of different systems here. 12, to be precise. Don’t feel like you have to use them all. They all have merit, but they’re not necessarily all ideal for everyone. It depends on your preferred betting style, your attitude towards risk and your level of soccer knowledge.
With that being said, we do suggest trying each one out. This is the best way to determine which ones are likely to be the most effective for you. You might find that some work perfectly for you, while you struggle with others. You might find that each one works well for you, and decide that you DO want to use them all.
While you are trying out these systems, be sure to keep your stakes small. This tip applies to using any new system, in fact. You don’t want to risk losing too much money while experimenting. Although these systems are all pretty simple, and we’ve tried to explain them clearly, there’s always a chance you’ll make some mistakes while learning them. Keeping your stakes small will ensure that these mistakes don’t hurt your bankroll too much.
Our final tip is something we’ve referred to a few times throughout this article. It’s important that you don’t just blindly follow these systems without using your own judgement. They’ll only be effective if you use them at appropriate times, under the right circumstances. This is the hardest part of implementing any system, even simple ones, but it’s something that you’ll learn with experience.
You’re now just about ready to start using these systems for yourself. We hope that you have the same level of success with them that we do. Reading the following two articles that are also in our soccer betting guide might help you do just that.
This article explains the different types of soccer competition you can bet on. This is useful information that will help you decide how and when to implement our recommended betting systems.
Many of the systems on this page involve betting on individual games. So you need to know how to assess the likely outcome of games to use them effectively. This article helps with that.
Those looking to convert their football knowledge into income via a bookmaker will often use a mix of research and instincts as the basis for decision making on bets.
Yet, even when equipped with a profound knowledge of the sport, they can still be caught out without an adequate system or football betting strategy.
Despite having confidence in your own ability to make the right calls on football markets, as we all know things don’t always pan out as predicted in football and sport in general.
That’s why bettors need to have a strategy that they stick to in order to nullify the potential of abnormal results harming your bankroll.
In this guide, we’ll analyse a few betting systems in football to give more food for thought for punters who follow the global game, and help you decide on your overall betting strategy on the sport.
Table of Contents
We’ve split this up into two sections for you.
This first section looks at betting systems that really work.
With these, you’re either guaranteed or have a good chance of making regular profits:
Are you looking for a football betting system that works every single time?
The number one and by far the best football betting system is matched betting.
Unlike a few other methods listed in this post, matched betting is the only football system that is virtually risk-free (barring human error and gubbings) and will continue to deliver big profits time and time again.
The trick is to back bets and then lay them off so that you can’t actually lose a bet – regardless of the outcome, you will win.
You should be doing this on promotions where a bookmaker has promised to match your bet with a free bet. By laying off your bet, you can’t lose. You are guaranteed a free bet regardless of the outcome of the game.
You can then also lay off the free bet to ensure you make a profit no matter what.
You are guaranteed to make a profit every single month with the matched betting system.
We’ve made over £75,000 in profit since starting matched betting — and we’ve never had a losing month. (If you’re in the UK, you can start here for free.)
Did you know you can make money on football – or any sport – without even using a bookmaker?
By using Betfair Exchange, you can back for and against outcomes similarly to how you would on a regular bookmaker.
However, you will get better odds and the ability to ‘trade’ odds in real-time – you can buy and sell just like on a stock exchange.
Whether you’re betting pre-match or in-play, you can use trading to make guaranteed profits.
This can be a complex process to get your head around, but we have a post that should really help you out: The Definitive Guide to Betfair Trading.
This is a bankroll management system, rather than strictly a football betting system, but it is something you should definitely consider:
Based on sound money management, the Kelly Criterion is a betting system that implements a calculated method to determine the stake of a bet on an outcome with higher-than-expected odds.
The system maximises the value of the bet by determining the percentage of your bankroll you should use.
There are many variations of this formula, and some appear comprehensible only to math wizards, but here we’ve put it in layman’s terms.
Stake = (Decimal Odds x % Chance Win) – 1) / (Decimal Odds – 1) * 100
Stake = Maximum stake
Decimal Odds = Odds offered by the bookmaker
% Chance Win = Probability of winning as determined by you, expressed as a decimal point
Let’s say you have calculated the probability as 55% (0.55) on an even-money (2.0) bet:
Stake = ((2.0 x 0.55) – 1) / (2.0 – 1) x 100
Stake = ((1.10 – 1) / 1) x 100
Stake = 10%
MAKING THAT EASIER FOR YOU…
For those who get headaches from formulas such as the above, the stake, put simply, is the difference between the probability of winning and losing as determined by you.
If you don’t have an edge, or have a negative edge, then don’t bet.
Just like any system the Kelly Criterion has its drawbacks, and these are quite pronounced in football betting.
Firstly, using the example above, it often asks you to invest a significant amount of your bankroll on a bet.
Given it’s an aggressive strategy that looks to maximise your profits, you’ll find that a large stake is often required.
The second and most significant shortcoming of this betting system lies in the Kelly Criterion’s assumption that a bettor is able to accurately predict the probability of a certain outcome.
If you misinterpret a team’s chance of winning as a percentage value, the calculations behind this method become skewed and you pay the price.
Therefore, if deciding to test the method in football betting, perhaps it’s better to be conservative and avoid overestimating the probability of a victory.
That will ensure your stakes aren’t exuberant and the losses don’t eat up all of your bankroll.
Here, we look at the betting systems that are not sensible or profitable long-term investments of time or money.
Whilst you may have heard about them elsewhere, or have been recommended them by people you think you can trust, they are absolutely not worth pursuing – ever.
First, let’s get the football betting systems that should be avoided out of the way.
The Martingale Method basically entails a bettor doubling their stake immediately following any losing even-money bet, thereby allowing the first win to recover all previous losses.
Good in theory, not quite the case in reality.
Why? Because a run of bad luck could essentially bankrupt any bettor using this method.
Let’s say you lost four even-money bets in a row having put £10 on your first wager. Your second bet would have to be £20, third £40 and fourth £80. Before you know it you’re out of pocket to the tune of £150.
Anyone who has invested time and money in sports betting understands that no matter how sound your research and analysis has been, a series of losing bets by account of bad luck is entirely possible.
This method is common in roulette and people think it’s fail-proof. Well, let me tell you, chasing losses is never good – I’ve seen it land on black 20 times in a row before, seriously.
So, when implementing the Martingale Method it may seem tempting to think: “The next win will make up for all the previous losses.”
The reality is a lot different. That win may not come before you realise that you’re out of cash.
It’s simply not wise to chase your losses when gambling in general, and this is method asks you to do so blindly.
Stay clear of the of the Martingale Method when wagering on football – the only way it would ever work is if you had infinite amounts of money. This is impossible of course.
Among the three possible outcomes to football matches – win, loss or draw – one often gets overlooked, the draw.
Perhaps this is because they can be more difficult to pick than either Team A or Team B winning.
That’s certainly the reasoning behind implementing the Fibonacci Method, which is based on the theory that it is harder for bookmakers to predict a draw that the other two possible outcomes.
So, by using the Fibonacci Method in football betting, the bettor tries to exploit this.
The Fibonacci Method is based on a mathematical sequence where each new number equals the total of the previous two.
It looks like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13… and so on.
How does this all apply to football?
Well, implementing this method has been encouraged on those wishing to bet on draws.
Basically, the method entails the implementation of two principles:
As with the Martingale Method, Fibonacci thinking relies on continually increasing your stake to cover your previous losses.
We’ve outlined the dangers of this, but by comparison to the Martingale Method the increases within a sequence of Fibonacci bets are gradual, thereby minimising the total amount of liability during a bad run.
That’s not to say that this method protects you from the risks of seeing your bankroll disappear in the case of losing streak. It can.
But the mathematical principle behind the Fibonacci approach is a lot more measured than simply doubling your stake each time.
If pursuing this method, perhaps it’s worth reviewing the amount of draws that have taken place across several seasons in different leagues, and choosing a league where draws are more common.
With some statistical analysis as your back-up, this is certainly a method that would be worth testing the success of over time.
It’s all about maximising your edge over the bookmaker in the sports gambling business.
With matched betting, you can guarantee that edge 100% of the time. Sign up for our free matched betting course via this link.
Other than that, a betting system based on proven mathematical principles is a good starting point.
Look towards Betfair Trading or challenge bets.
Combine that with sound knowledge of the sport and disciplined decision making, and you may have found a pathway to profit.
But as this post has highlighted, there are risks aligned with some betting systems when it is applied to football, some more prominent then others.
Assessing the value of one betting system over another is crucial, so hopefully we’ve helped with that.
Testing the one you think is most risk averse is perhaps worth pursuing, but if over time the numbers don’t add up it’s not the strategy for you.
Through patience, discipline and perhaps a little bit of a conservative streak, you may just find that a betting system can give you the advantage you crave.