Soccer Betting Totals
Soccer totals betting is a simple type of wagering at soccer betting sites where oddsmakers predict the total number of goals to be scored in a soccer match. As the bettor, your job is to predict whether the actual total number of goals will be over or under that amount. If your prediction is correct, you will win your bet and receive a payout.
Soccer is a low scoring game overall so the totals are usually around 2.5 points. Many online betting sites use a half-point for their totals to prevent the match ending on exactly the number they pick. In that case, the bettors would have their bets returned to them and the betting site will have wasted a lot of time for nothing.
Best Soccer Betting Sites For Totals Bets
Soccer betting websites try to pick totals numbers that attract an equal number of bettors on both sides of the bet. This isn’t always exactly possible, though, because soccer is such a low scoring game and a single goal in either direction can drastically affect how many people place bets. As a result, soccer sports betting sites also manipulate the payout odds slightly to keep things even.
Soccer Totals Betting Example
This soccer totals example was taken from a popular soccer betting site. This is how a typical soccer totals bet looks at most other betting sites as well.
Nottingham Forest 2.5 (Even)o
Derby County (-130)u
This betting matchup is between Nottingham Forest and Derby County. The soccer betting site has set the total at 2.5 – a common number in soccer totals betting. You can bet on the over at even money odds or the under at -130. This means that a $100 bet on the over would return exactly $100 if successful. The -130 means that you will have to wager $130 for every $100 in potential winnings.
In this soccer matchup, the betting site apparently thinks it will be a low scoring game. They are offering lower payout odds for the under because they know more people will be wanting to place wagers on that side of the bet. By lowering the odds, the betting site is hoping to keep the action equal on both sides.
Soccer Totals Betting Strategy
Successful soccer totals betting requires loads of research and knowledge. Because soccer is such a low scoring game, you have to really work to find an edge in any specific match. The good news is that there are a few things you can consider and research to help improve your chances with soccer totals.
First of all, you can look at the history of each soccer team. How many points does each team score on average? How many points does each team allow on average? Know this information but also know that there is more to predicting soccer totals than simply adding up the average number of points scored by each team. This does serve as a good starting point, though.
It also helps to know the playing style of each team. Is this an aggressive and fast-paced team or is it a conservative team? How do they play against other teams with their own styles? How does the coach prepare the team? How does he lead the team during tough matches?
You can also consider the importance of the match. If an upcoming match is important, you can expect to see both teams play with intensity. The same principle applies if one team only needs a tie to advance to the next round.
And finally, you will always want to keep up to date on the team roster. If the leading scorer is injured, that will have a major effect on the outcome of the game. The same thing goes for important defenders and goalies.