With sportsbetting as with everything else in life, it’s important to set yourself a goal. If you don’t have a goal with your betting, it may get out of hand. You may start betting every day, you may start betting harder to make up for earlier losses, you suddenly place impulsive bets, and the whole thing can become rather unpleasant. Therefore, take a few moments thinking over the following:
- What is spread betting ?Spread betting has become very popular in recent years, due to the possible massive returns on low investments. But it’s also possible to lose very large amounts indeed !
Spread betting is the most exciting method of betting, but it’s not for novices. You should be aware of the risks with spread betting, and be sure you understand the rules.
DO NOT BET BEFORE YOU UNDERSTAND THE GAME.
In spread betting, you do not know excactly how much you will win/lose before the event has finished. Your return will vary with every goal scored, every booking, every corner, etc. It’s not like fixed odds betting. Spread betting is much more “dangerous”, and as a result, more exciting.In spread betting, you will win a lot more than in fixed odds betting, if you are better to predict than the bookmaker. However, you may risk to lose quite a lot, if you fail to predict better than the bookmaker. Due to the nature of spread betting, one bad bet can make huge inrows in your account. - Spread betting, something for you?
Spread betting is a high risk form of betting. Only play with money you can afford to lose. Companies who offer spreads will normally ask for a deposit, but be ware that your potential los can exceed that deposit.
In my opinion, spread betting is not for the ordinary punter. Spead betting is a dangerous form of betting. However, if you want to win big, fast, and are willing and able to absorb the loses, then spreads is the most exciting form of betting available!
- Fixed odds vs spread betting
Fixed odds betting is “fixed”, meaning you will always know before you place the bet what the possible outcome is. You will know how much you may win, and how much you can lose.Spread betting is different. You may lose a lot, or win a lot, depending on how accurate you are with your predictions.The bookmaker will offer a spread, withing a range of values (normally 0-100).
The bookmaker will perhaps offer a spread of 40-60. This is known as the bookmakers opening prediction. You must then decide whether to bet higher or lower than the bookmaker’s predictions. If you bet higher than the bookie’s prediction, you think that the result will become higher than the bookie thinks, and when you bet lower, you think the outcome will be lower than the bookie expects.If you are right, you will win, but only with an amount which is determined by the correctness of your bet (i.e the difference between the actual outcome and the bookie prediction).If you are wrong, you will lose, but only with an amount which is determined by the incorrectness of your bet (i.e the difference between the actual outcome and the bookie prediction).
EXAMPLE:
The possible outcome for a bet could be 0-90 (also called “the range”)The bookmaker quotes an “opening spread of 40-50”. In other words, the bookie thinks the outcome will be between 40 and 50.
The punter has now got 2 options:
1.Higher than 50 (known as “Buy at 50”)
You will win if the outcome exceeds 50 (ie. 50-90 or more)2 Lower than 40 (known as “Sell at 40”)
You will win if the outcome is lower than 40 (ie. 0-40)Important: You, can’t make any bets other than the two listed above. You can’t place a bet, saying “Higher than 35”, or “Lower than 50”.
You place your bets staking for instance 10$ per point. When the bets are placed you sit back and wait for the outcome. In this example, we say that the outcome was 70.
Correct bet:
If you bet “Higher than 50”) you win, and the amount you have won is found by the difference in points between outcome and bet, ie. 70-50 = 20. You have won by 10 points, and multiplied with your stake of 10$, your return gives 10$ x 20 = 200$.?Incorrect bet:
If you bet “Lower than 40”) you lose, and the amount you have lost is found by the difference in points between outcome and bet, ie. 70-40 = 30. You have lost by 30 points, and multiplied with your stake of 10$, your now owe the bookie 10$ x 30 = 300$ !!!? (now you see what I mean. Spread betting is a dangerous game !!)No win situation
If the outcome is between the spread quoted by the bookie (in this case 40-50), then “nobody” wins. Actually the bookmaker wins, due to his profit margin. If you had bet on “Higher than 50”, and the result was 45, then the bookie will win the difference multiplied with your stake.Example: You bet “Higher than 50”. Result is 45.
Bookmaker wins (50-45) * 10$ = 50$ !!If you bet on “Lower than 40”, in a 40-50 spread, and the result was 45, you would also lose 10$*5 points = 50$
This is ofcourse the bookmakers profit margin. The smaller the spread, the smaller the bookie margin.
- Placing the bets.
Previously we’ve stated that spread bets are not placed the same way as fixed odds bets.With fixed odds betting, you always know how much you may win, and how much you may lose. No “hidden surprises”. Money are placed in front of the bet.Spread bets are different. Different methods of staking are used. Spread bets are placed typically in $ per unit (or any other currency per unit). But the point is that you don’t actually place the stake before the event takes place, as in fixed odds betting. Due to the high risk of spread betting, your stake is the maximum possible loss (related to your bet).Depending on the type of account youe have, there are 2 methods used for this:1 Credit Account – funds are already deposited to an account. Wins/losses are paid/withdrawn from the account. There are no money paid when the bet is placed, but there must be sufficient funds available in the account to cover a potential loss. Check the rules , because they might vary from bookie to bookie.
2 Debit Accounts – here debitcards are used, such as Mastercard or Delta. Upon placing bets, the maximum possible loss is debited from the card. Depending on the result of the event, funds are credited back to the card. Ofcourse this form of staking are used in bets where there is a defined win/loss cut-off, (ie a defined range, for instance 0-100). A maximum loss can then be calculated before the bet is placed.?
Be sure to check rules carefully on this point as well, as they may vary with different bookmakers.Debit Account Example: If you place a bet “Higher than 60” (buy at 60), the maximum loss you can experience is 60 points (difference between 60 and 0). A stake of 10$ per unit requires that 10$*60 =600$ is debited from your card before the bet. Let’s assume the outcome of the bet is “50”. You will then lose (60-50) points * 10$ = 100$. 500$ will be re-credited your card (remember that 600$ was originally debited)
Soccer spreads are very popular. These are the most common types of spread betting:
| First goal | First booking | Total goals | Margin of win | Others |
Time of first goal:
Value range: 0-90 (if a goal occurs in the 90th minute, this will normally not count)
Typical spread: 38-42 (although varies depending on type of match)
Example: You predict there will be a goal before the 38th minute. Then bet at “Lower than 38”, at for instance 2$ per minute.
Result: First goal scored in the 21. minute.
Your return: (38-21)* 2$ = 34$ win
Time of first booking:
Value range: 0-90 (booking in the 90th minute normally does not count)
Typical spread:28-32 minutes? (but varies from match to match)
Example: You predict there will be a booking before the 28th minute. Then bet at “Lower than 28”, at for instance 3$ per minute.
Result: First yellow card in the 44th minute.
Return: (44-28) x 3$ = 48$ loss
Total goals:
Value range: 0-unlimited
Typical spread: 1.7-2.3 (varies greatly)
Example: You think that there will be 2 or more goals in a game where the bookie offer the spread 1.7-2.3. Then you bet on “Higher than 2.3 at for instance 3$/ tenth.
Result: 2-1 to the away team. (3 goals)
Return: (30-23) x 3$ = 21$ win (if it ended a 1-1 draw, you would lose (23-20)x3$ = 9$)
Please note !!! I guess you are confused by betting on tenths of a goal. The main objective with a spread like the one quoted above is to decide minimum wins if you bet correctly. If you bet on “Higher than 2.3” it means that if you are correct,
you will minimum win? 3.0-2.3=0.7 goals = 7 units.
If you bet on “Lower than 1.7”, you will minimum win 7 units (1.7-1.0 = 0.7)
Margin of win:
Value range: -unlimited to + unlimited
Typical spread: 0.0 – 0.5 home team (but varies a lot, ofcourse)
Example: The bookie belives the home team will win by a narrow margin, thus presenting the spread 0.0-0.5. You predict the home team will win by at least 1 goal, thus you bet on “Higher than 0.5” with a stake of, lets say 5$ per tenth.
Result: Your team wins 4-1. (3 goal margin)
Return: (30-5) x 5$ = 125$ win
Lets assume your team lost by 2 goals:
Return: (-20-5) x 5$ = -125$ loss
As you can see, you pay a heavy prize if you are wrong in your predictions. If you are correct, you are rewarded well, but it’s equally expensive for you wallet if you are wrong…
Other typical spread offers are listed below:
- Total Bookings: The bookmaker awards a number of points for a yellow card (normally 10) and a red card (normally 25). Add together the points of all the cards in a match (for instance, 3 yellows and 1 red gives a total of 55 points). The bookmaker quotes a spread based on this total. You decide whether to bet higher or lower.
- Total Corners: How may corners will there be in a match? This is ofcourse more like bingo, but can be very exciting and amusing when watching a match in front of the TV with your friends 🙂
- Time of …: Time of First Goal and Time of First Booking are mentioned above, but the same system can be applied to many other minute-by minute events. Examples: Time of Second Goal, Time of Last Goal, Time of 2nd-Half First Goal, etc, etc.
I wouldn’t waste too much money on this type of betting, go buy yourself a lotto coupon instead !!
There are ofcourse lot’s of other spread betting offers. Generally a spread can be offered for everything that can be measured !!!
Spread betting is a very exciting form of betting. Your return will vary with virtually every kick of the ball. This makes spread betting ideal for televised games. Nowadays most bookmakers accept spreads on the most popular leagues. In-match betting has also become popular in recent years. With in-match betting you can place bets during the match, with the advantages and disadvantages which may follow…..
Spread betting is the form of bettin which best repays your skills, but also the method which will rob you if you are not up to standards. Be ware of that, and remember to read the rules carefully.
