Soccer! It’s the world’s sport, and the amount of gambling that’s done on this sport dwarfs everything American sports does. The Bundesliga is returning on May 16th, marking the first major sports league in Europe or North America to attempt a re-start. We’ll see nine games each weekend, along with mid-week action to make up for a truncated calendar.
But how do you bet on it? That’s what we’re here to explain! Here’s DK Nation’s guide to betting on football soccer and how to play the beautiful game.
Three-way Money Line
The most common way to wager on soccer is the three-way money line. There are three possible outcomes in the overwhelming majority of soccer matches: win, tie, and loss. The three-way money line gives you odds on all three outcomes, and if that’s the result at the end of 90 minutes, you’re a winner. Here’s an example from the German Bundesliga:
Borussia Dortmund -190
Tie +310
FC Schalke +480
This is a pretty common setup you’ll see when one team is a favorite. Of course if the two teams are a bit closer in talent, you’ll often see a chance to win more than your original bet no matter what you decide.
Dusseldorf +114
Tie +250
SC Paderborn +225
All these bets end after 90 minutes of soccer. So if there’s extra time, as you would see in a UEFA Champions League two-leg tie or a World Cup knockout round match, it’s the score after regular time ends that applies here.
Two-Way Money Line
There’s two ways to bet on soccer but factoring out what a draw might do. Draw no bet is the most common. It’s just like it sounds; if the match ends in a draw after 90 minutes, you’re refunded your bet.
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke
Borussia Dortmund -455
FC Schalke +360
Asian Handicap
Asian handicaps come in two different flavors: one for bets on an even number or a half number (2 goals, 3.5 goals, etc), and one for quarter lines (2.25 goals, 3.75 goals, etc). Let’s break each down separately. This can be done as either a spread between both teams, or an over/under on the total goals from both teams.
Whole numbers and half numbers
Just like betting in American sports, this is just betting with a spread or on the over-under. But Asian Handicaps traditionally offer many more intervals to be wagered on:
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04
Over 2 goals: -345
Under 2 goals: +260
Over 2.5 goals: -148
Under 2.5 goals: +120
Over 3 goals: +115
Under 3 goals: -141
Over 3.5 goals: +175
Under 3.5 goals: -225
If you have over or under 2 goals, and the match finishes 2-0 or 1-1, you push all bets. Of course if you bet on a half-goal line, a push is impossible and you’ll either win or lose no matter the result.
.25 numbers and .75 numbers
The other option Asian Handicaps offer is .25 and .75 wagers, which places two bets for you in equal parts; one on the half or whole number that’s higher, and one on the half or whole number that’s lower.
As an example: A bet over 2.75 goals places half your wager on 2.5 goals, and half your wager on 3 goals. So here’s how the results work out across each of these bets.
Two total goals: Final score 2-0, 1-1, 0-2
Over 2.5 goals: Loss
Over 3 goals: Loss
Three total goals: Final score 3-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3
Over 2.5 goals: Win
Over 3 goals: Push
Four total goals: Final score 4-0, 3-1, 2-2, 1-3, 0-4
Over 2.5 goals: Win
Over 3 goals: Win
Totals
The total, sometimes referred to as the over/under, is when you wager on combined goals scored by the two teams in a given match. You are given a number and choosing whether the two teams will score more than that number (“over”) or less than that number (“under”).
DraftKings Sportsbook offers a variety of totals for each game at different odds. Using a Matchday 26 example, Borussia Dortmund faces FC Schalke 04, and they offer seven different totals. They do not include the under on 6.5 because it’s such a likely result.
0.5: Over -5000, Under +1300
1.5: Over -500, Under +350
2.5: Over -150, Under +120
3.5: Over +170, Under -220
4.5: Over +400, Under -590
5.5: Over +900, Under -2000
6.5: Over +2000, Under No odds
Prop bets
A proposition bet, or prop bet, is a bet made regarding the occurrence or non-occurrence of a specific event during a match independent of the final outcome. This can involve team-based events or player-specific events.
Corners
The most common prop bet in soccer is how many corner kicks will one team, or both teams, have during the match. Because of the way certain teams attack and how certain teams defend, you can probably see more consistency in how to grade an offense against a defense via corner kicks as opposed to goals. Look for teams that like to defend with not as high a line, and those that don’t mind playing any danger into touch, in looking for good over corner kick opportunities.
Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04
Over 6.5-560
Under 6.5+350
Over 7.5-278
Under 7.5+200
Over 8.5-152
Under 8.5+115
Over 9.5+112
Under 9.5-152
Over 10.5+188
Under 10.5-265
Over 11.5+310
Under 11.5-455
Player discipline
You can bet on yellow and red cards as well, and there are several factors that should go into deciding how to bet here. Knowing how both teams have reacted to each other in the past, if it’s a passionate derby or just a run-of-the-mill mid-table match, and who the referee is are all factors. So too is how many cautions and red cards a team has received previously.
Remember when betting that straight red cards only count as one card and not two, whereas a second yellow that becomes a red card would count as two total cards for a player. Here are some examples from Matchday 26 featuring Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke 04.
Total cards issued: Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke
Over 3.5 -286
Under 3.5 +200
Over 4.5 -109
Under 4.5 -124
Over 5.5 +215
Under 5.5 -315
Total cards given: Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Schalke
Borussia Dortmund +0.5 +114
FC Schalke -0.5 -157
Player prop examples
You can bet on just about anything a player might do in a game. DK Sportsbook offers odds on first or last goal scorer, a player scoring a goal and scoring multiple goals, when they’ll score, getting a card and getting a red card specifically, and different ways of scoring including by header, free kick, outside the penalty box, and even via their right or left foot.
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