Football betting is of course massively popular and has been for years, but since the advent of sports betting exchanges there have been even more betting possibilities opened up because you can bet on a game whilst it is actually playing. Many bookmakers also offer in-play betting betting but the big advantage of an exchange is that you can lay as well as back. In other words you can bet against a certain outcome as well as for it. This has led to a number of different strategies being developed, but if you are going to try this then you need to first of all have a good idea of how the odds move as a football game plays out.
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A football match generally lasts 90 minutes plus injury time for betting purposes, since extra time for a penalty shoot out is usually excluded. During that 90 minutes both sides will try to score goals but the chances of a goal being scored diminishes as time goes on because there is less and less time remaining. This is one factor that influences the goals markets such as over 2.5, 3.5 etc. and also the match odds if no goals have been scored so far.
A popular way to take advantage of the time factor is the trade on under 2.5 goals. If the statistics relating to a match suggest a low scoring game then you can back the under 2.5 selection pre-match with a view to laying it back during the match, since, as long as no goals are scored then the odds will gradually reduce. The only decision you have to make is at what point to lay back and take some profit. Statistics seem to indicate that few goals are scored in the first ten minutes of a match, and one of the most dangerous times is from then on until half-time, and then again during the last twenty minutes of a match when often there is a real need to score a goal. So it is generally reckoned that it is best to wait ten minutes or so from the beginning of a match and then trigger your lay bet for a small profit.
Despite the possible unusual outcomes to spoil your plans though, it is generally considered safer to trade than to bet outright, since in football you have time to correct a situation if things start to go the wrong way.
There are many different ways to trade football scores. Another approach is to watch a match and wait until a goal is scored and then lay over 2.5 goals at the exchange. Now this may seem counter intuitive but it is one of the cases where the market can often overreact to a situation such as a goal being scored. Once a goal is scored it seems to many that surely more goals will follow soon as the losing team fights back to equalise. While this may be so statistics tend to suggest that a further goal is not necessarily likely within a short space of time. So with this in mind you can lay over 2.5 goals whilst the odds are low and then watch the odds gradually climb. Do not wait too long though. About ten minutes is advised at which time you can place a back bet on the over 2.5 at higher odds to lock in a profit. This is termed “greening up” where you have the market covered by means of two well judged bets so that, whatever the outcome you will make a profit.There are many other ways for in play trading and some research online will give some good information. You can lay the draw before a match and then quite often green up once a goal is scored, or trade a 1 – 0 scoreline for example. As with most activities, the more you practice the better you will become at it.
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