There are sometimes hundreds of football matches a day featured on the different betting sites. If we want to make money from football betting, which ones are going to present us with the right opportunities to place profitable bets?
This is determined by looking at specific odds for the match just before the game commences. If these are favorable (what we need them to be), then the game can be considered a potential opportunity.
Fulltime odds
We are interested in matches where one team is a clear favorite to win. So the first thing we look at are the Fulltime odds. One team should be at least 1/6 favorites, but the optimum is 1/10 or lower. If the odds on the favorite team winning are higher than 1/6 (eg. 1/5), the match should not be considered an opportunity.
First Goal odds
The next thing we need to pay attention to are the First Goal odds. Again, there should be a clear favorite. One team should be at least 1/8 favorites to score the first goal. The optimum here would be 1/10 or lower. As with the Fulltime odds, if the odds of the favorite team scoring the first goal are higher than 1/6, the game should not be considered an opportunity.
Once the game has started, it is important to keep an eye on both the Fulltime and the First Goal odds. A match can begin with the favorite team being 1/6 or 1/8 to win, but within 5 or 10 minutes of the first half, the odds can have increased to 1/5 or higher. The same can happen with the First Goal odds. In each case, this should be a signal that the game is not an opportunity.
First Half and Match Goals
In addition to the Fulltime and the First Goal odds at the beginning of a match, it is always worthwhile looking at how many goals are expected in the game. This can be determined by looking at both the First Half Goals odds and the Match Goals odds.
With the First Half goals, you want to see the odds of Over 1.5 goals being higher than the odds of Under 1.5 goals. So, for example, if the odds ar there being more than 1.5 goals in the first half are 2/5 and the odds of there being less than 1.5 goals is 11/10, this would be good. But if the odds of there being over 1.5 goals in the first half are lower than the odds for there being under 1.5 goals, this should be taken as a sign that the game is not worth considering.
With the Match Goals, a similar deal applies. In this case, we are looking for the odds on there being over 3.5 goals to be higher than the odds on there being under 3.5 goals.
Summary
So, to sum up the above. A match should only be considered a potential opportunity if:
- Fulltime Result odds for favorite team are 1/6 or lower
- First Goal odds for favorite team are 1/6 or lower
- Odds of First Half Goals being over 1.5 are lower than odds on there being under 1.5 goals
- Odds of Match Goals being over 3.5 are lower than odds on there being under 3.5 goals