7 Ways to Improve your Football Betting Profits

Most football fans fancy that they can predict the outcomes of football matches better than the next man, 

But FOTB's aside, the biggest profit area for the High Street Bookmaker is Football. 

Here I take a look at how at finding winners and improving your football betting profits with some simple rules to follow.

Football Coupons

Why do you think there is a huge array of constantly updated football coupons on your online bookmaker front page or just inside the door?

Why are these coupons in the most prominent part of your local Ladbrokes, Corals, William Hills, etc? 

Goal Crazy, Hit the Net, Weekend Quick-slip; the list is endless

This is not to say we can't Beat the Bookie at football betting 

But before getting into how you might go about making your selections, whether your bet style is single, double, or accumulators, let's have a look at some basics, that will help increase football betting profits, or at least minimise the losses!

Before I get into the rules, I'll just state that I understand the thrill of getting your bet slip back and seeing that fabulous promise of a 6 figure sum.

If your £1 accumulator of 23 home wins comes off it will be fantastic and I would not put anyone off from doing it.

But it needs to be kept in perspective that this is a fun bet only.

Do it as a separate entity to your normal football betting and keep it away from your normal betting bank.

Use Free Bet Clubs

There is a caveat that goes with this piece of advice. 

Only use a Free Bet Club that suits your betting, not one that needs you to change.

An excellent example of this is the free bet club offered by Betway. 

With very low wager and selection requirements, it would be my guess that the vast majority of football punters that like to do an acca at the weekend would qualify for a free bet reward without changing the style of acca they place week in week out. 

Find the Best Price for your Selections

This seems really obvious but it is so important; not always possible on the high street but if you are making your soccer predictions online there are several odds checking sites out there to input your selections and find where the best betting odds are to be found. 

You can also use the same sites to find the best individual odds for your football tips. 

If you are already making a profit from your football betting, don't dismiss this idea.

If you are making £100 a week say, it is not unreasonable to think that your profits could be increased by at least 10% by comparing betting odds between the leading bookmakers. 

If you are making profits on Accumulators, then that 10% can easily be improved to 100% better returns by using the best bookmaker for accas.

If you are breaking even, you may be able to turn what is a fun hobby that costs very little into a hobby that makes money on a regular basis. If you are losing, you'll lose less. 

As the meerkats would say; SHIMPLES!

Bet with your Head and not Your Heart

Everyone loves an underdog and a big price is tempting but hoping that Aldershot will beat Manchester United in the FA Cup because it would be a great headline and "anything can happen" in football, doesn't win football matches. 

Players, class and form generally decide who wins.

Some people will say they don't bet on their own football club; I say DO!

Whilst it is difficult to bet against the side that you have supported all your life, as long as you can bet with your head and not your heart, you are about as best placed as you can be to bet on a game involving your club. 

After all, you know so much more about them than your bookie.

Find a Value Football Bet

If you are predicting the outcome of football matches on a football coupon, you are doing almost as much as the odds compilers are doing. 

You are deciding who has the best chance of winning or losing. 

The only thing you've not done is decided on the percentage probability. 

Add that into your thought process and you have become your own odds compiler. 

3 Handy Odds Compiling advisories from OLBG Bloggers

1. Calculating Betting Odds
2. Fractional and Decimal Odds Probability
3. Odds Conversion

If you decide that the home side have a 60% chance of winning (that's 4/6), if the price is bigger, say 4/5 (55%), you have found YOUR value.

Remember: the odds are decided by a person just like you. Who is to say you are not right, trust your own judgement and if you think they have it wrong, it's time to strike

Click here to understand how to convert percentage probability into odds, and odds back to percentage probability

Specialise your Football Betting

The top leagues around Europe are very difficult to bet and make profit on. 

There is so much information widely available that very rarely are the odds incorrect and an edge available. 

Try a different league, sometimes the more obscure the better. 

If you support a lower league side or have a local side that plays in non-league football that odds are available for, you are in prime position to know that little bit more than the guys making up the odds. 

Local knowledge counts for a lot and you will have a far better opportunity of finding the value as per the above section.

Try to learn as much about a European Second Division as you can for instance. Pick any one, and stick with it. 

You'll soon be predicting soccer results that the bookies have got wrong and those profits will be yours

Consider More Football Betting Markets

We all know about the HOME - DRAW - AWAY bets, Over or Under 2.5 Goals, Both teams to Score etc. 

Try to find another betting angle

Beware though, the big games will have more than 150+ markets to play either pre-match or in-play and many are markets that football punters looking to make a profit should never go near. 

Next Player to score, Time of the next goal, Who gets the next corner. Ridiculous bets that have no bearing on the game and should have no bearing on your betting activity.

If you are watching the game, perhaps you are getting a feel for which way the play is ebbing and flowing. The home side is behind at half time but have made some changes in the second half and looking the better team now. Could they get a goal in front of their own fans and grab a point? 

In-Play Football betting can be fun but don't let the excitement detract from your goal of making a profit on the match

Only Gamble what you Can Afford To Lose

It goes without saying that anything can happen in Football, the giant-killing can happen. 

A perfectly good goal can be disallowed; the best player for a team could get a red card for an innocuous challenge or penalty awarded despite a dive.

Game-changing occurrences that you can not account for before a ball is kicked.

Always ensure your betting is undertaken with discipline and understanding that you may not get your money back.

It is always good to have a money management strategy for your betting bank, and OLBG have an excellent guide to managing your betting funds. 

For those who are always looking at finding winners please visit the olbg betting school, the school is packed with helpful betting advice.