Editor-In-Chief with 20 years experience covering the betting angles to breaking news stories. Daily slots player, Portsmouth fan and League Snooker Player
Most football fans fancy that they can predict the outcomes of football matches better than the next man,
But FOBT'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.
| Action | Benefit | More Info |
|---|---|---|
| Find the Best Price | Win More | Best Odds |
| Use Free Bet Clubs | Increase Your ROI | Best Free Bet Clubs |
| Bet With Your Head | No Cognitive Bias | Bias Info |
| Find Value | Better Prices | Odds Comparison |
| Specialise | More Knowledge | Specialisation |
| Use More Markets | Better Options | Football Markets |
| Limit Your Betting | Lose Less | Betting Mistakes |
Ultimate Guide on How to Use Football Form
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.
Best Bookies for Football Accumulators
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.
Top 10 Bookmakers for Free Bet Clubs
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.
The Power of Odds Comparison: Ultimate Betting Odds Strategy Guide
You can also use the same sites to find the best individual odds for your OLBG 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!
Profitable Betting On Your Team
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
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 below to understand how to convert percentage probability into odds, and odds back to percentage probability.
Odds Converter | Fractional to Decimal Odds & Probability
Example: You support Arsenal and you think they can get a result away from home at their main rivals Manchester City.
However Manchester City have not been beaten in the EPL at the Etihad in the 2023/24 season, and in both their games at the start of the 2024/25 season.
Played 21, Won 16, Drawn 5, Lost 0
- 16 Home Wins from 21 = (76%)
- 5 Draws from 21 = (24%)
- 0 Away Wins from 21 = (0%)
Betting Odds
- Manchester City: 1.8 (55.56%)
- Draw: 3.7 (27%)
- Arsenal: 4.6 (21.7%)
In truth the odds for Arsenal should be much bigger than 4.6, the bookies odds are saying Arsenal would win 2 times out of 10, really!
But we can see that City have not lost at home, there is no value in betting on Arsenal, with the home win offering real value and the draw a smidgen of value.
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 HDA, Over or Under 2.5 Goals, BTTS 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.
Best Bookmakers for BTTS Betting
Read which bookie is best
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 offer value odds but don't let the excitement detract from your goal of making a profit on the match.
Betting On Football In Running
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 being businesslike with your betting.
Make Money Betting, Have a Betting Plan and Be Businesslike
The above article sits perfectly with the OLBG mantra of Responsible Gambling, please visit the blog below to remind yourself and others that we should all be sensible whatever football bets we are placing.
