Are you fed up of the generic search results that bring you back: 7 ways to win and 3 ways to football bet? I am. It seems that in this day and age, everyone is an expert and is able to write listicles to attract search. If you want to know how to win at football betting then you have come to the proverbial mecca. I have played professional football on three continents, bet in virtually every league in the world, and won. In probably my most candid post about football betting yet, I want to tell you everything I know.
First Off, Let’s Talk Football
Have you ever played football? I started with a passion for the game as a child, and as time went on, it grew into a business. As such, the approach to games would take on more significance when money was involved. Before I signed professional, I could play football in the rain, snow, or freezing cold with a smile on my face. Toward the back end of my career, my kids would be hard pushed to get a kick out of me without paying me! I make light of it now, but it is that realization that made me become better at gambling. The two don’t mix. Although gambling and football sound like peas in a pod, they are in fact, at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Are you a Gambler or a Football Fan? Know the Difference
It may sound like a patronizing statement to say know the difference between a fan and a punter. The same could be said about being a footballer or a footballer. So many of our egotistical boxers stand up and use the quote “You cannot play boxing”. For me, the same exists for a footballer. You are either a business or you are a dreamer, very few dreamers make it in the game. Ronaldo treats his body as if it were made of gold, why, it is his business to. A real gambler knows their business and keeps emotions from the frontline. If you ask an Arsenal fan to bet against them when they play Tottenham, it wouldn’t happen. The emotion clouds judgment with a slight edge of bias that is enough for the bookie to keep your money. Rule number one is to exit the emotion before you open a betting app. Emotion will make you broke.
So many of our audience will use the word punter. That stops at the door too. ‘Punting’ eludes to some poor hypotheses that you are hitting in hope. If you are making serious bets, that couldn’t be further from the truth. We are going to talk about the best football bet tips to make you a professional-level player today.
You will not Win Consistently with Accumulators
I actually started betting by making wild accumulator bets on a Saturday morning. We all kicked off at the same time in England so I would check my bets after the game. The same result would happen every week, I would miss by one or two games. Losing £5 each week didn’t really bother me, as every now and then I would make it all back. When you win it feels great, you almost feel like you haven’t lost every week for the last 6-8 weeks. The reality was, at the end of the season I would do well to break even. Accumulators should make up the very least of your stake money if you want to win consistently. Using 10% of your overall weekly budget on accumulators would be too much. There is a reason bookmakers promote the big winning tickets. The more games you wager in on one ticket, the more likely you are to lose.
With that out of the Way, Let’s talk about How to Win at Football Betting
Football is a beautiful sport, and I know you have heard the phrase “A game of two halves”. Football is unpredictable as it is beautiful. Winning football bets is the same as being good in any job position. Understanding, research, learning, and attention to detail. The problem is in football there are so many details that you should analyze before wagering. In truth, using a good system, you should be able to call a winning game a day. When you get really good, you will be able to call the game, the spread, and the player outcome all in one game.
If you think about your favourite team, how much do you know about them? What about their biggest rival, what do you know about them? Learn a team, once you learn a team, you will begin to learn the league. Once you have learned a league, you can become an unstoppable betting force in that league. If you have been given the gift of time, then you can make money wagering smart football bets. Throw the accumulator tips out of the window, unless they are for fun, and let’s get down to business.
Variables in Football Bets and How to Spot them
I have played on horrible Tuesday nights after an 8-hour journey. We have driven in the team coach stopping at three different service stations to eat poor food. After 8 hours we arrive at the destination, a hell-hole with 2500 capacity stadium, cold and raining. How do you think I felt going into that game? I didn’t care whether we won, lost, or drew, I just wanted to go home. Football in the UK is like that, unfortunately. But I know that I have been there, played in those matches. When I am thinking about a game in China Division One, what do I know about their travel arrangements?
Consider the team morale before kick-off
Knowing the preparation for a team doesn’t require much research. The team usually posts their preparation schedule on the website before the games. You will know if they are training at the club if you follow their social media platforms. It is also possible to find out if a team is preparing for an away game by staying overnight next to the opposition. How is the management coping currently? If management is under pressure and the team is away, and with poor preparation, it could be good omens for a home win. The odds can distract from seeing value in small details like this. But how many times do we see it in the EPL? Southampton vs Chelsea this season, Fulham vs Liverpool this season, the list is endless. If memory serves me right, Fulham were 4.00 Double Chance that day. That is better odds than I have seen many players wager in 3 fold accumulators on social media.
How can player morale help me win at football betting?
Player morale is often overlooked as a reason to wager football bets. Obviously, if star players are out injured, most people will take notice of this in their bets. But, when Antony wanted to leave Ajax for Manchester United, do you think he would have been an asset in the changing room? No chance. Players spend the majority of their week with each other. When things are not going right for one, depending on that player’s personality it can impact a whole squad. With Ronaldo being the forefront of Man United last season his stomping and sulking negatively affected the confidence of the whole team. With Ten Hag, he has brought discipline to a side that needed it, Ronaldo becomes a shadow.
Some of my friends that are exceptional single-game gamblers go to huge extents to exploit player morale. Understanding what is in the mind of the players could be one of the best betting tips ever. I understand it is hard to monitor every player, in every club, in every league! But, if you are smart, you should shortlist the top three players in each club of your chosen league and follow them. Set up Google alerts every 24 hours, and see what news comes out before kick-off. It doesn’t seem like much, but a substantial wager in the right environment could be the biggest bet payout ever.
Playing Style of Opposing Sides
On paper, some games look clear-cut and obvious who will win. It is with that type of behaviour I have seen the crying emojis on multiple social media pages crying about their losses. Football bets can be won or lost before the first kick of the game. Understanding how teams perform in both home and away environments is crucial to landing good football bets.
Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season, a good season. Yet, Chelsea only won 9 home games all season, the same as Everton who finished 11th. I watched Chelsea play a number of times last season and the atmosphere was dire. Fans had no belief, and clubs would go to Chelsea and attack them. The Blues were consistently in possession but had no cutting edge, very different than the team that scored more goals and conceded half the amount away from home. I watched in awe as social media blew up with crying emojis when Chelsea let down accumulators. If you were to read between the lines you would see Chelsea played tentatively in front of their own fans. I have written an article on Chelsea in the 2022/23 season you can read.
How to Win at Football Betting in different phases of the season
The major European Leagues usually kick-off around August time and conclude in May the following year. To win at football betting takes understanding into the mentality of a footballer around key points of the season. Over the Christmas period the games come thick and fast. Typically, throughout that stage of the season, it can be tricky to call 1×2 markets. Unless you have a manager that keeps you locked up through that period, there is going to be alcohol and partying. Monitoring player movements during that stage are vital. The backend of the season always has the contenders and the strugglers. Without fail, every season, in every league, there will be team that has an amazing run of games to save them from relegation. Successfully calling that team could you make you bundles of cash.
Choose the right betting markets for your team
By default, so many players jump into 1×2 and try to build odds by adding more teams. What if I told you there was more value in calling the spread? Spread betting on Over or Under 2.5 Goals has become more popular now. Its popularity means that betting sites are able to give more tentative odds. But, you can call the spread on a specific team and make more money than the 1×2 market. Manchester city scoring Over 2,5 goals, or Tottenham (last season 3rd top goalscorers at home) scoring 2 or more at home. You can find value in markets you didn’t know existed if you are willing to explore. If you have information about a team, then wager against it, you stand just as much chance as any of the other markets. A huge piece of advice to win at football betting is to go with your gut.
To Win at Football Betting Requires Consistent Knowledge
When I have taken time off from creating betting content around specific leagues or teams, my vision becomes cloudy. I don’t mean that figuratively, I mean literally. After a break, I can navigate the tools I usually use to pick games and my eyes are drawn to popular markets rather than my creative bets. This happens because I let the data rule me rather than me use intuition and knowledge to analyze the data how I want it to read. I have spoken to many friends in Kenya that still check the league position and make bets based on the league standings. Big mistake, rookie mistake, the form table is all that is important on league positions. I know that the FA Cup 3rd Round is of no interest to Manchester City, yet my eyes are drawn to the 1.08 odds for the win. The standard process before adding that fold to an accumulator is to check who the starting lineup is. If there are players flaunting holiday images in Marbella, then the first team is off on holiday – no bet!
A player that can tell you what team is where this weekend and what the names of the player’s wives are, they have done their research! I would trust a tip from a player like that!
Winning at Football Betting is What the Bookies DO NOT want!
Betting sites and apps have become that much more intuitive these days. The apps, especially, are like extensions of some player’s hands! When notifications come up on your phone enticing you to wager a bet in newly released opening lines, don’t be tempted. Winning at football betting requires discipline. The discipline starts with you being in control of your bets, your bet types, and when and where you will wager your bets. Accumulators are good fun, but you will make more from betting smart in single games frequently, than lumping them together. My word. If you need help with making accumulator picks you should check out our sure multibet tips.
Consider Live Betting for more Fun
Live Betting on the right platform is exhilarating. I am a little bit of an in-play specialist. The majority of my wins come from winning live bets. If you monitor the flow of the games you can watch how the different phases of play become more cohesive. At the higher levels, you will see teams feel each other out in a cagey affair to start, similar to boxers. Once the holes begin to appear, that is the time that I will start wagering specific bets. Some of my favourite bets to wager are Both Teams to Score in the 2nd Half and Over 1.5 Goals for a specific team. There are some fantastic apps out there to win at football betting, but for me, Bet365 has the best live betting platform.