The best soccer betting strategies: working charts and cases

Betting strategies help you to select events, and bet amounts to maximise your winnings. We divided all the strategies into two categories.

Single bet strategies help you choose an event in a specific match and win.
Series bet strategies help you systematise Single bets to increase the likelihood of winning in the long run.

We'll tell you about popular strategies in both categories and explain them using examples.

Goal in the first half

Single bets

Single bet strategies help evaluate an event in order to increase your likelihood of winning. Single bet strategies work together with Series and separately.

Goal in the first half

Matches between favourites and outsiders suit this strategy well. Favourites often try to score in the first half to secure a comfortable advantage and save their energy for the rest of the match. But sometimes the opposite happens, when the favourite underestimates the outsider and concedes a goal.

Study how the teams play in the first half before placing a bet

Check how often the teams score and concede. It's important that the statistics of how many goals the favourite scored match how often the outsider conceded goals.

For example, if the favourite often scores in first half, but the outsider rarely concedes, the bet will be risky. It may be that the outsider has good defense at

the

start of the match, before it's players get tired.

Sometimes, it's worth betting in to increase your chances of winning. This will help you assess how the teams are playing in real time and understand the likelihood that someone will score.

Choose high-scoring tournaments

For example, championships in the Netherlands, England and Germany. Teams usually play aggressively in these championships, while the difference between the strong and weak teams is enough for the favourite to score at the start of a match.

Nikola Vlasic in the match CSKA – Spartak — Low-scoring tournaments, such as championships in Russia and Greece, won't work with this strategy. These teams focus more on defense and rarely score in the first half. Photo: Oleg Bukharev / shutterstock.com

Consider the stats for Newcastle – Liverpool matches:

Liverpool scored 34 of its 66 goals in the first half. The team scores less often when playing away, with only 11 goals in the first half of 14 away matches.
Newcastle rarely concedes goals at home: just 12 goals in 14 matches. But they don't score a lot either (12 goals at home).

Liverpool averages fewer goals in the first half away, while Newcastle concedes fewer goals at home. Betting on this match is risky.

Now let's consider Manchester City – Norwich. Here are the stats:

Manchester City has scored 31 goals in the first half in 28 matches. They scored 14 goals in the first half in 13 home matches.
Norwich is the worst team in the EPL when playing away. The team conceded 26 goals in 15 away matches.

Manchester City often scores in the first half at home, while Norwich frequently concedes when away. This match looks reliable, so you should bet on a goal in

the

first half.

Double chance

This strategy works well for matches between equal teams or teams with different motivations. For example, one of the teams has already clinched its place in a tournament, while the other needs to win. The first team won't be playing at full strength or might take the field with a semi-reserve squad, while the second team will give the match everything they've got. In this case, betting on the second team not losing is a good idea.

Let's consider Liverpool – Arsenal. Take a look at the teams:

Liverpool has already secured the championship and is well ahead of

second place.
However, Arsenal are at risk of not getting a European qualification spot and are five points behind sixth place.

Liverpool have a stronger lineup than Arsenal and better league results, but they've already done everything they needed to this season. Arsenal, on the other hand, are

fighting for a European qualification spot. Arsenal may well win due to

the

difference in the players' motivation, so it's best to bet on them.

Corner kicks

Matches between offensive and defensive oriented teams work well with this strategy. Due to the differences in style, the defensive team will let their opponent come close to their own penalty area, but won't let them approach the net. The aggressive team will have to often shoot from afar, so these shots will be deflected by the defenders and the goalkeeper, trying to bring them to the corner.

Consider the weather conditions. Aggressive teams are more likely to shoot from far away in the rain, because it's harder for a goalkeeper to stop a slippery ball. Due to the large number of kicks, the ball will often end up behind the goal line.

Consider a match between Atalanta and Lecce. Here are the stats:

Atalanta has scored more goals than any other team in Serie A. The team scored 70 times in 25 rounds.
Atalanta makes frequent shots on goal, averaging 20.1 shots per game.
Lecce has a weak defense, with 56 conceded goals in 26 rounds.
Lecce is the Serie A leader in terms of clearances, with an average of 21.3 per match.

The stats show that Atalanta frequently attacks and shoots on goal. Lecce capitalises on clearances, knocking out the ball instead of stealing it. This match would work well for a bet of corner kicks over 7.5.

Series betting

Series betting strategies link Single bets into series of two or more. These series are needed to form a safety net – if one bet loses, the next ones will compensate for the lost money and win. Series betting strategies don't guarantee success but do increase its chances.

Chasing

Pluses	Minuses
High probability of winning	Large bank required
Not every bet has to win	Smaller winnings relative to the amount wagered

When chasing, the player chooses an event type and bets on it until it wins. For example, they choose to bet on a total over 2.5 in a

Liverpool match. If their bet loses, they bet on the same total in the next match.

Any event can work well with chasing: , totals, , corner kicks, yellow cards, goals scored in a half.

If a bet loses, the player must increase the bet amount. A win should recoup the money lost and deliver a profit to the player.

The bet amount for chasing is calculated by the following formula:
S = (X + Y) ÷ (k - 1)

S – bet amount
X – estimated winnings from the first bet
Y – amount lost during the strategy
k – odds of the selected event

You bet EUR 10 on Inter winning with odds of 1.80, making your potential winnings EUR 18.
The bet loses.
In the next match, inter's victory is set at os of 2.00
- The bet amount is calculated as (18 + 10) ÷ (2.00 - 1) = EUR 28.
The bet loses again. You've lost a total of EUR 38. In the next match, you again bet on Inter to win, this time with odds of 1.50.
- Bet amount: (18 + 38) ÷ (1.50 - 1) = EUR 112.
The bet loses again. Now you've lost a total of EUR 150. Then you bet on Inter to win with odds of 2.10.
- Bet amount: (18 + 150) ÷ (2.10 - 1) = EUR 152,73.
The bet wins and you win EUR 320,74. We calculate the net winnings by subtracting the amount wagered during the strategy from the total winnings: 320,74 - 302,73 = EUR 18,01.

In the end, this strategy increased our bank by EUR 18,01. To achieve this, you had to make bets worth a total of EUR 302,73.

If we placed another bet, the amount wagered would approximately double, and

with 6-7 losing bets, it could well exceed EUR 2000. Therefore, chasing requires a large pot so you can place more bets and increase your probability of winning. If

you have less than EUR 1000 in your bank, choose another strategy or make your first bet for an amount less than EUR 5.

Oscar's Grind

Pluses	Minuses
Large bank not required	Only events with odds of 2.00 are suitable
No need to increase the bet amount if you're having a long losing streak	Due to the high odds, the strategy may last for a long series of bets

Oscar's Grind has players place a series of bets on events with odds from 2.00 to 2.50. The goal is to increase your bank by a certain amount.

The amount and odds of the first bet should be selected so that you reach your goal immediately if you win. If you lose, bet the same amount again, but if you win, double the amount wagered. After reaching your goal, you can start the next cycle.

Your bank is EUR 1000. You want to increase it by 5% or EUR 50. This means that the first bet needs to have winnings of EUR 50.

Bet: EUR 50

Odds: 2.00

Loss. Your bank now has EUR 950 (-5% from the start)
Bet: EUR 50

Odds: 2.20

Loss. Your bank now has EUR 900 (-10% from the start)
Bet: EUR 50

Odds: 2.10

Winnings: EUR 105 Your bank now has EUR 955 (-4.5% from the start)
Bet: EUR 100

Odds: 2.00

Winnings: EUR 200 Your bank now has EUR 1155 (+15.5% from the start)

You achieved your goal and even increased your bank by more than 5%, i.e.

EUR

155.

Tank attack

Pluses	Minuses
Risks are distributed across several bets	The strategy can fail at the first stage
Events with any odds can be selected	Large bank required

With tank attack strategy, players select a portion of their bank and divide it into several equal parts or "tanks". The more parts, the lower the risk.

You bet each part on a separate event with any odds. If a bet loses, the "tank" is eliminated, and if it wins, the entire amount of the bet is placed on the next event. The goal of the strategy is to earn a profit and recoup any money lost.

You take EUR 1000 and divide it into 5 "tanks" of EUR 200 each. You place the following bets:

Tank 1

Odds – 1.50

Winnings – EUR 300

Profit – EUR 100
Tank 2

Odds – 1.70

Loss
Tank 3

Odds – 2.00

Winnings – EUR 400

Profit – EUR 200
Tank 4

Odds – 2.50

Loss
Tank 5

Odds – 2.10

Winnings – EUR 420

Profit – EUR 220

2 tanks are eliminated with losses of EUR 400. Three tanks won with net earnings of EUR 380. However, you're still down EUR 20, so you decide to continue. Bet the winnings of the bets that won:

Tank 1

Bet – EUR 300

Odds – 1.50

Winnings – EUR 450

Profit – EUR 150
Tank 3

Bet – EUR 360

Odds – 1.90

Winnings – EUR 684

Profit – EUR 324
Tank 5

Bet – EUR 320

Odds – 2.30

Loss

At the second stage, we lost one more tank, resulting in a total of three lost for

EUR

600. Now see if you ended up in the black by adding up all the winning bets and subtracting the initial bank amount:

EUR 450
+ 684 - 1000 = 1134 - 1000 = EUR 134

In the end,
you earned net winnings of EUR 134. It's risky to keep going — if your lose
one of your two remaining "tanks", it will be difficult to recoup the strategy's losses. So it's best to stop while you're ahead.

Place a bet

Football betting strategies

Single bets

Goal in the first half

Study how the teams play in the first half before placing a bet

Choose high-scoring tournaments

Double chance

Corner kicks

Series betting

Chasing

Oscar's Grind

Tank attack