Inplay Betting
Inplay betting IS the future of profitable betting on football. The sooner the punter comes to realise that and begins to hone their skills on this front, the sooner big money will be made by even the most amateur of football bettors. This guide needs to be read thoroughly to benefit from it. It will transform you from a casual weekend punter into a sharp minded individual that is making consistent profits from inplay betting on football.
Introduction
Before we get to the nitty gritty of inplay betting on football it needs to be said that what you are about to read is not a ‘100% guaranteed profit system’ of any kind. These simply do not exist. This guide, in the right hands, will help to give you an edge over the bookmakers.
You may of heard the expression ‘having an edge’ within betting circles previously. Having ‘an edge’ quite simply means that you are consistently able to stake bets that have a much better chance of winning than the odds imply. It’s all about finding the edge, and that’s what we’re going to explain to you.
The Downfalls of pre match betting
Many people continue to bet pre-match week in week out. You check a bit of recent form, maybe check head to head records and then consult the league table before putting your money down maybe even 24 hours before kick off. That’s fine.. But don’t you think the bookmakers have already done this?
Bookmakers employ skilled odds compilers that have all of these statistics and figures at their disposal. The odds you take (especially on elite leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A etc.) have been dissected over and over again by these odds compilers and it’s highly unlikely you’ve managed to get any value in your selection. This is all before a ball has even been kicked!
You can’t account for team selection, and quite simply put you are completely in the dark as to how the team you backed are going to perform. Too many hurdles to overcome for my liking. Let’s take it to the next step and teach the bookmakers a lesson.
Making Inplay betting profitable
First things first. Get yourself a 888sport account. I could yabber on all day as to why, but trust me here. 888sport are the best bookmakers for inplay betting by a country mile. They have the most choice, and by choice I mean MUCH more football matches inplay (where other bookmakers run scared) as well as live game stats (running ball) and thousands of live streamed games every year (watching a game that you plan to bet on is VERY important).
Which markets to bet on?
Everyone will have their own favourites here, whether it’s total goals, match odds (1 x 2), corners, cards or any other market. But I want to turn your attention to Asian Handicap betting.
Asian handicap betting is especially suited to inplay gambling. Each team is set a handicap for any given match (by odds compilers) and the draw isn’t a factor in Asian handicap betting. Let’s take a short look into this and become more familiar with it:
You can see from the image above that Manchester United -1.5 goals is priced at 2.025 (just above even money). Sunderland +1.5 goals is priced at 1.875.
If you back Manchester United -1.5 you require them to beat Sunderland by 2 goals or more to win your bet. If you back Sunderland +1.5 goals then you require them to lose by no more than 1 goal to win your bet. The question you have to ask yourself here is “Will Manchester United win by 2 goals or more?”. If yes then you may decide to bet on the -1.5 asian line. If no then you may decide to back the +1.5 asian line. But WAIT. We are betting inplay here.
For more information on Asian handicap betting please read our in depth guide. The above is just a very short example of this kind of bet.
The tools of the trade
Running Ball inplay stats
Inplay match stats will become your new best friend. The image to your right is what I’m referring to here. It’s known in the trade as ‘running ball’ or ‘rball’ for short. A running ball scout is employed to be at any given game of football from anywhere around the world armed with a pocket MDA (a handheld computer) to report real time match stats.
These stats are absolutely crucial when it comes to deciding whether there is a bet to be had or not. Get used to watching this feature on 888sport as it can give you a real feel for how a game is panning out. After a few hours learning how it works it will be a real asset to your decision making skills.
A little hint I strongly recommend is to take a screenshot of the rball statistics at half time. As they say football is a game of two halves, and if you have the half time screenshot you will be able to make calculations of how well the teams are performing in the second half.
Live Streams
Nothing can beat a live stream at your disposal. Having live pictures of a match gives you a real edge. I’m not talking Sky Sports here to watch Chelsea v Manchester United, I’m going a lot lower than that. As I mentioned before, bookies pretty much have the elite leagues covered and it’s very difficult to find an edge.
I’m advising you to concentrate your attention to more obscure games. Estonia, Lithuania, Romanian lower leagues, Iceland, youth internationals, women’s football.
As long as you have some funds in your 888sport account you are able to watch ANY live stream of any event. There is something to watch literally 24 hours a day.
Research
Sometimes you’ll bump into a real betting gem while just clicking through matches on 888sport and looking at the inplay match stats (rball). However, this isn’t an excuse not to put in any research before a game kicks off. I’m not suggesting making a bet before the game (after all this is an inplay betting guide) but being forewarned is being forearmed.
There is no greater feeling than when you have spotted a potentially great bet well before the match has kicked off, and once the game is inplay either the rball stats or live pictures back up your opinion. You then place your bet and are rewarded with a fantastic win.
When I say research, there are many avenues you can explore. The run of the mill sites like Soccerway, Soccerstats etc. which pretty much every gambler uses, and then you have the option of going off the beaten track a little bit. The internet has far more information available to you than you think…
Google translate should also be your best friend. Clicking on to a German Regionalliga clubs website and hitting the translate button to find that half of their regular team is out with a virus is goldust information.. The bookmakers won’t be aware of this and there is your betting edge. Finding this kind of information is almost a daily occurrence if you’re willing to put in a little bit of extra work. It really does pay dividends and you’ll feel great when you pull off your own little betting sting!
Inplay markets to concentrate on
Asian handicap – This is where there is serious money to be made. Remember, scores are reset from the time that you place your bet. If a team you want to bet on are winning 2-0 and they are on a -0.5 Asian handicap then you would need them to win the game from the moment you put your bet on. Forget about the score being 2-0, it is 0-0 as far as you are concerned and you need your team to win from the remaining time left in the game.
This is why Asian handicap betting is so beneficial to inplay betting. If you notice a team starting to dominate a match from a position of 1-2 down, you can bet on them on the Asian handicap knowing that the score is reset to 0-0 from the moment you place your bet!
Next team to score – Again, a great market to bet on inplay. The home team may be 3-0 up and you may of noticed that the visitors are peppering their goal with shots in a bid to get back into the game. The home side seem content to sit on their lead. Now is a great time to strike on the next team to score market.
Draw no bet – Draw no bet is essentially the same as the 0 asian handicap in a pre match sense, but that’s as far as it goes. I like to use the draw no bet market where the stronger team (or at least the team that are performing better) somehow go a goal down against the run of play.
Provided the odds are stacked in your favour (value) this can be a great bet to get on when a team is dominating the game, yet losing at the time you want to bet. You would get your stake back if the game finished a draw, and a good win if your team managed to turn the game around and win.
As mentioned before, this is the first of a few guides we’ll be putting together in the coming weeks/months. We plan to go into more depth within certain areas. If you have any questions or would like to give us some feedback please feel free to contact us on Twitter.