How Place Betting on Football for a Living

For plenty of occasional football bettors, especially those who aren’t particularly happy with their 9-5 jobs, the thought of becoming professional gamblers is the idea of heaven. Here, you work when you want, watch and study sports all day, attend football events and travel the world while making huge profits. Which bettor wouldn’t like such a lifestyle? Easy, tax-free money all done from the comfort of your own home.

However, while it’s possible to make a living from betting on football, such may end up being incredibly difficult and, perhaps, not as desirable as you may picture it to be, especially if you don’t get things right. But if you are a clever punter, you can eke out a living and make a profit when wagering on football. But how, you may ask.

Yan Zhylinski Updated: 29 September 2021

First, you may want to try your hand on matched betting. Matched betting, also known in other terms as lay bet matching, back bet matching or double betting is a technique in betting that bettors use to make profits from incentives and free bets that the bookie of their choice offer them. Many punters consider this type of betting somewhat risk – free because it relies on the application of some mathematical equations as opposed to chance.

Matched betting is one of those new and clever methods of turning free bets that are on offer by online bookies into some real cash. It does this by ensuring that it covers all of the potential outcomes of a given sporting event by placing several multiple bets. If you do this, your winnings are a guarantee every time as it no longer which team or player emerged victorious during a sporting event.

Apart from matched betting, you can make money from football and win football bets by trying arbitrage betting. Unlike matched betting, arbitrage betting doesn’t use bookies’ bonuses but take full advantage of inefficiencies in the market such as bookmakers’ mistakes or slow odds adjustment among others. In theory, it no-risk and one of the best ways to make a profit from football betting.

Lastly, you can make a living when wagering on football through value betting assessment. In short, you get to make a living in football betting while wagering in numbers. Here, you need to play at those bookies that accept high stakes and don’t restrict constant winners. Therefore, you can make a living when wagering on football. You’ll not be lucky all the times, but you’ll strike it lucky most of the times.

Where do you start your betting strategy?

Are you one of those bettors struggling to win when it comes to football betting and tired of losing your hard-earned funds at the bookies every time you place a bet? Don’t worry, since you are not alone in this. At this point, we will inform you on how to enhance your chance of winning when betting on football.

While we could avail you with a huge list of up to 50 tips, without a doubt, you may end up somewhat overwhelmed and confused on where to start when it comes to your football betting strategy. It’s the reason as to why we have a list of short, but some of the most important strategies that you need to implement now:

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Follow expert predictions

One of the best betting strategies to implement to guarantee you constant winnings is by following the advice of professional tipsters. Experience and knowledge is what makes the difference between losing and winning football bets. Listen to what professional tipsters are saying before placing your bets. Even though they won’t be 100% right, they will be right most of the time.

Make a profit with matched betting

Matched betting is another good way to start your sports betting strategy. Matched betting is one of those incredibly profitable ways of realizing some funds from football betting and guaranteed to make a profit, regardless of the outcome of your bets. Many bettors use this strategy, especially for large football competitions such as the Champions League and the Premier League.

Keep a record

Next, you need to keep a record of what bets you get the most and which ones you need to drop if you want to start winning more. You need to have a record of the type of bets you win and lose, the amount you get to stake on your wagers, the sportsbook you use for each bet, and the overall loss or profit from every wager. Using this method, you get a clear picture as to whether your current football betting strategy is working or not.

Change bookmakers

Apart from keeping a record, you also need to switch between different sportsbooks more often. There are more than 100 online bookmakers, and all of them seem to differ from each other. Some have better bonus offers and promotions than others, while in others your loyalty will be rewarded with redeemable points. If you remain loyal to a single bookie, you lose the chance of profiting from other bookmakers in the industry.

Don’t bet with your heart – Stay impartial

Another important football betting strategy that you may want to follow is to always stay impartial. Don’t place a bet with your heart, but with your mind. If you feel that your favorite team may not win their upcoming match –probably die to injuries or player suspensions -, you may not want to back your team to win, as you may feel even more down losing your bet funds.

Apart from the above, the following are other equally important things that you need to consider to make money when betting on football.

Make Different Kinds of Bets

If one of your biggest intentions is to make money on football betting, among other things, you need comprehend the difference between various types of football bets. It’s the key to successful betting. Those new to betting on sports, especially on football may feel satisfied with the more common football bets such as over/under, match winner and both teams to score.

However, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with other bet types and make different kinds of bets. Some football bets, though risky, have the potential of realizing you handsome winnings should they win. Whilst no type of bet is ‘better’ in comparison to the other, when examined closely, some of bet types carry huge odds compared to others.

To ensure that you maximize your winning chances, there’s no harm in trying different kinds of bets. You may get lucky in some type of bets, something that will see you increasing your bankroll even if it’s by a small margin. If you rely on only a single type of bet every time you place your bets, you may not realize big winnings as such compared to a bettor who places different kinds of bets.

Asian handicap

Asian handicap is another excellent way of making money when betting on football. This type of betting originates in Asia and mostly used in soccer betting. In handicap, it means that one team has a virtual lead over the other one. Asian handicaps do eliminate chances of ties in matches, meaning that the possible outcomes are only two.

In Asian handicaps, a minus symbol (-) is given to the favorite team. The favorite team that one with the handicap advantage while a plus symbol (+) is assigned to the underdog team. The underdog team is that one with the handicap advantage.

Let’s take an example of an Asian handicap 0.0 and assume that West Ham odds are @1.90 while those of Liverpool are @1.95. If you are betting £100 on West Ham on the Asian handicap football betting market, then:

If West Ham triumphs over Liverpool, you win the bet.
If the match ends in a tie, you get a full refund of your stake.
If West Ham loses, you lose the bet.

You may see some operators offering something like Draw no Bet or Level Ball. All these are the same wagers with 0.0 Asian Handicap and, mostly, used in football markets. Overall, Asian Handicaps are an ideal way of making money on football betting and mostly perfect for those who are just starting out in online football betting.

Next team to score

The Next Team to Score market is another popular football betting market where you can realize some winnings too. Next Team to Score means wagering on a certain team to make the next goal in a certain match. It’s one of the easiest ways of realizing some cash when betting on football, but if you are aware of how and when to place such a bet. As soon as one goal is kicked, you will be able to benefit by correctly predicting the next team to make the next goal.

With Next Team to Score market, you don’t need to pay any attention to the final outcome of the match. Should a correct side manage to score the next goal in a given match, you’ll obtain your benefits even if the team goes on to win the match, loses or draws. This type of betting is ideal, especially in a situation where a strong team is facing a weaker side. Here, you may be able to predict the stronger side scoring the next goal, especially after getting the first one.

The Next Team to Score is highly popular among football betting enthusiasts in the in-play market, most of who are happy to watch the game live.

Draw no bet

Draw No Bet (DNB) is another popular betting market where you can make a profit, especially if you are betting on football. The Draw No Bet market removes the outcome of a tie on three-way markets, allowing players to wager either the away or the home win. Draw No Bet is turning out to become increasingly popular amongst risk-averse traders and well-informed bettors as a low margin two-way type of market.

If you’ve been keen on everything to do online sports betting, you’ll notice that many bettors do undervalue the chances of a draw. However, if you look at the premier league, for example, in 2012/13 and 2016/17 season, on average 25% of all games ended in a draw. The Draw No Bet is one of those bet types that’s highly appealing to bettors looking to reduce or rather minimize their risk on their bet(s).

Of importance to note is that Level Asian Handicap betting – where the 0 is displayed as the handicap – is effectively the same as the Draw No Bet, with bettors’ stake returned to a player if the game ends in a tie. Overall, it’s another football betting strategy that you can use to make a profit.

How much profit can I make?

If you happen to be a professional bettor looking to make a profit from betting, then the amount of profit that you can make depends on a number of factors worth noting. If you want to earn a little extra cash on football betting, you need to be on the lookout for several crucial factors.

First, what types of bets are you making? We hate to say it but normal 1X2 betting doesn’t make much profit when wagering on strong teams. Even though it’s a popular type of bet, it won’t realize you handsome winnings as such compared to other bet types. To earn slightly more, you may want to try your hand on the over/under bets, BTTS and odd/even goal. Others include Next Goal, the number of corners and player to score next goal to mention but a few. Such types of bets will see you earning slightly more.

Besides, what’s the number of corresponding teams on your betslip? If you select a few teams, then your earnings will be slightly on the lower side. Though less risky, you may not earn a lot if you wager on one or two teams. While choosing several teams is high-risk, your potential earnings will be high if you get lucky.

What’s the amount that you wish to wager and at what odds? High stake bettors earn more than those who stake less money. The amount you wish to wager will determine how much you’ll make. Additionally, the odds available will also determine how much profit you can make. Low odds –though less risky- translates to lower earnings and vice versa.