How to bet on football matches: Guide

New to Wolfbet? Watch our short [link: video tutorial] first. It shows you how to find a match and place your bet.

Football is the easiest sport to start betting on and one of the hardest to read well. Draws are common, goals are scarce, and one red card can flip a match. This is a quick guide on how to bet on football: what each market means, how odds work and what to check before you put money down. Unless a market says otherwise, football bets are settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalty shootouts don’t count.

A real example: Arsenal vs Lille OSC

Below is the market list Wolfbet showed for Arsenal vs Lille OSC. Every section that follows starts from one row of this screen, so you can match the explanation to what you’ll see on the site.

[screenshot: Arsenal vs Lille OSC markets on Wolfbet]

All payouts use a 10 unit stake, so you can swap in whatever currency you play with. The odds tell a clear story before you read a single stat: Arsenal are heavy favourites.


How to place a bet on Wolfbet

Match result

The top row of the screen, Match Result (Early Payout), has three buttons: Arsenal 1.23, Draw 4.90 and Lille OSC 9.70. Those are the three possible outcomes: a home win (1), a draw (X) or an away win (2).

• 10 units on Arsenal at 1.23 returns 12.30. Profit: 2.30.
• 10 units on the draw at 4.90 returns 49.00. Profit: 39.00.
• 10 units on Lille at 9.70 returns 97.00. Profit: 87.00.

Low odds mean the bookmaker rates that outcome as likely. Backing a favourite at 1.23 wins small amounts and loses the whole stake when it goes wrong, which is worth remembering when a price looks “safe”.

Double chance

The second row, Double Chance, uses the same 1, X and 2 codes from the row above, paired up. Each button covers two of the three results in a single bet.

1X (Arsenal or draw) at 1.05. This loses only if Lille win. A 10 unit stake returns 10.50, so you risk 10 to make 0.50.

12 (either team wins) at 1.16. The only losing result is a draw. Return: 11.60.

X2 (draw or Lille) at 3.47. You’re betting that Lille avoid defeat. Return: 34.70. Compare that with Lille OSC at 9.70 in the top row. The draw protection costs a lot of potential profit, but it also makes the bet far more likely to land.

Team 1 total goals

Next on the screen is Team 1 Total Goals, with Over 2.5 at 2.10 and Under 2.5 at 1.67. This market counts goals from one team only. Team 1 here is Arsenal.

Over 2.5 needs Arsenal to score three or more. Under 2.5 wins if they score two, one or none. Lille’s goals don’t matter at all, so a 3-3 draw still wins Over 2.5.

Because nobody can score half a goal, a .5 line always produces a winner or a loser. There’s no refund.

Team 2 total goals

The row below, Team 2 Total Goals, works the same way for Lille, with a lower line: Over 0.5 at 1.88 and Under 0.5 at 1.84. In plain terms, will Lille score at all?

Over 0.5 wins with a single Lille goal and returns 18.80. Under 0.5 wins only if Lille finish on zero and returns 18.40. The two buttons are priced almost level, so the market sees this as close to a coin flip, even though Arsenal are big favourites to win the match.

Goals handicap

On the Goals Handicap row you’ll see Arsenal (−1.5) at 1.77 and Lille OSC (+1.5) at 1.93. The numbers in brackets are the handicap: a head start on paper. The favourite gets a negative number, subtracted from its score at full time. The other side gets the same number added.

Arsenal (−1.5) at 1.77. Arsenal must win by two goals or more. A 2-0 becomes 0.5-0 after the handicap, so it wins. A 1-0 becomes −0.5-0 and loses. Return on 10 units: 17.70.

Lille OSC (+1.5) at 1.93. Lille win this bet if they win the match, draw, or lose by exactly one goal. Return: 19.30.

Look back at the top row and you’ll see why many people bet on favourites this way. A straight Arsenal win pays 1.23. Asking Arsenal to win by two pays 1.77.

Draw no bet

The Draw No Bet row has only two buttons, Arsenal 1.07 and Lille OSC 8.60, because the draw is taken out. Pick a team. If it wins, you’re paid. If the match is drawn, your stake comes back. If the other team wins, you lose.

10 units on Arsenal returns 10.70 on an Arsenal win and 10.00 on a draw. 10 units on Lille returns 86.00 if Lille win.

The screen lets you compare three ways to back Arsenal: 1.23 in Match Result, 1.07 here and 1.05 for 1X in Double Chance. Each step down buys more protection against the draw and pays less for it.

Both teams to score

The last row on the screen, Both Teams To Score, offers Yes at 2.01 and No at 1.71. Yes means each team scores at least once. No means at least one team fails to score.

• Yes: a 1-1 or 3-2 wins, a 3-0 loses. Return: 20.10.
• No: a 0-0, 1-0 or 4-0 wins. Return: 17.10.

Own goals count for the team they’re credited to. The winner and the margin are irrelevant here.

Other markets you may come across

The screen above is only part of what a football match can offer. Some other markets you’ll see:

Total goals. Like the team total rows, but counting goals from both sides combined. Over 2.5 needs three or more in the match.

Correct score. You predict the exact final score after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Hard to hit, so the odds are high.

Asian handicap with whole and quarter lines. The Goals Handicap row uses half goals, so there’s always a result. On a whole number such as −1, a result that lands exactly on the line returns your stake. Quarter lines such as −0.75 split your stake across two neighbouring handicaps, so you can win or lose half.

Goalscorer markets. Bets on which player scores, for example first or anytime. Extra time isn’t included.

Corners and cards. Totals and handicaps built on corners or bookings instead of goals, normally settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time.

Rules for each market can differ slightly between bookmakers, so read the market terms when something is unclear.

How to read odds

Decimal odds

Every number on the screen is a decimal odd. It shows your total return per unit staked, stake included.

Return = stake × odds
Profit = return − stake

At 1.77 for Arsenal (−1.5), a 10 unit bet returns 17.70 and makes 7.70 profit.

Implied probability

Divide 1 by the decimal odds to see the chance the price suggests. Here’s the Match Result row:

Bookmaker margin

Real probabilities for all outcomes add up to 100%. Bookmaker odds add up to more, and the extra is the margin, also called the overround or vig. In the Match Result row, the total is 112.0%, so the margin is about 12%.

Two-way rows work the same way. Team 2 Total Goals at 1.88 and 1.84 gives 53.2% + 54.3% = 107.5%, a margin of about 7.5%. Different rows on the same match can carry very different margins, and a lower margin means more of your stake is working for you.

Converting to American odds

Some sites and tipsters quote American odds. To convert from decimal:

• Odds of 2.00 or higher: (decimal − 1) × 100, shown with a plus sign.
• Odds below 2.00: −100 ÷ (decimal − 1), shown with a minus sign.

A negative number is how much you stake to win 100. A positive number is how much you win from a 100 stake.

From predictions to best bets

A prediction is your own estimate of how likely something is. Odds are the bookmaker’s. A bet is worth considering when the odds pay more than your prediction says they should.

Start by stripping the margin out of the market. Divide each implied probability from the Match Result row by the total: Arsenal 81.3 ÷ 112.0 ≈ 72.6%, draw ≈ 18.2%, Lille ≈ 9.2%. That’s roughly how the market sees the match without the bookmaker’s cut.

Then turn your own number into fair odds with 1 ÷ probability. Say your prediction gives both teams to score a 55% chance. Fair odds are 1 ÷ 0.55 ≈ 1.82. The screen shows 2.01 on Yes, which implies 49.8%. By your numbers, that price is too generous, and that gap is what the best bets are made of.

Two cautions. Your estimate is only as good as your research, and a good price can still lose. Value shows up over many bets, never in a single one.

How to win more bets: what to check before you bet

Nobody can promise how to win a given bet. What you can do is cut down on avoidable mistakes. Before placing a football bet, check:

• Team news. Injuries, suspensions and players returning short of fitness. Compare expected and confirmed line-ups before kick-off.
• Recent form, split by venue. Look at the last five to ten matches, home and away separately. Some sides look like two different teams depending on where they play.
• Goals scored and conceded, plus expected goals (xG). xG shows whether a team’s results match the quality of chances it creates and allows. This matters for rows like Team 2 Total Goals and Both Teams To Score.
• Fixture congestion. A midweek cup or European game often means rotation at the weekend.
• Head-to-head record. Useful context, weighted toward recent meetings.
• Motivation. A side chasing a title or avoiding relegation plays a match differently from one with nothing left to play for.
• Market fit. If you expect Arsenal to win comfortably, Arsenal (−1.5) or Team 1 Total Goals may say that better than 1.23 in Match Result.

Betting on football with crypto

Paying with crypto adds a few things to think about that a card payment doesn’t.

The price of coins like Bitcoin moves all the time. If you hold your balance in a volatile coin, its value can drop even while your bets are going well, which makes it hard to tell betting results from market moves. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are designed to track the US dollar, so many players use them to keep their bankroll steady.

When you deposit, match both the coin and the network to the address you’re sending to. Sending funds on the wrong network or to the wrong address can mean losing them. Network fees also apply and vary by blockchain, so check them before you send. Your best crypto bets start with a deposit that arrives intact. See [link: crypto deposit guide] for the details.

Bet within your limits

Decide on a budget before you bet, and use only money you can afford to lose. Never borrow to fund a bet. Set a time limit too, since long sessions lead to rushed decisions.

Losing runs happen to everyone. Raising your stakes to win back what you’ve lost usually makes things worse, so treat each bet on its own merits and step away when you hit your limit. Betting on football is entertainment, not a way to earn a living.