How Does In-Play Betting Work?
In-play betting provides the ability to place a wager on a live event. This creates real-time decision-making and reactions, making this an exciting way to bet, and resulting in its high popularity. Most online betting sites will have a ‘live betting’ section where you can search through all the betting markets on offer and place a wager based on what you’ve seen so far in the game or event.
An important thing to note with in-play betting is the change in odds. As the game goes on and particular events or instances occur, the odds on a particular betting market will fluctuate.
Understanding The Odds
Once a game or sporting event has begun, there are particular events that give an indication of a team or player performing better. With this impacting the final result and giving an idea of how the rest of the game or event could play out, betting sites will adjust their odds on all markets to reflect this.
Let’s say you’re betting on the halftime outcome of a Soccer match. Of course, you could bet on this pre-match if you wish with the initial odds set. However, as time goes on the odds will change based on the gameplay. For example, once one team has scored, this gives them a noticeable advantage and the odds for them to be in the lead at halftime will fluctuate accordingly. Or if neither team has scored within the first 30 minutes, the odds for a draw are likely to change.
It is unlikely that you will see a drastic fluctuation, however it is still important to keep an eye on the odds to find the right time to place your bet for a higher potential payout.
Strategies And Tactics For In-Play Betting
Shop around for the best odds
Betting isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to odds. If you’ve already dabbled in pre-match betting then you know that odds will differ between betting sites. And it’s no different for in-play bets. So it’s a good idea to shop around. One strategy that many in-play bettors adopt is using more than one betting site, giving them a choice of different odds for each market. They can then decide which betting site they want to use for each in-play bet they make.
Bet on underperforming favourites early
With in-play betting markets, betting sites will react to every notable event in a game. Therefore, if a favourite is underperforming early on in the game, bookmakers are likely to react and change the odds. If you feel that this team or player will pull it back, this could be a good time to place your bet to get better odds.
Timing
Timing is key with in-play betting due to the fluctuations in the markets and the time sensitivity of some prop bets. The idea is to place your bet when the odds are in your favour.
Let’s assume again that you’re betting on a Soccer match. If the score in the first half is remaining steady at 0-0, the further into the game it gets, the better the odds will be for betting over a 1.5 goal total at the end of the first half. So, if you think a team will score 2 or more goals in the time remaining, it is a good idea to wait until maybe 25 minutes into the game to place this bet to get the best odds.
Choosing the right sport
While in-play betting is offered on a wide array of sports, there are some that are particular well suited to this type of betting. For example, Soccer is great due to its fast-paced nature and significant moments like substitutions or red flags. Tennis is another good one because there are natural pauses throughout the game, giving you chance to consider what you’ve seen so far and make an informed decision on what you think might happen next. Cricket also lends itself well to this type of betting, particularly Test matches due to their slower pace, and T20 for its high scoring nature.
Research
As with pre-match betting, research should be conducted before partaking in in-play betting. This is because you want to put yourself in the best position possible to make informed decisions rather than ones based solely on excitement or emotion.
Knowing the teams, the players and their history will help you. For example, if a particular team has fallen behind in the first half of a soccer game before, have they always been able to pull it back or does it impact them mentally, stopping them from gaining a higher score? Or is a team’s best goal scorer only playing in the second half? This will help you to know what type of bets to place and when to place them.
Favourable betting opportunities
Knowing the sport you are betting on, having a knowledge of the players and teams as well as analysing the line up of the game will help you identify favourable betting opportunities. Typically, the best opportunities for in-play betting occur once a significant event or change in the game’s status has occurred. At this point, you’ll find a shift in the market with a potential for better odds.
Budgeting
With all betting, budgeting and staying within your limits is very important. And even more so with in-play betting. This type of betting feeds off the excitement of watching a game or event live, which can lead to impulse bets based on emotion rather than well thought out decisions. For some, this can result in spending more than initially planned, or placing bets they never intended to make. So, to be sure you are making the best decisions with the funds you have available, set yourself an overall budget. You can then decide how many in-play bets you would like to make and how much of that budget you will wager on each. This means you will stick within you allotted funds and make better decisions with your wagers, making your bets more likely to pay off.