Spread Betting (part 7) – Cyril’s betting advice

Football Betting

SPREADS

I want to have a closer look at some of the more popular SPREAD BETTING MARKETS.
There isn’t too much difference between Spread Betting and Fixed Odds Betting.
The main difference is the amount you win on a successful bet.
You must, of course, be prepared to do a fair amount of studying. A little more than you probably do at the moment.
The old saying, again, springs to mind. The harder I work (study), the luckier I get. This holds more than the odd grain of truth.
The difference with Spread Betting simply lies in the manner in which the bookmaker lays out his odds.
He offers you a choice, to either BUY or SELL. His odds are what are known as the SPREAD.

BOOKINGS.   Points are awarded , Yellow Card  10pts and  Red  Cards 25pts.
A player receiving TWO yellows and consequentially a RED will total 35pts.  
Bookings is one of the few markets that MAY NOT BE available to bet IN-PLAY with some Spread Firms.
At this time in the  season it’s necessary to take many factors into consideration.
Does one of the teams has something to fight for? Is there a HISTORY between the teams?
Check out the teams current standing regarding cards. Also the individual players.
Perhaps a "bad boy" with a few cards more than any of his team mates will be missing.
European leagues tend to find bookings spreads somewhat higher than here in the UK. 65 – 70 is often a starting point for many matches.
La Liga and Serie "A" readily spring to mind.
It is possible to sell and/or buy bookings on a team basis only.

CORNERS.  This can be a lucrative market for those who care to study it in depth.
Some  pointers to look for are, do the team(s) attack down the wings or are they route one merchants. Or perhaps one or both teams
like to COUNTER ATTACK. The latter two attacking types may not be your cup of tea. Depending whether or not you intend selling.
The average market for CORNERS is usually 10.0 – 11.0. Give or take 1/2 a point either way.
So it’s really a market for the larger stake punters.

MULTI-CORNERS. This is a market where you need to have your wits about you. Corners won in each half (by both teams) are multiplied together. So 5 corners in each half will
total 25. However the same ten corners if divided differently, say, 2 in the first half and the other eight in the second half would only amount to 16. Should you fancy going big
i.e, buying, you’d want two teams who were all out attackers.

However this  market can lead to some large make-ups. Take a typical offer. 30 to sell 33 to buy. You have two teams who like to work the ball methodically from the back.
You look to SELL @ £1.00 a point.
However today, both defences have the jitters and both teams between them, amass eight corners in the first half.  Just four corners between both teams in the second half and you’re
shelling out. In fact every second half corner, over four,means you pay out another Eight POUNDS.
A thrilling market but one on which to use only small stakes.

CROSS CORNERS. This market works exactly as the previous one, except that you multiply one teams total match corners with those of the other side.
Again, an interesting market but not quite as volatile as MULTI-CORNERS.

TOTAL GOALS.  This is really for the big hitters. The SPREAD is always in TENTHS of a Goal. A spread of 2.2 – 2.5 is quite usual and isn’t giving much away.
When you consider that there are USUALLY more matches that finish UNDER 2.5 goals you can see that there isn’t much room for manoeuvre.
Quite a different kettle of fish is:-
TOTAL GOAL MINUTES. A very simple strategy indeed. You add together the OFFICIAL times of goals scored. Now this is one market where the punter can have a
really good chance of coming out on top. You need a match that has a history of leaking goals, especially where a couple arrive late.
Total Goal Minutes of 125-138 is reasonable for two well matched teams. Should you fancy a very tight game going short/selling would be your answer.
However if past games have had a habit of throwing up three or even more goals buying would be the answer. With this particular spread just TWO goals after the
69th minute will add to your bank-roll. 

FIRST GOAL MINUTES. This market really does need study in depth. Some teams do make a habit of scoring early in the game. Ideal for SELLING. Sometimes it’s
hard to try to work out  what the odds setter is getting at.  A typical situation might be:- Time of first goal  34 – 37 mins.  However the team expected to score first might
be offered at. 43- 46 mins. And the underdog quoted at 56 – 60mins to score their first goal.

SECOND GOAL MINUTES. Really just an extention of First Goal minutes. The spread will usually be about the same size as the First Goal spread. The only time to worry about this bet is if
the first goal comes along rather late in the game. Unless, of course, you’re betting just to GREEN UP.

LAST GOAL MINUTES. Typically the spread will be 63 – 66. So if you have a team that constantly scores late-on and you’re a BUYER, you could have a nice little niche.

SHIRT NUMBERS.
This is one market that does worry the layers. Squad numbers are often in the high  twenty’s and you sometimes find players with inflated egos demanding
ridiculous numbers. The highest I can remember is 55.
As this market has developed so punters have become wiser to different angles. One which really must be considered is the numbers on the bench.
It’s not unusual for subs to come on to the field and succeed where others have failed. Often the subs have fairly high squad numbers, so beware.

Next time I’ll look at some of the less well known markets.