The interest in football betting is certainly growing. The evidence for that is not just the growing customer base at online sports books, but also the growing revenue that book makers produce. So, we can only assume that there are plenty of newbies interested in betting on football. That is why, in this article, we would like to give you a brief introduction to some of the most important terms that you will have to know before joining a bookmaker.

Football Odds

You can’t wager without knowing about, or understanding, sports betting odds. While we are focusing specifically on football odds in this article, the same definition could apply for the odds on any sport, whether that be basketball, cricket, hockey, or anything you might think of. So, what are odds?

To put it plainly, odds are numerical representations of the likelihood of an outcome during a football match. More to the point, they also represent the ratio of the amount won by the bet’s winner. Many people associate odds with winning a game. But, there is more to it than that.

In modern online betting, there are things like prop bets, future odds, and more. These are all different spins on the simple definition of sports betting odds. Odds placed on proposition bets have nothing to do with the winner of the game, for example, but they still work on the same principle as regular odds.

Underdog/Favorite

The terms underdog and favorite have been used in sports betting for a very long time. In fact, they are so popular, that they’ve even infiltrated every-day vocabulary, and people use them in general speech. But, what do they mean?

As you probably could have guessed, a favorite refers to the club that is more likely to win a match. The favorite club has shown that they have better players, strategies, and formations. Sometimes, the favorite could be obvious, while other times, the two teams clashing could be evenly matched.

On the other hand, the underdog is the opposite. The team that is far less likely to win the game is called the underdog. There have been times when the underdog team was able to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. But, for the most part, the underdog is given that title for a reason.

Point Spread

A point spread is a type of wager that sportsbooks have come up with, in order to even the odds between the favorite and underdog. As we said, sometimes the outcome of a match is obvious, and betting on it is pointless. That is when point spread wagers come in handy.

Bookmakers will assign a certain amount of positive and negative points to the teams. The goal here is to wager on whether the favorite will make up the difference, and sometimes even by how much. If the favorite does not manage to make up the difference, even if they win, the wager is considered lost.

Point spread wagers are a fun way to make betting a little more exciting, when the outcome is clear. However, we wouldn’t recommend newbies start with this one. Instead, give classic moneylines a go, before you start experimenting further.