Good Football Online 8
One thing that differentiates soccer from other team sports popular with punters is the fact that tied results, or draws, are a distinct possibility. Unlike other sports where the game continues until one team or the other has won, in soccer this isn't always the case. Further, the effect of draws on the leagues is tangible. Within the 2008-2009 season of the English Premier League, there have been 97 draws out of 380 matches played, so almost one out of every four matches resulted in a draw. Draws also have a significant effect on the rankings. In the 2008-2009 season, Liverpool came in second place, but this ranking included 11 draws. If these matches had been played until there was a winner, Liverpool's ranking could have been quite different. In continental Europe, where a more conservative style of play is more common, draws become much more common.
This factor significantly affects the punter's strategies for no title betting on soccer because every match has three, instead of two, likely outcomes: a win either way or the draw. Despite the role of the draw in soccer betting, betting on the draw has never been popular mainly because it's more exciting to bet for or against among the teams playing. Therefore betting on the draw remains a relatively uncommon practice and one which is most often used by serious punters as opposed simple enthusiasts. Despite being one of three possible outcomes, betting on a draw only makes sense if the punter is familiar enough with the teams to conclude that a draw is likely.
The odds given for betting on the draw are often fairly generous with both local bookmakers and additionally online exchange bettors. With local bookmakers this is intended as a small incentive to convince the local punters to bet on the draw. On the bet exchanges, laying the draw will be quite popular with lay bettors. This means that a back bettor seeking to bet on the draw has his pick of bets to accept and also can even negotiate with the lay bettors for slightly better odds than those originally offered. The back bettor that prefers to bet on the draw may have an easy time of getting good odds on the exchanges.
Even better odds may be obtained by waiting until the match is in play and using the in play markets on the betting exchanges. Just one goal scored early in the game - especially within the first ten minutes - are able to see the in play odds for a draw skyrocket. A shrewd punter with the best feeling of timing, or perhaps a punter using a "betting bot" automated system, may take benefit of these increased odds.
Draw betting may be tricky, but in the event the punter is intimately aware of the teams, their records and tendencies, it may be quite profitable. Whether one wishes to experiment with draw betting or not, it's one factor - and a significant one - that should be kept in your mind by any serious punter.
