Sport

In-Play Betting explained-a beginners guide

Online sportsbooks have become a strong favourite among sports enthusiasts for a long time. Its popularity shows no sign of slowing down, so sportsbooks do their best to meet users’ expectations and needs. 

At any online sportsbook, you’ll find different sports, Esports and online casino games. For each, there are different betting markets. The two main betting options that you’ll come across are in-play and pre-match. If you are a newbie in this field don’t be confused. We will tell you what in-play betting is, how to get there and what kind of betting markets are offered. 

In-play Betting: What is It?

In-game betting, also called in-play, is a type of betting where you bet on an event that’s still in progress.  Sports enthusiasts never tire of it because in-play betting gives them the chance to bet while watching their favourite sporting events. You can find football, cricket, tennis, racing and many other sporting events on the page.

How In-play Betting Works?

If you want to place an in-play bet, then follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to the sportsbook page
  2. Click on the ‘in-play’ button
  3. Find the sport you want to bet on and click on it
  4. Then scroll down to find the exact match or the game and odds

As in any sports betting, you can’t alter your bet once it’s confirmed. The good thing about live betting is that you can make a decision while watching. This affords you time to wait and see how things work out.

There are several markets available for in-play betting. Below, we present some of the most common markets that you can find in all sportsbooks. 

In-play Betting Markets

Here are the most popular in-play betting markets explained. 

Match Winner Betting

This market is pretty straightforward. Many newbies opt for this market as it simply backs the favourite to win. Choose a team or a player that may win and bet. That’s it, simple like that. Stay always informed and follow the odds, as they change every minute. 

Spread Betting

To understand this betting market, let’s first look at underdogs and favourites. Favourite is pretty self-explanatory: it’s the player or the team that can win the match. The underdog represents the team or the player that no one expects to win. 

This method theoretically gives the underdog positive odds and the favourite negative odds to give underdogs an advantage. If player A has -4 and you bet on him, he must get 5 or more to win. And the opposite, if Player B gets +1, he needs more than 1 point for you to win the bet. 

This market is available in all sports but it’s commonly used in football or basketball. 

Totals or Over/Under

For this market, you bet on the overall score of the game to be over or under the set margin by the sportsbook. Let’s say you bet on basketball, the total may go higher than 220 points. If you bet that the overall score of the game will be over 220, then the teams need to get 221 or higher, the same logic goes for Under betting. 

Proposition Bets

If you’re tired of traditional betting markets, go for proposition bets. Many sportsbooks have prop bets on different sports. With prop bets, you bet on certain situations during the game. For example; the first scorer, who will get more yellow cards, etc. This is an interesting market that requires better knowledge of the players. 

In-play Betting Strategies

It’s not a surprise that knowledge and luck alone won’t be enough for your betting. In order to succeed, you should have tested strategy. Here are some of the common strategies used by newcomers, but you should test yourself to see what’s the best one for you. 

Choose the Sportsbook carefully: There is no need to mention that the sportsbook must have a licence and offer a wide range of betting markets. Do your research before choosing a sportsbook. There are many factors you need to consider before trusting an online sports betting website. 

Stay Focused: this is important in in-play betting, as things change real quick. The odds change, and the gameplay changes as well. Especially in fast-paced sports like football, and basketball things change in a blink of an eye. So always stay focused not to miss the crucial moment. 

Cherry-pick your odds and lines: Sportsbooks will definitely offer different odds on the same event. Your task is to find odds that are realistic and appropriate for your budget. 

Set time and budget limits: Finally, the most important strategy in any form of betting is to set limitations. Track the time you spent on betting. Remember safer gambling tools and have a set budget for your gambling as well. With these tools, you’ll have a smooth gambling experience. 

Now, you are ready to enter in-play sports betting. With all the betting markets and strategies at hand, you can be sure to have a good and safe betting experience.

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Ben Williams

Ben is a freelance writer and journalist who is a regular contributor on multiple national news websites and blogs.

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