A while back, I highlighted some great World Cup betting tips and strategies, and many of you were kind enough to endorse my suggestions. I appreciate all of your support, but I also want to continue offering my readers some helpful tips on how to make the most of their betting experience in the run up to the 2022 World Cup.
Keep An Eye On The Over/Under Count
It’s always an interesting topic, and something that gets frequent attention from the sportsbooks, when it comes to the World Cup. Simply put, over/under betting is where you bet on the total number of goals (over) or the total number of matches (under) that a team will score in the tournament. For example, if you think that England will score fewer than 2.5 goals per game throughout the entire tournament, you might consider betting on them scoring fewer than 2.5 goals at 95% confidence (2.5 goals < 2.5 goals < 2.5 goals).
One of the nice things about over/under betting is that, generally speaking, there are fewer variables to consider. For example, let’s say you’re trying to decide whether or not to bet on the under 2.5 goals team to win the World Cup. There are so many different possibilities when it comes to the under 2.5 goals team, ranging from 1 team you think will definitely win to 15 teams you think will definitely lose. With over/under betting, you’re simply betting on whether or not the total number of goals or matches will meet your pre-determined expectation.
In most circumstances, over/under betting isn’t very profitable for the person taking the bet. However, there are exceptions. For instance, if you’re a football fan, and you think that England will win the World Cup (they’re currently the 5/6 favourites), then you might want to take a punt on them scoring several goals and continuing their recent form. The same goes for other big tournaments like the European Championships and the World Athletics Championships. If you’re into tennis, you might want to bet on the men’s singles final at the 2022 World Cup to go over five sets. That’s a lot of games, and a lot of action!
Avoid Predicting Single Matches
One of the things that makes World Cup betting difficult is that, in many cases, it’s extremely difficult to predict the outcome of single matches. Even in leagues where the winning team usually faces a single opponent in the following fixture (like the EPL), you’ll often get one or two results that defy the norm. For example, Leicester City won three games in a row following their late season collapse, and many people expected them to struggle going forward. Instead, they managed to scrape together 12 wins and only 2 losses in their final 16 games.
The unpredictability of single matches makes over/under betting a bit more exciting, as you never know what kind of results you’ll get. For example, if you think that a certain team will win a tightly contested game, and then they go on to lose the next one, you’ll never get your original bet back. Of course, you should always use the information that is available to you, and consider allocating more weight to matches that you think are more likely to end in a win. As you may imagine, this can get pretty tricky, especially when you’re placing large bets on long shots. It’s always nice when things turn out the way you expect, but in most cases, over/under betting tends to come with big losses.
Use This Data Wisely
One of the things that makes the World Cup so exciting is that there is so much information available about the teams and the tournaments. In some cases, this means you can make a good guess as to what will happen. However, if you go overboard and ignore the stats and evidence that is available to you, then you’ll probably end up suffering a heavy loss. For example, if you think that the Italy team is going to have a good tournament, but their opponents happen to be the team that is ranked 2nd in the world, then you might want to reconsider your betting approach. In general, you should look for ways to hedge your bets, using data that is available to you, but not going overboard and ignoring the things that you know and the stats that prove.
As for the 2022 World Cup, many people expect the tournament to be a bit boring. But, in all honesty, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of opportunities for you to make some money. Just keep in mind the above pointers, and you should be able to enjoy the World Cup without too much worry.