Betting to Win: A Professional Guide to Profitable Betting

Author: Leighton Vaughan Williams
Publisher: High Stakes
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FAIR AND UNFAIR ODDS

Example: Arsenal (-1 1/2) v. West Ham (+ 1 1/2)

Here West Ham are given a V/i goal start over Arsenal for betting purposes. If Arsenal win the game by at least two goals, all bets placed on Arsenal will be winning bets. If West Ham win, draw or lose by a margin of just one goal, however, then all bets on West Ham are judged to be winning bets.

Take the case where both teams are judged by the market-makers to be evenly matched. This is shown on the handicap as follows:

Example: Tottenham (level) v. Leeds (level)

In these circumstances, stakes are simply returned if the match is drawn. If Tottenham win, on the other hand, all bets on Tottenham are winning bets. Similarly, if Leeds win, all bets on Leeds are winning bets.

Take now the case of a handicap of exactly one goal.

Example: Newcastle (-1) v. Sunderland (+ 1)

In this case, Sunderland are given a one goal start over Newcastle. In these circumstances, if Sunderland win or if the game is drawn, then bets placed on Sunderland will be winning bets. If Newcastle win by at least two goals, bets on Newcastle will be winning bets. If Newcastle win by one goal, however, the handicap bet is even and so all stakes are returned.

As long as the handicap line includes a half goal, a handicap draw is of course not possible.

In those cases where the handicap includes a whole number, a handicap draw is a possible outcome, in which case all stakes are returned.

There are more complex outcomes, where two handicaps are involved. In these circumstances, half your stake is placed at one handicap and half at the other.

Example: Liverpool (-0, -1/2) v. Chelsea (+ 0, + 1/2)

This handicap actually represents two bets - half your stake at

the 0, or level, handicap and half your stake at the half goal handicap

in favour of Chelsea. In this case, if you bet on Chelsea and the game is drawn, one

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