Learn how to place both teams to score bets and which betting sites have the best BTTS betting odds.
Football fans have a huge amount of choice when it comes to placing their bets these days. In fact, it is not uncommon for hundreds of different bets to be offered, both in-play and pre-match. But some old favourites remain among the top betting markets for football. One of them is both teams to score - usually shortened to BTTS - which remains one of the most common bets.
BTTS is popular for a lot of reasons, including the fact that the bet can be alive right to the last kick of the game, whereas other wagers like correct score can be downed early in a game. Accumulators featuring a number of BTTS games are a popular way for fans of the sport to try their luck at winning a massive, life-changing sum of money from a relatively low stake.
But not everyone is familiar with placing BTTS wagers on sports betting sites. In order to help out, we have put together this complete guide to Both Teams to Score betting markets. Read on for absolutely everything that you need to know about placing BTTS football bets.
BTTS stands for both teams to score and the explanation of what this means is a simple one. Each team in a football match has to score a goal in order for a BTTS bet to be a winner. The final result of the game does not matter one bit in a BTTS bet, which is one of the reasons why it continues to be so popular despite so many other football betting markets being offered.
If a game ends in a 1-1 draw or a 6-1 win to one of the teams, it is the same in terms of BTTS. But if a match finishes in a goalless draw or if either side keeps a clean sheet, BTTS has failed. Of course, it is also possible to bet against BTTS, with users given a simple yes or no option.
Various factors play a part in whether or not BTTS will be a winning wager. A vast amount of data and statistics are also available on the internet to help people to identify which matches are likely to see BTTS bets come in - and which might miss out on this football betting market.
Some of the top sports betting sites now even offer special types of BTTS betting offers in a bid to attract users and take advantage of how popular this type of football bet remains to this day. Naturally, in order to stand a chance of making any kind of profit out of a BTTS bet, people will need to know exactly how to place a BTTS bet, so we will cover that in the next section.
Placing a BTTS bet works in much the same way as any type of online football wager. Users who want to place a BTTS bet will first have to find the match that they want to bet on. Often, leading sports betting sites have a search function and this can come in handy here. Otherwise, users will probably have to navigate through a menu system to identify the right cup, league or competition before selecting the match they have highlighted for their BTTS bet.
From here, it is a case of finding the BTTS market, which is usually in a prominent position. Anyone who is struggling to find it can use a search function again to find the BTTS bets. Here, the betting site will simply have two options for BTTS: either yes or no. The odds for each option will be displayed in whatever format the user has chosen in their account settings.
Various factors affect the odds of BTTS bets, including the form of each side, whether they are missing any star attackers and whether their recent games have seen both teams score or not. After deciding whether to bet on BTTS or against it, players have to select their stake for the bet. This is a simple case of entering the stake amount, which will result in users being shown the potential profit they could be in line to receive in the event of the bet turning into a winner. Confirming the bet is a click away and users can then tune into the action to see if they win.
As well as single BTTS bets, a lot of people also like to place multiples BTTS wagers, which are often referred to in the online gambling world as an accumulator. It goes without saying that the more BTTS bets are combined, the higher the odds will become. This means there is more potential profit up for grabs, though, there are more bets to go wrong.
BTTS can also be combined with other bets to improve the odds and make them more appealing. For example, let's say that Chelsea are hosting Arsenal in the Premier League. Chelsea/BTTS - yes will be one of the potential bets offered. This means Chelsea have to win the game, but Arsenal have to score a goal, in order for the bet to be a winner. Chelsea/BTTS - no would also be offered, meaning they would have to win the game and keep a clean sheet.
Under/over goal markets can be teamed up with BTTS as well. A popular type of bet these days is BTTS/over 2.5 goals. This means a 1-1 draw would see this bet lose, however. BTTS bets might seem a simple guessing game, but there are strategies to help players win.
As with any other type of wager, BTTS bets are never going to be completely fool proof. One of the best things about sport is how gleefully unpredictable it all is. No matter how solid a bet might look on paper, things can change very quickly once the action actually gets started.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of BTTS strategies and different BTTS tips that can be useful. Research is going to come in handy for all types of online sports betting and the rise of the internet has made it easier than ever to pore over data and statistics in a bid to identify trends.
As an example, it is easy enough to find out how often a BTTS bet lands for various teams with just a few clicks of the mouse. If BTTS wins in a large percentage of games for both teams in a match, it might be a fair assumption to guess it might happen again, though it is not guaranteed.
Diving deeper into the data might reveal a team is more likely to be involved in a game where both teams score if they are away from home, rather than in front of their own fans.
Derby games tend to be high-scoring more often than not so these matches, such as those between Manchester City and Manchester United or Arsenal and Tottenham, can be good options for BTTS wagers. It also goes without saying that teams with poor defences are good targets for BTTS betting as their matches are always likely to see plenty of goals being scored.
BTTS is a wildly popular type of football betting market - which is both a good and bad thing. There will always be a lot of money in the market, but lots of it comes from people who are not necessarily putting a lot of thought into their selections, or carrying out any research at all. This means the odds might not even be a reflection of how likely BTTS is to happen in a game.
Instead, people need to remember that betting prices are calculated largely due to what people are betting on. The more people bet on BTTS for a game, the shorter those odds will become. BTTS multiples could allow users to benefit from an acca insurance type of betting offer. Many sports betting sites these days have this included in their list of regular football bonuses.
With acca insurance, players can get a refund if just one leg of the bet stops it from winning. Sometimes, bookies even pay out multiples of the stake in a bid to out-do each other. The money paid out as a refund might be as bonus funds with wagering requirements, however.
BTTS multiplies do not even all have to be for both teams to score. It is possible to mix up the selection so that BTTS - yes and BTTS - no bets sit within the same overall wager. This flexibility helps to make BTTS one of the very best football betting markets out there.
But it is worth keeping in mind that no amount of research into statistics and data is ever going to guarantee winning wagers, so users should never bet more than they can afford to lose.
James is responsible for the Nigerian market on BettingGuide. He has a keen interest in sports betting and Gambling laws in particular. James is a Lawyer practising in East Africa, loves writing, and has a Law Degree from Makerere University, Uganda and a Post Graduate Diploma from the Kenya School of Law, Kenya.