For those who are unfamiliar with betting terminology and have asked what is a double result bet in football, it allows punters the opportunity to bet on the outcome of a football match at both half and full time. Not only that, but it also allows you the opportunity to change your opinion.
When football betting first started, the choices on offer were rather simplistic. You could either back a home team to win, the away team to come out on top or the two sides to contest a draw after 90 minutes of action.
There Are Usually Three Options When It Comes To Full Time Betting….But What If There Were More?
However, those three choices have now been enveloped by many more and although the win draw win market is the staple of any bookmaker offering, the double result bet offers three time as many options.
If you are someone who places wagers on a regular basis, you will probably recognise this market in the guise of halftime/fulltime odds instead and if you are new to football punting, this is the terminology that will likely be found within betting shops and online.
AT THE DOUBLE
For the purpose of this article, we will refer to the market as double result and if we take a fixture between Birmingham and QPR in the EFL Championship, we will begin to answer the question:
If we take the top three options, here is what they mean:
Birmingham/Birmingham – Birmingham to be ahead at the interval and also win the match
Birmingham/Draw – Birmingham to be ahead at the interval, the match ends in a draw
Birmingham/QPR – Birmingham to be ahead at the interval, QPR win the match.
If we take the middle three options, here is what they mean:
Draw/Birmingham – A draw at the interval but Birmingham win the match
Draw/Draw – A draw at the interval and a draw at the final whistle
Draw/QPR – A draw at the interval but QPR win the match
If we look at the last three options, here is what they mean:
QPR/Birmingham – QPR to be ahead at the interval but Birmingham win the match
QPR/Draw – QPR to be ahead at the interval, the match ends in a draw
QPR/QPR – QPR to be ahead at the interval and also win the match
While to provide further context, we will now list these nine options in order of pre-match odds:
Now the nine options have been laid out, it all comes down to probability once again. In this instance, the bookmakers believe that a team winning at both the break and the final whistle will be the most likely outcome.
While at the other end of the spectrum, the prospect of a team leading at the interval and then subsequently ending on the losing side is priced as rather unlikely. Which begs the question, which option should you go for.
As always, your selection should be steeped in research and the best way to do this is by looking at the form guides and also where teams score within matches. If you know a team is stronger in the second half, this could sway your decision.
A PROMOTION CHALLENGE
In this example, Birmingham are a midtable team at home, while QPR are pushing for promotion. Which is why even though the West London team are on the road, them winning both halves is still the second shortest price on offer.
Going into this game, QPR have won five of their last six league outings and are certainly one of the form teams in the division. This means that backing Michael Beale’s men to win at minute 45 and 90 constitutes decent value.
Ultimately the four shortest options in this market are worth the most consideration, the next three you would need to approach with caution and the remaining two would need quite the leap of faith to get over the line.
That is not to say that odds of 29.00 are beyond of realm possibility. It is more steeped in the fact that once a team goes in front and takes that lead into the dressing room at half time, do they really end up losing 45 minutes later.
Rarely but it can happen from time to time and when you consider the proximity of these two teams in the Championship, the smarter bet would be to back Birmingham to go in front in the first 45 minutes and QPR to earn all three points at the end.
You could make a case for the opposite and although promotion challengers QPR would find themselves in front, a rallying cry from the home support would then see Birmingham overturn their halftime deficit to earn a home win.
A DIFFERENT PATTERN
One important thing to remember is that not all matches will follow the same structure within this market. If we take a look at a Premier League game by comparison, we can see where the differences are. For example, here is how Leicester versus Manchester City stacks up:
Manchester City/Manchester City – 1.83
Draw/Manchester City – 4.00
Draw/Draw – 10.00
Leicester/Leicester – 16.00
Leicester/Manchester City – 18.00
Manchester City/Draw – 20.00
Leicester/Draw – 22.00
Draw/Leicester – 22.00
Manchester City/Leicester – 50.00
Could A Substitution Make All The Difference?
As we can see the bookmakers are placing a considerable amount of faith in Manchester City to win at the King Power or at the very least come away with a point. With the three shortest prices being pointed towards some form of success.
Although you will see a difference in a comeback win when compared to the Championship example above. Whereas Birmingham or QPR to overturn a halftime deficit were the two longest odds, here a Manchester City reversal of fortune is only fifth in the list.
Which means the bookies certainly have more confidence in Pep Guardiola’s men and were they to be behind at the break, they would still have enough weaponry in their arsenal to earn all three points.
For this market to pay out winnings, you need to select the right outcome at the break and at the end. As always, the best teams in the land will be priced accordingly, but if you are someone who can spot both ebb and flow, this is definitely the market for you.
