Live Betting vs Pre-Match Bets

Live Betting vs Pre-Match Bets

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at both pre-match bets and live in-play bets, the differences between them and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Pre-Match Bets

These are bets placed on an event before it has started. For example, Liverpool may be playing Manchester United on Saturday and you may place a bet on Liverpool to win on the Friday before or on the morning of the day of the match.

One of the advantages of placing pre-match bets is that the odds are less likely to fluctuate as other than people placing bets, it’s unlikely there will be anything that influences the chances of either team winning. However, pre-match odds can change. For example, if a key player is injured prior to the game starting or a new player is signed, that team may have a better or worse chance of winning which may cause the bookmaker to change the odds. As the odds fluctuate less pre-match, you have more time to do your research and browse the various markets and decide which bets you wish to place.

Live Betting

Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is when you place a bet on an event after it has started but before it has finished. For football matches, this can be at any point in the game whether it be during the 1st half, 2nd half or during half time. 

As mentioned above, odds fluctuate a lot more frequently when in-play. For example, if there is a goal, corner, red card or even one team attacking in a football match, they can cause the odds to move. This can be seen as both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Frequently fluctuating odds means that you may be able to find value when the odds drift. It helps greatly if you are watching the event live so that you have some insight as to how it is going and you can determine where the odds have value. You’ll also find that many bookies run betting offers in-play. These can include free bets, price boosts and money-back specials.

One disadvantage of odds moving quickly is that it sometimes it can be difficult to place your bet. Bookmakers usually add a delay of a few seconds to bet requests placed in-play and if the odds change during that time, your bet could be rejected.

Live betting is a popular choice when there is a strong favourite in a match. For example, if Manchester City were playing Accrington Stanley, they would most likely be priced at very low odds which may be unappealing to any pre-match bettors. However, should Accrington Stanley take a surprise lead in the game, the odds on City to win would likely increase. As they were strong pre-match favourites, you’d expect them to come back and win the match and if you placed your bet at this point, you’d be getting much better odds than if you placed your bet pre-match.

There are advantages and disadvantages of both pre-match and in-play betting. There is no need to stick to one or the other and a mixture of both betting types is generally favoured by most. All of the top UK online bookies offer both pre-match and in-play betting and so you shouldn’t be short of choice as to who to bet with.

By Matchedbets Experts

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *