Betting on Draws in Football

Betting on Draws in Football

With so many markets to bet on in football now, the regular win/draw/win market is sometimes neglected. However, this is still a market that you can make good money on, and it is one that you should always consider using. Sometimes, when you don’t strongly fancy a team in a game you will look for another way to bet, but often backing the draw can be the best way to bet.

People don’t often bet on draws because they are difficult to predict and while that is true they also offer better odds than teams to win in most circumstances, so you don’t need to win too many times to make a profit. This means that this betting strategy takes time and patience, but if you are prepared to spend time then there is profit to be made from backing the draws.

As ever with any football bet, take a look at the stats that are available and use your own knowledge and judgement before deciding which outcome you think is the most likely. That may be the draw, and if it is, don’t ignore it, look into the game further because it could be about to give you a big priced winner.

Here are a couple of tips to help you get started when backing draws, and hopefully these will lead you in the right direction and give you some winners.

Look for Similarly Matched Teams

This may sound obvious, but when looking for potential draw bets, look for teams that look to be closely matched. Teams that are fighting it out at the bottom of the table, or those at the top it doesn’t matter, as long as the teams look to be pretty even. In these games, it can be hard to pick a winner, and often the obvious choice is to go with the draw because the teams can’t be split.

These teams will also be less likely to push for a win near the end when they are holding onto a point. Neither team will see the game as one that they must win, because they are facing someone of a very similar ability, in a very similar league position. This means both teams are likely to accept a draw and move on, and that is likely to bring a cautious ending to the game, with few scoring chances.

Look for Local Derbies

Local derbies are often hotly contested games and during these games, the form book goes out of the window. This means that even when one team looks to be superior to the other, the game may still end in a draw. The games are often scrappy affairs, with little in terms of goal scoring opportunities and that can lead to a draw on many occasions.

Local derbies in the past have been a great place to back draws and if you are looking for somewhere to start, they offer value and have a good chance of landing.

Look for Teams Struggling to Score

When predicting whether a game will be a draw or not, it is always easier to predict a game between two low scoring teams rather than two high scoring teams. A 0-0 draw is easier to predict than a 3-3 draw, and because of this, it is often better to look for teams who are playing each other who have been struggling to score.

If two teams are playing each other and they both have a past record either recently or over the course of the season of struggling to score then they could make a great drawn bet. Teams who struggle to score are often struggling to create chances, and if two teams play together that could create a game where few chances are made at either end. It teams are struggling to score then often their defence will try and be even more cautious to compensate that. This means you have two teams struggling to score, and two cautious tight defences going against them, that is a great recipe for a drawn game.

Look for Teams who are Happy to Take a Draw

When you are looking at the majority of football teams, they are playing in games that they want to win, and they will be trying to do so. However, sometimes a team will play a game and they will be happy to take a point from it. This could be a team who need a point to keep away from relegation, or a point to secure a good finish, it doesn’t matter what it is as long as the team needs a point.

When these games are taking place, you are hoping that the game is tight and the game is drawn with around 20 minutes to go. If this is the case then at this point you will be sitting in a very good position. If a team needs a draw, they won’t go pushing for the win at all and will sit back, happy to protect what they have. This is likely to shut the game down, meaning there are few chances at either end of the pitch, which will cause the game to end level.

You won’t find many of these types of games of course, but when you do they are certainly worth taking advantage of because they provide a great bet.

In Conclusion

Betting on games to be a draw can be very profitable, although you require patience because this is difficult and you won’t win all the time. With the odds on offer, you don’t need to win all the time to pick up a profit, so focus on picking out good looking games and aim to win around 33% of the time, this should be enough for a profit. Always look for best odds when backing draws, as they might differ significantly, choosing right bookmakers is vital here.

Follow the steps above, these are a very good starting point for anyone who is new to backing draws. From here you will be able to form your own opinion and use them alongside stats to give you a list of games that you think have a great chance of being a draw.