Betting Strategies to use at the 2018 World Cup

Betting Strategies to use at the 2018 World Cup

When approaching a World Cup, you can use many of the same strategies that you have been using with success during the season of the leagues you bet in. However, in addition to those strategies, there are some more you can use, specifically designed for tournaments like the World Cup. Identifying these and using these in addition to your standard betting rules can really help you make a success of the upcoming tournament.

Betting on the World Cup is going to be huge this summer, and many people are going to get involved. Some will be experienced punters, while others will be punters who just bet on big games and big events. It doesn’t matter what you are, or how often you bet if you want to take a look at three strategies that will help you succeed this summer then read below.

Group Games Often Contain Many Goals

When teams are playing in their group games, they often play a more expansive and flowing style of football, which results in more goals being scored. We also see a bigger difference between the quality of two teams taking each other on at this stage, and this can also result in high scoring games. If you are looking to bet on goals, then you are much more likely to see more goals scored in a group game than you are when the tournament reaches the knockout stage.

A team playing their first group game know that they have two further games to go in the competition, so they can afford to attack and try to win the game. However, when they reach the knockout round they know a defeat means the end of the tournament, causing teams to be more conservative in their play.

Alongside this, you should always look at goals with caution in the knockout stages. For example, if a team have scored two or three goals in their group games, they may not do the same in the knockout round. Almost every team will approach knockout games differently, so make sure you think about that when you are placing your bets. Group games can often mean you will see goals in the games, but when we hit the knockout rounds, those goals will likely dry up due to the change in tactics by many teams.

Identify Games Where Draws Suit Teams

One big difference when you approach the World Cup compared to league games you have been betting on this season is that sometimes a draw will suit either one or both of the teams involved. That doesn’t happen very often in club football, but it can happen a lot at the World Cup.

The most common place you will see this is in the final group games of the round. Teams will be close to qualification and know that a draw will get them into the next round. There may be occasions here where both teams need a draw to qualify, and these are games you should really concentrate on and look into the probability of a draw happening as it is likely to be very high. If you are backing in a game that is tied and both teams are happy with a draw, you are likely to see very little attacking play in the final minutes, as both are happy to hold onto what they already have.

You won’t only see this on the final round of games though, teams accepting a draw will happen throughout the group stages. Even if a team is playing their first game and they are drawing with 20 minutes to go, if they are happy to take a draw they will gladly sit back and hold onto it. Every point is vital in the World Cup group stages and if a team targets a point, they are likely to try their best to hold onto it and abandon their attacking play. Over the course of a full season, the odd point or two will not matter as much to teams and that is why you don’t see this in league games, however, things are very different at a World Cup, and every point has huge significance. Teams will sit down and look at their three games, planning what they would like from each one if you can do the same it is likely to serve you well during the competition from a betting point of view.

Group Betting Should Not be Overlooked

When placing World Cup bets, always be sure to look at group betting alongside your game betting that you will be doing. Teams can sometimes have an off day and not get the result they should if you are backing on that game you will have a losing bet. However, with group betting, you get a second chance because teams play three games and someone can still win the group despite a poor result in one game.

If you are looking for a way to bet where you can cover yourself should a team disappoint then group betting is the way to go. It is often overlooked because people aren’t used to using it but it is certainly a betting market that should be focused on this summer. You don’t have to back a team to win the group either, you can back a team to qualify (finish 1^st or 2^nd) or even a team to finish bottom if you want to oppose them.

There is a lot you can do with group betting, and with the advantage of it running across three games per team instead of just one, you have more interest than just in one game and a chance to win even if your team struggles in one game. A good way to work out your bets is to predict each game in the group and then look at how many points that would leave each team with and use those as the basis of your group bets.