Learn how to use Half Time/Full Time bets in another of our useful betting guides.
If you know your sport, it is not hard to pick a winner. However, getting good value is not so easy. In a situation where a game is so one-sided that the bookies won’t give you a good price, you have to find other ways of finding value. That’s where the half-time/ full-time bet could come in handy.
What is a half-time/full-time bet?
As the title suggests, this bet requires two predictions – the half-time outcome and the full-time outcome. The score is not important, you just have to decide if it will be a home win, a draw, or an away win after 45 minutes and 90 minutes. The Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Watford on Monday 30 April 2018 was an example of a game where the home team was leading at half-time and full time.
Using the HT/FT bet strategically
Using a match between Tottenham and Watford as an example, If Tottenham are 4/9 in the Premier League betting market to beat Watford at home you might feel the price does not offer great value, but after looking at the stats, you are sure they will win the game easily.
If you bet £10 on the home win, you would get £14.44 back giving you a profit of £4.44. Not a huge return but a profit nonetheless.
Based on your statistical research of both teams, you predict that Tottenham will take the lead before half-time and win the game. You can get a price of 21/20 on Tottenham/Tottenham in the half-time/full-time market.
You decide to bet the potential profit from the home win bet (£4.44) on the HT/FT bet. If the bet comes in, you will get £9.10 back, giving you a profit of £4.66.
If Tottenham wins but does not lead at half-time, you break even because the profit covers the HT/FT bet. If Tottenham are winning at half-time and full-time, you would win £4.44 from one bet and £4.66 from the other, giving a total profit of £9.10.
If Tottenham lose or draw the game, you would lose both stakes. That’s why this strategy is best used on games that would normally be classed as bankers. The HT/FT bet should be viewed as your main bet while the home win bet is your safety net to cover your main bet if it does not come in.
Strategy
The same strategy can also be used on draw/win bets where the stake is based on the potential profit from the home win.
Using the same example as above, you back £10 on Tottenham to win the game at 4/9 and £4.44 on draw/Tottenham in the HT/FT market at odds of 18/5. The second bet would provide a return of £20.42, giving a profit of £15.98.
If Tottenham win but are not drawing at half-time, you would break even. However, if Spurs win after drawing at half-time, you would win £4.44 from the first bet and £15.98 from the second bet, giving a total profit of £20.42.
This simple strategy to boost your potential earnings from banker bets can also be applied to other bet types. Banker bets are typically game where the home team rarely loses or even draws at home over the course of a season. Barcelona are a good example of this. However, you should make sure that every bet is backed up by statistics and solid research.
Armed with the above you should now know a lot more about how to use Half Time/Full Time bets, so please share this post with friends.
