8 Winning Football Betting Strategies to Boost Your Success

Are you struggling to win at football betting and tired of losing money at the bookmakers?

If so, listen up… In this article we’ll look at 8 killer strategies you can use to win your football bets right now!

From following top tipsters to using matched betting, this in-depth guide will show you exactly how to beat the bookmakers.

Let’s get started!

How to bet on football and win – 8 tips & strategies

Whilst I could give you a huge list of 50 football betting strategies, you’d probably end up a little overwhelmed and confused about where to start.

That’s why I’ve kept this list short and prioritised the most important strategies you can implement right now.

Here are 8 strategies to win more football bets:

1. Follow expert football predictions
2. Profit with matched betting
3. Keep a betting record
4. Change bookmakers
5. Stay impartial
6. Know football inside out
7. Know your markets
8. Take the small wins

Below we’ll check out each of these in more detail.

Note: Whether you’ve started betting on football or not, you can still follow along and pick up some great betting strategies you can use to help beat the bookmakers.

How to win a bet every time…

Before we check out our football betting strategies, the following is something you should always keep in mind:

You’re not going to win all your football bets – it’s just not possible!

Despite what others say, betting on football is not a guaranteed way to make money. Every punter, especially those new to the sports betting world, must pay attention to several factors in order to succeed.

There’s an incredible number of variables that go into football betting and there’s no way of predicting the correct outcome every time. 

However, there are certain tips and strategies we can use to increase our chances of winning more football bets.

That’s the disclaimers done! Let’s get into the exciting stuff and dive into our top football betting strategies…

Tip #1 – Follow expert football predictions

One of the easiest football betting strategies to implement right now is following professional tipsters.

Today’s hottest football tipsters…

In a hurry? Here are today’s top performing football tipsters:

As we’ll look at later in this article, knowledge and experience is what makes the difference between winning and losing football bets.

Those beating the bookmakers follow a proven strategy that works time and time again.

The question is, how do you gain this knowledge and experience without losing £100s at the bookmakers first?

Easy…

Copy the bets of professional tipsters!

As opposed to placing football bets based on gut instinct, professional punters have the knowledge and experience to place profitable bets and beat the bookmakers at their own game. How awesome does that sound?

Not only will your football betting become more profitable, following tipsters also makes your job much easier. No more questions on who to bet on or how much to stake. Everything is done for you!

Simply open your emails or log in and your bets are there ready to place!

So where can you find the best and most profitable football tipsters?

Best football tipsters

There are hundreds of websites offering football tips but I recommend Tipstrr (review) or Betting Gods (review) if you want to get the most out of your football betting.

Tipstrr:

And Betting Gods:

Both of these platforms offer free and premium football tips meaning there’s something for everyone.

What I love about Tipstrr in particular is the transparency of the network. You’ll often find tipster websites making bold claims about their results with no real proof to back it up.

It’s often just a load of BS!

At Tipstrr, you can see verified tipster results up front with access to stats such as ROI, monthly profit, average stakes etc.

Whereas anyone can post tips on the Tipstrr network, Betting Gods only allow certain tipsters to join the platform.

Tipsters are vetted for 6 months with only 5% of applicants making it onto the network

With only a handful of professional tipsters, quality over quantity is what makes Betting Gods so popular.

I recommend you start with free football tips and if you’re happy with the results upgrade to premium tips. That way you’ve got nothing to lose!

Tip #2 – Profit with matched betting

One of my favourite football betting strategies is a method called matched betting.

This strategy is incredibly profitable with some matched bettors making up to £1000 per month.

Here’s an example of how one bettor turned £87 into £7500 in just 7 months…

Whilst matched betting is not strictly gambling, you’re guaranteed to make a profit no matter the outcome of your bets.

What is matched betting?

Guaranteed profit…

No wonder I’ve got your attention with this football betting strategy!

Matched betting is a way of making a guaranteed profit from bookmakers free bets and promotions.

This method has been around for a while but its popularity continues to grow.

How does matched betting work?

As we’ve seen, matched betting is based on taking advantage of bookmakers free bets and promotions.

Most online bookmakers offer bonuses to new and existing customers so there’s plenty of potential.

Whilst I won’t go into the details in this article (you can find out more here), here’s the basic idea:

1. Find a bookmaker free bet
2. Place a qualifying bet
3. Place a lay bet
4. Use free bet
5. Place another lay bet
6. Make a guaranteed profit

To remove any risk from matched betting we place two opposite bets. One at the bookmaker and one at a betting exchange.

These bets effectively cancel each other out which allows us to profit from bookmakers free bets with zero risk!

This might seem confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it it’s a very simple and effective betting strategy.Football is a great sport to place matched bets on as there’s a huge range of betting opportunities. This is especially true for large football competitions such as the Premier League and Champions League.

If you stick with the most popular football games, you’ll be in safe hands when it comes to matched betting.

No more waiting for your team to score another goal, you know the exact outcome and profit you’ll make even before the game has kicked off.

Whilst this football betting strategy isn’t for everyone, there’s plenty of cash to be made with this technique.

Start matched betting

Matched betting is incredibly profitable but it can be quite challenging when you first get started. There’s a lot of new concepts to get your head around and you may feel a little overwhelmed.

However, there are various matched betting sites which walk you through the entire process and help you get started.Sites like OddsMonkey (review) show you exactly what bets to place, how much to stake and how to maximise your profit.

Everything is done for you.

It’s far superior to Matched Bets and offers great software and support all for £29.99 per month. They even offer a free trial so you can test the platform out for yourself.

The website is incredibly popular with 98% of reviewers recommending OddsMonkey.

Why not get started with a free trial today? You’ve got nothing to lose…

Tip #3 – Keep a record

The next football betting strategy we’re going to check out is keeping a record.

As with anything in betting, keeping a clear record of what bets you’ve got on amongst other things is vital if you want to start winning more regularly.

So what specifically should you record? Here are some things to consider:

• What bets you win and lose
• The amount you stake on your bets
• The overall profit or loss from each bet
• The bookmaker you use for each bet

You get the idea…

Basically, anything that you think is important for analysing your bets.

Using this method you get a clearer picture as to whether your current football betting strategy is working for you.

Meet your football betting target

Have you set a football betting target that you want to achieve?

Keeping track of your overall profit will help you easily work out how close you are to meeting your target.

This way you’re more likely to achieve your goal and win more football bets in the process.

At the end of every week or month, depending on your preference and how many bets you place, you should tally up your overall profit and loss and check whether you’re in the green or red.

If you’re in the green, you should continue with your current strategy.

However, if you’re in the red, check which bets are losing you the most money and see if you can change your tactics slightly.

Perhaps your accumulator bets aren’t quite working as well as you’d like or there’s a certain team that keeps letting you down.

Whatever it is, keeping a record of your betting activity will allow you to highlight and improve your overall betting strategy with the aim of winning more football bets.

Whilst keeping a clear record takes time and effort and isn’t the most exciting process, it will certainly help you improve your betting.

How to record your football betting data

I recommend you use a simple Google Sheets or Excel spreadsheet to record your bets.

It doesn’t need to be complicated, just clear and concise.

Creating a spreadsheet may seem daunting at first, but once it’s done you’ll easily be able to update it with the required information.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution, there are a number of products out there that will keep track of your bets for you. One option is Smart Bet Tracker.

Alternatively, if you’re using OddsMonkey to make money with matched betting they have an in-built feature which you can use.

Record betting account information

Whilst we’re discussing organisation, I also recommend you keep a clear record of all your bookmaker account information.

If you’re serious about winning more football bets, you’ll need to register with a large number of bookies.

You may have more than 50 accounts open in the future!

Whilst this is great for accessing the best odds and gaining as much value as possible, it can be challenging in terms of remembering account information.

You’ll have a huge range of different usernames, passwords and security questions for your accounts.

Whilst you could use the same information for each bookmaker, I don’t recommend you do this for security reasons.

To make things easy, I suggest you jot down important information in a spreadsheet similar to the process above. Save it to your mobile device so you can always access it and lock it with a password.

This way all your data is secure and you won’t need to waste time resetting new passwords etc.

You can focus on what really matters, placing winning football bets.

Check out this article for more information on account security and the best methods to remember your passwords.

Tip #4 – Change bookmakers

Our fourth football betting tip is to change between different bookmakers often.

There are so many sites you can choose from when it comes to football bookmakers.

In fact, there are currently over 100 online betting websites.

Whilst each bookmaker wants you to bet with them, there are far more opportunities elsewhere and there’s no reason to be loyal.Heck, Paddy Power even agrees that loyalty is dead…

Compare bookmakers’ pros and cons

Instead of doing the groundwork yourself and spending hours comparing features of different football betting sites, simply use a comparison site to find the bookmaker that suits your needs the best.

For example, Bojoko’s list of the best football betting sites shows you detailed reviews of the finest bookmakers in the UK that offer great offers for football betting.

Check experts’ insights on what are the pluses and minuses of each site and what are the most recommended bookies at the moment for different bettor types.

Bojoko updates their page frequently so make sure to check it every once in a while for the latest trends and bookies that get you the best value for your football bets.

Take advantage of bookmakers promotions

If you’re not keen on the idea of opening multiple bookmaker accounts in your football betting strategy, maybe this will change your mind.

Here’s the thing, bookies offer new and existing customers a huge range of different free bets and other promotions that you can take advantage of on a daily basis.

We’re particularly interested in the signup promotions offered to new customers.

At the time of writing this article, there is over £1000 in sign up free bets waiting for you to profit from.

If you remain loyal to one bookmaker, you’re missing out on potential profit from other bookies in the industry.

If you’re serious about winning big on football bets, you certainly need to maximise the number of free bets you use.

Don’t leave any free money on the table!

Bookmaker odds

Bookmakers sometimes offer different odds in the run-up to or during a football game.

You’ll typically find these discrepancies in odds when you look at less popular markets like anytime goalscorers or over/under goals etc.

This may be due to alternate information the bookie is receiving in terms of pricing their market or simply because they’re trying to incentivise more customers by increasing the odds, similar to a price boost.

Price boost example

In the price boost below, Skybet is boosting the odds on Arsenal, Everton and West Ham all to win from 3.5 to 5.0 (5/2 to 4/1).

The boosted odds are certainly higher than other bookmakers would be offering meaning more value for the punter.

If you’re looking to maximise your income and overall profit from football betting, you’ll want to ensure you get the best odds each time you place a bet.

This process is called line shopping and it’s common in the modern world of online gambling.

A little effort in this regard can go a long way to increase your profit.You can search for the best market odds by manually checking your favourite bookies or you can use an odds comparison website like OddsChecker.

This tool is very easy to use and will speed up the process of line shopping no end. I can’t recommend it enough.

Consider using betting exchanges

Whilst traditional bookmakers are a great place to start, you may want to consider using betting exchanges later on in your football betting strategy.

There are several benefits to opening an account with an exchange like Betdaq (review):

• True market price – better odds
• They accept any kind of bettor
• Low commission rate

True market price

If you want to win big on football bets, it’s vital you use the best odds. As I mentioned earlier, odds can vary quite a lot between different betting websites.

However, you’ll always find very competitive odds (if not the best) at a betting exchange.

They offer punters a different kind of betting model compared to more traditional bookmakers meaning they generally offer odds closer to the true market value.

Unlike traditional bookmakers, betting exchanges are not required to build a profit margin into their odds.

They make money by charging a commission on player’s net winnings. A much better business model, you might think.

Exchanges accept any kind of bettor

Another reason you should consider using betting exchanges in your strategy is that they accept any kind of bettor.

Bookmakers are known to gub or restrict accounts that appear to be winning too much.

So if you win big on football bets, the bookies may become interested in your account.

Whilst I’m not trying to scare you away from using bookmakers, it’s something you should bear in mind.

However, when using a betting exchange like Betdaq you’re unlikely to have any issues. Due to the nature of their business model, exchanges make money whether you win or lose.

Low commission rate

So now you know a little more about betting exchanges and why they’re a good option to consider using in your football betting strategy, let’s check out the most competitive commission rates:

• Betdaq – 2%
• Smarkets – 2%
• Betfair – 5%

Betdaq is one of the leading exchanges when it comes to commission rates.

They charge a flat 2% across all betting markets making them more competitive than the likes of Betfair.

When you’re looking to maximise your profit, it’s important to pay as little commission as possible. You can achieve this by using Betdaq.

Overall, changing bookmakers regularly allows you to search for the best value in the industry.

With so many online bookmakers available, this process is certainly worthwhile using in your football betting strategy.

Tip #5 – Stay impartial – Don’t bet with your heart

Another essential football betting strategy is to always stay impartial.

The old adage of sports betting comes to mind – ‘don’t bet with your heart’.

It’s vital you stay in control and bet with your analytical brain.

Don’t place bets based on your emotion. This will only lead to bad decisions and could mean you lose out in terms of overall profit.

If your favourite team loses a final, you’re going to feel even more down if you bet on them!

I recommend you don’t bet on a team you support unless your football analysis and research suggests you should.

As is usually the way, bringing emotions into the mix could cloud your judgement.

Here’s the thing, amateur punters generally rely on their emotions when it comes to placing football bets.

The bookies love these kinds of bettors who convince themselves their team are going to win only for them to get relegated the following week…

However, these punters are typically taking part for fun and they’re not really bothered about the outcome. If they win, it’s just an added bonus and something to talk about with their mates.

On the other hand, if you’re serious about football betting strategies and you want to make a long term profit, you can’t take this approach.

When you feel that emotion is getting the better of you, put your betting on hold and come back when you’re more analytical.

Tip #6 – Know football inside out

Another one of our top football betting tips is to know the sport inside out. You need to know every detail about the team you’re betting on as well as their opponent.

Here are some aspects to consider:

• How’s their current form in attack and defence?
• What are their recent results like? Do they get lucky?
• Injuries and team selections etc.

The little details are the most important here.

These will help you spot the good bets from the mediocre ones and ultimately allow you to make more money with your football betting strategy.

In my view, going this in-depth only makes the process of betting on football more enjoyable.

To be really on the ball you should watch as many live games on TV and/or streaming services as you can.

Whilst this can be time-consuming and expensive, especially with different satellite TV packages, it’s certainly a brilliant tip to help you win big on football bets.

This tip doesn’t just apply to football betting, the same goes for any sport you place your bets on whether that’s horse racing, Formula 1 or NFL.

To make ongoing profits consistently over a longer period of time you need to know everything about your sport.

Football knowledge challenge

I challenge you to not place another bet until you’ve researched every detail of your next football bet… It’s near on impossible as there’s an endless amount of information you can find.

There are hundreds of websites that provide you with in-depth knowledge of everything football related. Here are a few websites you may want to check out:

• Goal
• Tribal Football

This is a strategy that the majority of bettors do not use.

Jay Kornegay, Vice president of Race and Sports Operations at Westgate Sportsbook agrees:

“The most obvious thing that separates new bettors from the old-timers is that the new bettors have short memories.”

“They base their wagers on what happened last weekend, rather than looking at the overall quality of the team. They tend to look at the last game and base most of their decisions on the team’s performance in that game.”

Don’t be that short term bettor…

Invest time in researching football and you’ll be in a better position to place successful football bets.

Tip #7 – Know your markets

Next up in our list of tips to win football bets is know your betting markets. This point kind of follows on from the one above.

It’s all very well knowing your sport inside out but you also need to know the different betting markets available for football.

In the modern world of online betting, there seems to be a never-ending number of markets.

This is especially true when you compare it to the number of markets high-street bookmakers offer.

That’s one of the main reasons online betting beats the local stores.

You’ll probably know about the most common markets like Win/Draw/Win, but did you know you can bet on the following:

• Team to win both halves
• Number of goals scored in a match
• Number of corners, yellow cards, penalties

The list goes on…

It’s these kinds of football markets which usually offer more profitable odds and ultimately better value.

Accumulator bets

Football accumulators or accas as they’re also known, are proving to be very popular with modern punters.

The reason being, a relatively small stake can potentially return a large profit. This lucky punter won over £17,000 from just a £5 bet!

Whilst this isn’t a typical outcome, results like this can happen.

For anyone new to accumulators, they are bets that you build up and contain multiple selections.

For your acca to be a winning bet, you must predict the right outcome in each selection. If you predict wrongly, your acca loses!

Obviously, the odds are high but the likelihood of landing these bets can be quite slim.

The good news is that your stake doesn’t need to be too high. This is an example of how to bet on football and win big using a less risky strategy.

If you want to get started with accumulator betting, I recommend you check out the OddsMonkey AccaMatcher tool.

The tool shows you the exact bets to place to help you profit right from the get-go.

What’s more, you’ll have access to brilliant support in case you get stuck.

Market terms and conditions

It’s also important to know and understand the terms and conditions for each different market. If you aren’t sure, I recommend you get in touch with your bookmaker’s support and someone should be able to help you out.

Better to be sure than lose out on potential winnings.

All in all, by taking advantage of some of these less well-known markets, you’re more likely to succeed at football betting.

Tip #8 – Take the small wins

Last but not least, taking the small wins is a strategy often overlooked by many football punters.

As the well-known saying goes ‘every little helps’ and the same applies to betting on football.

Don’t let small wins discourage you. In fact, you should be pleased that your football betting strategy is working. A win is a win and it’s money in your pocket rather than the bookies.

There’s always one bettor who chases the big wins. That punter will go on about how one big win will completely change their life. However, the chances of that are unlikely.

For the sensible, long term bettor this is a waste of time and effort. Granted you get the occasional 5,000/1 Leicester City story where one punter makes thousands.

However, this is very rare and not even worth thinking about.

Be smart and look for the smaller, more likely wins and your betting will be much more profitable.

Bet on short odds

Betting on short odds is a common betting strategy that has proven to be very profitable over the years.

When you bet on short odds, you’re likely to win small amounts but on a more regular basis.

Here’s the thing, the bookies know that the majority of punters are likely to back the underdog at higher odds. Bettors often chase these odds in the hope of a big win.

However, the bookies exploit this fact and generally offer less valuable odds on the underdog. All in all, it’s easier to find greater value when betting on favourites at shorter odds.

Easiest football bets to win

So what are the easiest football bets to win you might be asking!

Whilst nothing is guaranteed in betting, the following bets are some of the easiest football bets to win:

• Over/Under
• Double chance
• Draw no bet
• Both teams to score

These football bets will generally have quite low odds meaning your winnings won’t be massive. However, you’re more likely to win with these bets.

Football betting strategies – Ed’s experience

These tips to win football bets have helped many different people profit from football wagers across the globe!

Here’s what one happy bettor said after implementing the football betting strategies listed above.

“Hi, Ed here. I’m very grateful I found this article. These betting tips have helped my betting a great deal. Since I started following The Sure Bettor’s advice, my betting profitability has rocketed up.

One of the most important tips is having a betting journal (keeping a record). I only started recording each of my bets recently, and the improvement since then has been massive.

I suggest you also write down the reason behind making each bet. It can be instrumental in sharpening the learning curve you’re on.”

Football betting popularity

Betting on sport is incredibly popular throughout the world. In fact, in Great Britain alone, gamblers bet an average of £626 on sports every second.

When put like this, it’s a crazy figure that just goes to show its popularity. What’s more, this amount continues to rise as more individuals open bookmaker accounts and place bets on digital platforms.

Nearly half of the figure mentioned above is wagered on football since it’s the most popular sport in the UK. There are thousands of people looking to place football bets every day.

Unfortunately a lot of punters lose money at the hands of the bookmakers.

Since you’ve landed on this page, I’m assuming you’ve had a similar experience and want to turn things around with your football betting.

Implementing the above football betting strategies should help you win more bets and beat the bookmakers in the process.