Betting the 2010 World Cup
Even though we're right in the middle of the NBA Finals, the World Cup is about to take center stage, at least on a global scale, where the 32-team soccer tournament is the Super Bowl, World Series and NCAA Tournament all rolled into one for many people.While the popularity of soccer is a bit of a mystery to many Americans, it remains the most popular sport in the world. Naturally, it is also an extremely popular betting activity for people throughout the rest of the world, especially Europe and South America.
The first part of the tournament is pool play, as the teams are divided into eight different pools, which is followed by elimination games, also called knockout games. The top two teams from each pool advance to the elimination games, which could be compared to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Bets Available in World Cup Play
There are five basic types of wagers that are offered on the World Cup. There are futures bets, such as which team will win its particular pool or win the entire tournament, and there are the individual game bets, which consist of three basic types of wagers. There are three different types of game wagers, along with the opportunity to wager on the total or over/under of each game.For futures wagers, it's always a good idea to check the odds at as many different sportsbooks as you have access to, as odds will vary between different sportsbooks.
For the 2010 World Cup, there are the "Big 5" teams, which are expected to be the real contenders for the World Cup trophy. They are:
Spain +400
Brazil +450
Argentina +600
England +700
Netherlands +800
Then there are several teams, such as defending champions Italy, along with Germany, France and Cote D'lvoire which are in the +2000 range. The United States are considered serious longshots, with odds close to 100-to-1.
Game Wagers
As mentioned above, there are four basic types of game wagers that are offered, three involving sides, as well as the total. We'll look at the total wagers first, as most sports bettors are familiar with the concept and soccer totals are not that different from baseball or hockey totals.The numbers most often used for World Cup totals are 2 and 2.5 goals.
Much like baseball or hockey totals, these bets are seldom the traditional -110, but have different odds for the over and the under. An example would be Friday's first-round game between France and Uruguay, where the odds are:
Over 2 -140
Under 2 +120
In this example, bettors wagering over 2 goals will have to risk $140 to win $100, while those wagering under 2 goals will risk $100 to win $120. If exactly two goals are scored the bet is a draw, or tie, and all wagers are refunded.
The biggest difference in the two types of side wagers available is that one allows bettors to wager on either team or that the game will end in a tie, while the other allows bettors just the option of betting on either team.
Using Friday's game between Mexico and South Africa as an example, we'll see two different set of odds for the game. For the bet type that allows wagering on just the two teams, we see the traditional money line odds that baseball and hockey bettors are familiar with:
South Africa +105
Mexico -120
This is just like a typical money line bet in that the bettor risks $100 to win $105 on South Africa and $120 to win $100 on Mexico. If the game ends in a tie, it's declared a push and all bets are refunded.
With the option of wagering on a tie game, we'll see the following odds:
South Africa +170
Mexico +160
Draw +215
The bettor receives much more generous odds on either team, but the trade-off is the team must win the game, as a tie game will result in a losing wager. This is simply because bettors are given the option of betting on a tie, which is typically limited just to soccer and European hockey bets.
And last of all, most sportsbooks offer goal-line types of wagers, which are pretty much like run-line or puck-line bets. In the case of the South America vs. Mexico game, The Greek is offering:
South Africa +.5 goals -185
Mexico -.5 goals +165
In this case, a bettor would gain a slight advantage (+165 vs. +160) by wagering on Mexico -.5 goals as opposed to betting on Mexico on the bet that allows you to wager on ties, so be sure to check the different types of wagers and look for any advantage you can find.
Finally, be sure to shop for the best odds on each wager, as there is a bigger difference in odds than you will typically find on the more traditional sports, where the odds tend to be pretty universal.
