Football Betting: 1X2, Goals and Handicaps
Football is the sport with the deepest betting menu, and the draw is what makes it special: a third outcome that most other team sports rarely produce. That one fact shapes almost every market, from simple match betting to Asian handicaps. This page explains the main markets, how they are settled and how to compare their prices, using the same margin maths as the betting hub. Whether and to what extent Garage offers sports betting is shown on the operator’s site.
Go to the offerThe main football markets
| Market | What you bet on | What happens on a draw |
|---|---|---|
| 1X2 (match result) | Home win, draw or away win | Only “X” wins |
| Double chance | Two of the three outcomes (1X, X2, 12) | 1X and X2 win, 12 loses |
| Draw no bet | Home or away; draw refunds the stake | Stake returned |
| Over/under goals | Total goals above or below a line, e.g. 2.5 | Not relevant — only goals count |
| Both teams to score | Yes or no | 1–1 is “yes”, 0–0 is “no” |
| Handicap | A team with a goal head start or deficit | Depends on the line (see bet types) |
| Correct score | The exact final score | Only the exact score wins |
How the draw changes the maths
Because a draw is a real possibility, part of every match’s probability goes to the “X”: even a strong favourite loses some of its win chance to the draw, and two evenly matched teams each trade well above 2.00. Double chance and draw no bet are ways of buying protection against the draw. That protection is never free: compare the implied probabilities and you will see the bookmaker’s margin again.
A short example with hypothetical prices: Home 2.20, Draw 3.30, Away 3.40. Implied probabilities: 45.5%, 30.3%, 29.4%, total 105.2% — a margin of about 5.2%. The same match might offer draw no bet on the home side at 1.60. That implies 62.5%, and once the draw is removed from the fair probabilities, the home team’s share of the remaining outcomes is roughly 61%. The gap between 62.5% and about 61% is the margin on the draw-no-bet market.
Settlement: regular time is the default
Most football markets are settled on regular time: 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalty shootouts usually do not count, except for markets that explicitly concern progressing or winning a competition. Abandoned or postponed matches are handled by the operator’s rules — often the bet is void if the match is not played within a certain period. Read these rules once in the operator’s betting terms; they decide more disputes than any tip.
Live betting on football
In-play football markets react to goals, red cards and dangerous attacks. Betting is often suspended for a few seconds after key moments, and the price you see may already be outdated when you click. Common in-play markets are next goal, total goals for the rest of the match and the result from the current score. Keep in mind that the margin on live markets is usually at least as high as before kick-off, and that fast decisions encourage bigger stakes than planned.
Domestic and international football in general terms
Bookmakers cover domestic leagues, cups and international tournaments. Big competitions attract the most money and usually the lowest margins, while lower divisions and youth matches have thinner markets where prices can move sharply on little information. Ice hockey and alpine skiing, both popular in winter, follow similar principles: hockey has a three-way market on regular time, skiing is mostly about outright winners and head-to-head bets between two racers.
Practical tips
- Bet in units of a fixed bankroll, not in amounts that feel right on the day.
- Compare implied probabilities instead of looking only at the odds.
- Check the settlement basis for every market you have not used before.
- Treat accumulators as entertainment: each extra leg multiplies the margin, as the bet types guide shows.
- Betting rules and licensing depend on your country — check the licence named by the operator.