Second Half Football Betting: a Review of Profitable Strategies

This type of bets is aimed at certain intervals of a sporting event. Since football bets occupy almost the entire market, this type of bet is very popular here. This type of bets can also be found in other sports. In hockey it is 3 periods, in American football and basketball — 4 periods. This type of betting can be used in different ways — that is why we will take a closer look at strategies, while focusing on football.

What are half time bets?

Half time bets are sports bets on the result of the game after the first half. In football, these are the famous 2 halves of 45 minutes each. But not only in football you can find this type of betting — in the rest only the number of periods changes. In hockey, these are three periods; in American football — four periods. Moreover, this type of sports betting is no different from others.

What strategies can be used?

Each of the halves/periods offers a wide selection of offers on bets, which is what we will take a closer look at, focusing on football.

Classic first half bets

The initial form of such bets is a bet on the result of the first half (after 45 minutes of the game). It’s the usual bet on the winner. Make two out of one match! When submitting your bet, you have several options: either you bet on the well-known 1X2 principle (1 = home win, X = draw, 2 = away win) or you bet on the exact result of the time. The fact is that the odds on the exact result bring more profit than the bets on 1X2, but the probability of not winning is much lower.

In bets on the score of the first half, the odds are higher than for the entire match. This is due to the fact that the score after the first time is often 0:0 or 1:1, in contrast, and the final result! Rematch odds are traditionally low. The bet on the victory of the favorite in the first half is very profitable in this case. We want to show this difference with a clear example: the match Hannover 96-Borussia Dortmund.

1. Odds — a normal bet on the result:
   H96 victory 75 | X 4.30 | Borussia victory 1.50
2. Odds — bet on the result of the first half:
   H96 victory 50 | X 2.40 | Borussia victory 1.95

Who prefers the second half?

The second option, beloved by many fans, is a bet not on the first, but on the second half.

The goal strategy in the second half is relevant only in championships with high performance. To make a profit on this system, you need to bet on several matches at once, therefore, goals should be scored not only in individual matches, but within the framework of the championship as a whole.

Usually, before the start of the match, the odds on a goal in the 2nd half are low, usually not higher than 1.3-1.5. Therefore, most of players place their bets already in the live-mode, while watching what happens in a match. Having chosen a number of matches for bets, you need to wait for the second half. For example, if the teams do not score a goal in the first 15 minutes in the 2nd half, but the advantage of one of the teams is noticeable, then we can safely bet on that a goal will be scored in the second half.

Another alignment is the motivation of the playing teams. Suppose if a favorite loses or draws 30 minutes before the final whistle, then there is a high probability that there will be at least 1 goal in the match.

Purely theoretically, the score of the game starts from 0:0 after the break. Since the second half defines the favorites, the odds are lower than in the first half. But in contrast, the odds after 90 minutes are higher. Example: a match between Hanover 96 and Borussia Dortmund.

• 2nd half — bet on the result of:
  H96 victory 00 | X 3.00 | Borussia victory 1.70

But why are the odds on an outsider also low in this case? Here the logic is this: the favorites often manage to show a good result already in the first half. Let’s imagine that the score in the first half is 3:0. After a pause, the favorite is likely to continue the attack. But there is a possibility that in the second half, outsiders will be able to score a goal, and the score of the second half will be 0:1, which will not affect the final result of the match, of course.

Match selection for bets on a goal in the 2nd half

Selection of matches for such bets is best done among the top championships in Europe and South America, as they are considered the most productive. To win a bet on the goal in the 2nd half, you need to correctly select several matches that are played at the same time. First you need to see the statistics of goals scored for football clubs in different championships. The following is an example of an Italian Championship — Serie A.

In this case, you should not look at the teams that score the most in the second half. It is logical that the odds on Juventus and Roma will be low in betting shops. Therefore, it is better to pay attention to the underdogs and the average teams, who have at least 3 productive second halves in the last five matches. In this case, we can distinguish: Sassuolo, Bologna, Frosinone, Sampdoria.

Next, we look at the odds in betting shops. Always better to look at those, who usually give the “fattest” odds. We need odds above 2, since in this case we can talk about the value of the bet. We make an account of the strength of the opponent. The best option is when the selected team takes an average team, who often misses on the road in the 2nd half. Such clubs can also be found by statistics.

It is worth noting the series in which the teams missed in the 2nd half. It is seen that Chievo, Cagliari, Lazio and even Roma stand out here. Based on such statistics, it can be assumed that the players of these teams lack concentration for the whole match, and therefore they often miss in the second half of the meeting.

Before the start of the next round of the championship, you should make a choice of matches according to this algorithm for betting on a goal in the 2nd half. Thus, we will have great chances to win in such bets.

How to make money in bets on goals in the second half?

As already mentioned above, it is better to bet on several matches at once, breaking the bank into equal parts. So it will be possible to block the likely loss at once with several more successful bets.

The most successful time for betting on a goal in the second half is considered when the odds for this type of bet are 1.7-2.0.

There are 3 more winning strategies for betting on a goal in the second half:

For beginners, it is best to bet at the flat strategy. More experienced players are recommended Oscar Grind or Martingale strategy.

• With flat, the bet size is 5% of the bank.
• With the Oscar Grind system, the size of the bet after losing remains the same, and after the winning increases by 100%. Once the bet has not played, the size of the next bet is 5%.
• With the Martingale system, the opposite is true. If you win, the size of the next bet is the same, but if you lose, we increase by 2 times.
• Follow the link and get your prediction before the match starts.

Half time bets on goals, cards and corner kicks

Half time bets are really liked by fans with their possibility of betting on the number of goals scored, cards and corner kicks (bets on the number of goals scored are at the very top of the list). Most of these bets are based on the principle of Over/Under bets (a bet on how much a particular team will score goals for the entire match). In this case, the principle is as follows: the bookmaker sets a certain number (for example goals), and the fan must determine whether this number is exaggerated or underestimated — we are dealing with bets on 2 outcomes.

Of course, in all betting shops you have the opportunity to bet on the exact result. You can bet on the number of all goals scored or on the number of goals scored in one half. It is known that in football the number of goals scored in the second half is more than the number of goals scored in the first half. In other sports it is very hard to say. In American football or basketball such obvious trends in football is not present, the same applies for odds.

In some betting shops you have the opportunity to bet on cards or on the number of corner kicks. Betting on 3 outcomes may sound like this: will there be more corner kicks in the first or second half, or which team will receive more cards for the entire game? There are a huge number of opportunities for your bets!

Special half time bets

Along with the three betting possibilities already presented — the winner of the first half, the winner of the second half and the bets on the number of goals scored — many bookmakers have the opportunity to make special bets. In the list below you will find the following options (but do not forget that they are not available in all betting shops):

• In which half did 1/2 teams score more goals? First Half | Second Half | The same number
• Who will score the first goal in the first half? Team 1 | Team 2 | No one
• Who will score the first goal in the second half? Team 1 | Team 2 | No one
• Will the team score 1/2 both in the first and second half? Yes | No
• Will both teams score in the first/second half? Yes | No

Half time bets and live bets

Very often this type of bet is used together with live bets. In this case, you have the opportunity to quickly respond to the progress of the game, injuries, etc. Even in this format, you have a huge selection of bets. Very popular are bets on the winner of the second half. Odds depend on the course of the game, but interestingly, they are completely different in different betting shops.

We already mentioned that there is a danger that if the team broke through in the first half, then in the second half it can reduce ardor. You have to be careful with bets here. The exact course of the game is an interesting chance for live betting. Do not pursue high odds, do not forget about intuition. It is clear that such bets are associated with great risk. That is why we advise you to bet small amounts.

Advantages and disadvantages of bets on “half time/full time”

The main disadvantage of such bets is, as already mentioned above, not too tempting odds. But betting on a separate part of the game has a lot of advantages. The most important of them are:

1. The ability to receive a stable income.
2. Low risks.
3. The opportunity to win twice in one match, involving your favorite.

Also, before starting the game, you should consider some nuances. For example, according to statistics, most of the first halves in football end in a draw with zeros on the scoreboard. So carefully study all available information before betting. And over time, it will bring you good profit.

Is it reasonable to play at such bets?

Such “half time/full time” bets (for the outcome of the first or second period, half-time) are very popular among players and are closely related to the concept of hedging, that is, more commonly expressed — insurance.

In fact, it turns out this way: the player makes a bet on the outcome of the first half of the game, and if at the end of the game the player wins, they can make a second bet on the second half of the match for the opposite outcome. In doing so, they insure themselves in such a way that they can win at least one outcome, and the second, as lucky. That is, they may get a profit once or twice.

As we can see, bets on the outcome of the first/second periods are somewhat reminiscent of roulette. Judge for yourself, even the obvious grand football of the world with a clear outsider may not play at full strength, that is, to look at them all the first half. In the second part of the duel, they begin to unfold and play at full strength.

There are a number of reasons for this: physical training of teams, setting up of coaches, weather, the condition of the lawn and so on. And at the same time, we might think that the grand in the first half can easily deal with their opponent, but everything is not so simple here! In addition, statistics on such fights give their results: the obvious favorite adds in the second half, and the first there plays outright or may lose at all.

If you are still eager to place bets on the outcome of the first, second half and plus save your money, then we will advise you to use a similar bet — “half time/full time”. This bet is made on the outcome of the first half of the game and on the result of the entire match, that is, two in one. Many bookmakers accept and even welcome such bets, so you will not have problems with this.

This bet is very valuable to players because if the outcome of matches will also include a draw (X), then, accordingly, the odds on the outcome of the first match and the game as a whole will be quite high. But that is not all. If the players include opposite results in the outcome of the match, that is, the win of the first team is Home/victory of the second team Away and vice versa, then the size of the odds can be sky-high.