Live Betting Guide

Live Betting

Live betting has revolutionized online betting. Having initially started with a few online bookmakers, live betting is now almost omnipresent amongst bookmakers. There are millions of bets placed on live sporting events around the world every day.

What is Live Betting?

Bookmakers now allow you to place bets while an event or match is ‘in-play’ or ‘in-running’. As technology has advanced, live betting has advanced too. There is now a great array of markets to bet on in each live event on most bookmaker’s websites. This advancement has greatly enhanced the experience of watching live sports for punters.

Live betting is now extremely popular. You can now bet ‘in-play’ on almost any sport. However, football and tennis still prove the most popular live events due to their wide range of markets and their regularly updated odds.

In sports, without many stoppages (like football) betting will remain open for the duration of the match with the odds fluctuating depending on the events of the match. In sports like tennis with many periodical stoppages, betting may be temporarily suspended at the end of each game or set as the odds are recalculated. Bets placed on live markets are usually settled straight after the end of the event.

Options

Nearly all the markets that are available pre-event are now available ‘in-play’ thanks to technological advances. Still, most of the action comes in the match-winner markets. This is most prevalent in tennis matches when the score of a game or set can ebb and flow quite quickly. These fluctuations leave opportunity for the bettor, a timely bet on the right player can reap big dividends.

The available markets stretch far further than match-winner outrights. Modern sportsbooks now offer a whole host of betting markets. For example, you can bet on correct scores, next goal time and handicap markets.

Essentials

You should be able to see the event you’re betting on. You will not gain enough information about the event by just following the score through an app or on your TV. Try to find a reliable, secure source to watch your event. This can be a TV channel, an app on your phone or sometimes the bookmakers themselves livestream the event you are betting on.

Live betting can be a bit confusing at times too. The prices change regularly and there are multiple chances to bet every few minutes. Try to enjoy the experience a be a little selective with your bets. Stay calm and remain disciplined. The worse thing you can do when betting ‘in-play’ is to try and chase your losses.

Strategy

There numerous live betting strategies you can employ. As you become more experienced with your live betting, your live betting strategy will become more sophisticated. The most prominent example of live betting strategy is ‘hedging your bets’. You can use the live betting markets to ensure you make a profit from betting on two different outcomes.

For example, if you place a bet on Arsenal to win before a Premier League game you could find that you can back their opponents in-play in order to guarantee yourself a profit from the match.

It’s also a good idea to research how teams/players interact at different points in a match. For example, some tennis players will struggle during pressurized moments. You can use this knowledge to place a bet at the right time.

Similarly, the odds in a live tennis match fluctuate wildly. Often a players odds will be slashed after winning a great point which doesn’t necessarily mirror the actual odds of the match.  If you choose the right time to place your bets you can take advantage of the market before the odds calm down. If you can repeatedly pick the right time throughout the match you can bag yourself a big profit.

Added Value

As mentioned already, live betting is a great way to add value to your bets. One big advantage that live betting offers is the opportunity to place your bet at larger odds than the pre-event odds. A good example of this is the over/under goals market.

Let’s say that pre-match the over 2.5 goals price is 7/4. You will find that even a couple of minutes of scoreless action will see the price rise considerably. The odds will keep on rising as the minutes pass.

Having said that, most people find it very difficult to identify the best odds during live betting. The nature of in-play betting means the prices change quite quickly and therefore you can’t compare odds between bookies as many punters normally would.

Top Bookmakers

All of our the top sportsbook sites on JWBetting offer in-play betting. Many of them offer great sign-up offers for you to avail of. You can bet with any one of our great partners from the list below.