Football Betting Markets Explained: The Complete List
A map of every football market worth knowing: what each one means, when it fits, and how a single 2-1 scoreline settles across fifteen different bets, with prices worked out in naira.
A betting market is simply the question a bet answers: who wins, how many goals are scored, whether both teams find the net, how many corners are taken. One Premier League fixture can carry several hundred of those questions, but almost all of the money moves through about a dozen of them, and once those are clear the rest read by analogy.
This guide is the map of the Markets section. It gives you a table of every market worth knowing with what must happen, when it fits and where our predictions for it live; a settlement table showing how a single 2-1 scoreline pays out across fifteen different bets; two worked calculations in naira; and links to the deep dives for each market.
In short
- "Type of bet" is the shape of your slip (single, accumulator, system). "Market" is what the bet is about. Mixing the two words up is the most common beginner slip.
- Five markets cover most of what a punter needs: match result, double chance, handicap, total goals and GG/NG. Everything else is a variation on those.
- The same final score settles different markets in opposite directions, which is why the market you pick matters as much as the team you fancy.
- You can measure what a market costs you in under a minute: add up 1 divided by each price. The further above 100% the total sits, the dearer the market.
- Pick the market to fit your opinion about the match, not the other way round.
Type of bet and market: two different words
In everyday talk "types of bets" means two separate things, and the confusion costs beginners real money. The first meaning is the shape of the slip: one selection (a single), several selections that must all land (an accumulator), or a set of combinations (a system). That is covered in full in our guide to singles, accumulators and system bets.
The second meaning is the market: the event you are actually betting on. Match result, total goals, handicap, GG/NG. Any market can be taken as a single or dropped into an acca. From here on, "market" is what this guide is about.
One more pair worth separating. The main line is the handful of markets a bookmaker shows next to the fixture in the list: result, double chance, totals, GG/NG. The full list is everything behind the "+250 markets" link, from halves and cards to player props. Competition between bookmakers is fiercest on the main line, so that is usually where the price is keenest and where a beginner should stay.
The market map
The table below is the working minimum. Column one is the market and its usual shorthand on a Nigerian slip, column two is what has to happen for the bet to win, column three is the match situation where it earns its place, and column four is our prediction feed for that market.
| Market | What must happen | When it fits | Our feed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match result, 1X2 | Home win (1), draw (X) or away win (2) after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties do not count. | You have a clear view on who is better and the price rewards it. | Match result predictions |
| Double chance (1X, 12, X2) | Two of the three results. 1X wins on a home win or a draw. | You trust a side not to lose, but not to win. | Double chance predictions |
| Draw no bet (DNB) | Your team wins. A draw voids the bet and the stake comes back. | Same read as double chance, but you want the draw removed rather than paid. | Match result predictions |
| European handicap (-1, +2) | Your team wins once the handicap goals are applied. The adjusted draw is a separate, losing selection. | A heavy favourite priced too short at 1X2. | Handicap predictions |
| Asian handicap (-1.5, -0.25) | Your team wins the adjusted scoreline. A level adjusted score returns the stake; quarter lines split it in half. | Mismatches, and any match where you want the draw taken out of the equation. | Handicap predictions |
| Total goals, over/under (over 1.5, over 2.5) | Both teams' goals added together land above or below the line. | You have a view on the tempo of the match but not on the winner. | Over predictions, under predictions |
| Team total | One named team scores above or below its own line. | You rate one attack and distrust the other. | Over predictions |
| Both teams to score (GG/NG) | GG: each side scores at least once. NG: at least one side is kept out. | You expect goals at both ends, or one defence to hold a clean sheet. | GG/NG predictions |
| Correct score | The exact final scoreline. | Rarely. Long odds, and the dearest market on the board. | Correct score predictions |
| Half-time / full-time (HT/FT) | The result at the break and the result at the end, both correct. | You expect a specific pattern, such as a favourite turning a match around. | Match pages |
| First-half markets | Result, goals or GG/NG counted only up to the interval. | Fast starters, or sides that fade after the break. | Match pages |
| Cards and bookings | Total yellow and red cards, or one team's cards, against a line. | Derbies, promotion or relegation deciders, strict referees. | Match pages |
| Corners | Total corners, or one team's corners, against a line. | Wing-heavy sides against packed defences. | Match pages |
| Player markets | A named player scores, assists or is booked. | Only with confirmed team news; the price carries a heavy mark-up. | Match pages |
One scoreline, fifteen bets
Nothing shows what a market really is faster than settling the same match across all of them. Take a fixture that ends 2-1 to the home side, with the home team 1-0 up at half-time. Here is how fifteen popular selections settle.
| Selection | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Home win (1) | Won | The home side finished in front. |
| Draw (X) or away win (2) | Lost | Only one of the three results can land. |
| Double chance 1X | Won | The home win is one of the two results covered. |
| Double chance X2 | Lost | Neither the draw nor the away win happened. |
| Draw no bet, home | Won | The home side won outright. |
| Asian handicap home -1 | Stake returned | Adjusted score 1-1; a level result on a whole-goal line is a push. |
| European handicap home -1 | Lost | Adjusted score 1-1 is a draw, and here the draw is a separate selection. |
| Asian handicap home -1.5 | Lost | Adjusted score 0.5-1; a one-goal margin is not enough. |
| Asian handicap away +1.5 | Won | Adjusted score 2-2.5 in the away side's favour. |
| Over 1.5 goals | Won | Three goals clears the line. |
| Over 2.5 goals | Won | Three is above two and a half. |
| Over 3.5 goals | Lost | A fourth goal was needed. |
| GG (both teams to score) | Won | Both sides scored at least once. |
| Home team over 1.5 goals | Won | The home side scored exactly two. |
| HT/FT 1/1 and correct score 2-1 | Won | Home led at the break and won, and the exact scoreline matched. |
Read that table twice. The same 2-1 is a winner on nine of these selections, a loser on five and a refund on one. Being right about the match is not the same as being right about the bet, and that gap is where a large share of beginner losses comes from.
The core markets in detail
Match result (1X2)
The oldest market and still the cheapest, because every bookmaker in the world prices it and the competition squeezes the mark-up. Three selections, one of which must land, and only the 90 minutes plus stoppage time count: a cup tie decided in extra time still settles on the score after normal time.
The trap is the draw. In football it is not a rare event, and in a tight fixture it is often the second most likely result rather than a curiosity. If you find yourself dismissing X out of habit, double chance or draw no bet is usually the honest version of your opinion.
Double chance
Three selections: 1X (home or draw), X2 (away or draw), 12 (either team wins, no draw). It looks like insurance, and it is — but insurance carries a premium, and here the premium is built into the price. The worked example further down shows how big that premium can be.
Draw no bet
Your side must win; a draw refunds the stake. It sits between 1X2 and double chance in both risk and price. Draw no bet and Asian handicap 0 are the same bet under two names, so if a bookmaker prices them differently on the same match, take whichever is longer.
Handicap
A handicap gives one team a virtual head start or deficit before kick-off. Home -1.5 means the home side has to win by two or more; away +1 means the away team can lose by nothing worse than a draw once its extra goal is added. Whole-goal Asian lines can push and return the stake, half-goal lines never do, and quarter lines such as -0.25 split the stake across two lines at once.
Handicaps exist to make a lopsided match bettable. When a favourite is 1.20 at 1X2, the interesting question is not whether it wins but by how much, and that is a handicap question. The full ladder from -3 to +3, quarter-line settlement and how handicap pricing compares with 1X2 are in our handicap guide.
Total goals
Both teams' goals added together, measured against a line. The half in "2.5" exists purely so the bet cannot end level: over 2.5 needs three goals, under 2.5 needs two or fewer. Nothing else about the match matters, which is exactly why the market is useful when you can read the tempo of a fixture but have no strong view on who wins. How the 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 lines behave, and how the price shifts between them, is covered in the goal lines guide.
Both teams to score (GG/NG)
GG wins when each side scores at least once; NG wins when at least one side is kept out. The winner is irrelevant, and so is the total: 4-0 settles NG, 1-1 settles GG. GG is not a softer version of over 2.5 either — a 3-0 win clears over 2.5 and loses GG on the same afternoon. The mechanics, the naming and the traps are in the GG and NG guide.
Correct score
The exact final scoreline, at long odds, and with the biggest mark-up on the board: there are dozens of selections and the bookmaker prices each one with a cushion. If you use it at all, use it as a small side interest on a fixture where you have a genuine view on the shape of the game, never as the main play.
Beyond the core
Team totals let you back one attack without any opinion on the other, which is often a cleaner expression of "the favourite will score plenty, but that defence leaks" than either 1X2 or a match total. Half-time markets pay for a pattern rather than a result, and because fewer goals are scored before the break, the lines sit lower — over 0.5 first-half goals is the busy one.
Cards and corners are statistics markets: they respond to the referee appointment, derby temperature and playing style rather than to who is better. Player markets look tempting on a big name but carry the heaviest mark-up of the lot and can be ruined by one late change to the team sheet. None of these belong in a beginner's rotation; they are worth learning once the core five feel automatic.
What a market costs you
Every price includes the bookmaker's cut, and you can measure it in seconds. Convert each price into an implied probability by dividing 1 by it, add the results, and see how far above 100% the total lands. That surplus is the mark-up.
Example A bookmaker prices a fixture at 2.10 home, 3.40 draw, 3.60 away. Implied probabilities: 1 ÷ 2.10 = 47.6%, 1 ÷ 3.40 = 29.4%, 1 ÷ 3.60 = 27.8%. Total: 104.8%, so the mark-up on that market is 4.8%. Now the totals on the same match: over 2.5 at 1.95 and under 2.5 at 1.90 give 51.3% + 52.6% = 103.9%, a mark-up of 3.9%. Same match, same bookmaker, a cheaper market.
Run that check on two or three markets before you stake and the pattern shows itself: main-line markets are lean, exotic ones are not. How wide the gap gets depends on the bookmaker and the market, so measure rather than assume. If turning prices into probabilities is new to you, start with how to read betting odds.
Worked example: double chance against the same bet built by hand
Double chance is a convenience product, and convenience is priced. Take the fixture above — home 2.10, draw 3.40, away 3.60 — with double chance 1X offered at 1.28, and a stake of ₦10,000.
Example Straight double chance: ₦10,000 × 1.28 = ₦12,800 back if the home side wins or draws. Built by hand as two singles, split so both outcomes return the same amount: ₦6,180 on the home win and ₦3,820 on the draw. A home win returns 2.10 × ₦6,180 = ₦12,978. A draw returns 3.40 × ₦3,820 = ₦12,988. Either way, roughly ₦12,980 — from the same ₦10,000, with exactly the same losing scenario (an away win).
The hand-built version is about ₦180 better per ₦10,000, an effective price of 1.298 against the 1.28 on offer. It is not a loophole, and it will not always point the same way: sometimes the ready-made double chance is the better buy. The point is that the check takes thirty seconds, and that "safer" markets are usually paid for out of your return. The same arithmetic explains why accumulators feel cheap and cost the most.
Choosing a market in five steps
- Write your opinion down in plain words first. "The home side is stronger but sloppy at the back" is an opinion. "I'll take over 2.5" is already an answer to a question you have not asked yet.
- Turn the opinion into a question. Who wins? By how much? How many goals? Will both teams score? Each of those is a different market.
- Check the price against your own estimate. Convert the odds into a percentage and ask honestly whether you rate the outcome higher than that.
- Compare two or three markets that fit the same opinion. A strong favourite can be backed at 1X2, on the handicap, on draw no bet or through a team total, and those prices are not equally generous.
- Size the stake before you place it, as a fixed share of your bankroll rather than by how confident you feel. Our bankroll management guide covers this properly.
Important Adding markets does not spread risk. Three bets on one match — home win, over 2.5 and GG — are a single opinion in three envelopes, and the wrong script sinks all three at once. Piling markets into an accumulator to lift the price multiplies the bookmaker's mark-up along with the odds.
Mistakes that cost the most
Betting the market you always bet, whatever the fixture, is the first one. If every match ends up as an over 2.5, you are not analysing games, you are following a habit. The second is confusing "likely" with "worth backing": a 1.15 favourite is likely and still a poor bet if you rate the same outcome at 80%. The third is wandering into exotic markets for the price alone, without knowing how they settle. A longer list, with a fix for each, is in 15 mistakes beginners make.
The rest of this cluster
Each market has its own deep dive, and the guides around them cover the skills that make market choice work.
- What GG and NG mean in betting — the definition, scoreline examples and how the market settles when a match is abandoned.
- Over 1.5, over 2.5 and over 3.5 — why the half exists, and how the price moves between lines.
- Handicap betting explained — European and Asian handicaps, quarter lines and half-win settlement.
- How to read betting odds — turning a price into a probability, and comparing two bookmakers on one match.
- Singles, accumulators and system bets — the shape of the slip, once the market is chosen.
- Bankroll management — how much to put on any of this.
- 15 mistakes beginners make — the shortcuts that quietly drain accounts.
- Sports betting for beginners — the starting point if any of the above read like a foreign language.
See it in practice Every core market has a live feed of analysed fixtures: match result, double chance, over goals, handicap, GG/NG and correct score. Everything kicking off in the next few hours sits in today's predictions.
FAQ
Which market should a beginner start with?
Match result and total goals. Both have obvious mechanics, the leanest mark-up on the board and the most public statistics to test an opinion against. Double chance and handicap are the natural second step, once prices and probabilities feel comfortable. Correct score and player markets are worth leaving alone until then.
How many markets does one football match have?
It depends on the bookmaker and the profile of the fixture: a televised European tie can carry several hundred selections, while a lower-division match may offer a dozen. The rule that holds everywhere is that the further a market sits from the main line, the bigger the cut inside the price and the thinner the money keeping it honest.
Is double chance the same as draw no bet?
No. On a draw, double chance 1X pays out at its own price, while draw no bet simply returns the stake with no profit and no loss. That is why draw no bet is always the longer price of the two: the bookmaker pays less in one of the three scenarios. Which one suits you depends on how likely you think the draw actually is.
Do extra time and penalties count?
Not on standard markets. Match result, totals, GG/NG and handicaps all settle on 90 minutes plus stoppage time, so a cup tie won on penalties is still a draw on your slip. Bets that include extra time are listed separately, usually as "to qualify" or "to lift the trophy".
Can I combine several markets from one match?
As singles, yes, but it is not diversification: selections from one fixture rise and fall together. Most bookmakers block combining them in a standard accumulator for that reason and offer priced "bet builder" combinations instead, where the mark-up is noticeably higher than on the individual markets.
Disclaimer This article is for information only and is not an inducement to gamble. Betting involves the risk of losing money — never stake more than you can afford to lose. 18+. If gambling stops being entertainment, read our responsible gambling guide and seek help.
The editorial prediction is provided for informational purposes only and should not be treated as a direct call to action. Every reader should do their own analysis before deciding on a bet.