Interesting fact my dad used to collect money for football pools back in the 1980s so I’ve always had a close bond with this interesting aspect of football betting which has perhaps grown out of favour in more recent times with most people preferring things like online casino bonus betting or following football tipsters.
Access to football pools betting has never been easier, with so many matches taking place all over the world at any given time.
The huge appeal of football pools betting is the relative simplicity of each prediction, punters simply have to make a prediction of win, lose, or draw across a range of fixtures.
Whilst accumulator bets have become the most popular football bet, football pools punts can also yield significant rewards – from a relatively small stake.
Here is a guide to football pools betting:
How football pools betting works:
Football pools, and pools betting in general, operate similarly to a lottery. Every player places their stake into their chosen football pools, which are then collated into one large pool (hence the name pools betting) and distributed between any winners. So rather than playing against the bookmaker, like in fixed odds betting, you are effectively competing against other players as the less winning players at the end of a pool, the bigger your pay out (or dividend) is likely to be.
There are often three primary pools types; 1 x 2, Correct Score and Both Teams to Score. Although each operate identically in terms of how the winnings are collected and distributed, the way you play each of them differs greatly.
1 x 2 – Also known as win-draw-win, this is probably the best known market type in football betting. Punters have to select which side will win, or whether it will be a draw, in a pre-determined number of football matches.
Correct Score – Correct Score pools require you to predict the outcome of each game contained within a pool. The difficulty is ramped up in comparison to the 1 x 2 bet, as players need to predict the actual final correct score of the match.
Both Teams to Score – Arguably the most simple and fun pools betting option which simply requires players to decide whether both of the teams in any given leg will or won’t score.
Things to look out for when football pools betting:
Relish the ‘low risk, high reward’ strategy – Combining the odds across a variety of football matches has the potential to win life changing sums of money. That said, most punters tend to see their best wins when they adopt the ‘low risk, high reward’ strategy. Building a bumper pools bet of 8/10 matches can yield incredible returns with initial stakes being as low as £1. So, don’t expect to win big when football pools betting and enjoy the thrill of the action.
Know the Game – Football pools are – in many senses – the prototype of the accumulator bet within UK football. For generations, football pools coupons were delivered to houses across the country, for armchair fans to make their predictions. Whilst online sports betting has come a long way since then, the players that are still successful when football pools betting tend to know the game inside out. So research each team, avoid betting on hunches and make informed decisions on each game.