SOCCER BETTING TIPS: Understanding the Double Chance Betting market!
Explore our blog about double chance bets to gain an edge and take your soccer betting game to the next level!
What does double chance mean in betting?
The double chance is popular in soccer betting circles. This bet allows you to choose two possible outcomes for a match. In simpler terms, you place money on two different results that could happen.
For example, your bet can cover one of three combinations: HOME AND DRAW, AWAY AND DRAW or HOME AND AWAY. Don’t worry if this sounds confusing right now. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a proper understanding of the market and will soon be placing your own double chance bets!
What is a double chance bet?
The term double chance is a special phrase used in sports betting. It’s a safer way to bet on a game’s outcome and mitigates some of the risk at the expense of the value of your odds. Instead of choosing the home team, the draw or the away team you can place a double chance bet if you’re unsure.
With a double chance bet, you have three options to choose from:
- HOME/DRAW: This bet covers two outcomes – the home team winning and the game ending in a draw. The only way that this bet loses is if the away team wins.
- AWAY/DRAW: Again, we cover two outcomes here – the away team winning and the game ending in a draw. The only way you can lose this bet is if the home team wins.
- HOME/AWAY: You guessed it! Two outcomes are covered – the home team winning and the away team winning. The only way you can lose this bet is if the game ends in a draw.
You might see this bet represented in a few different ways depending on the bookmaker or who you speak to. For the record:
- HOME/DRAW is also known as 1X
- AWAY/DRAW is also known as X2
- HOME/AWAY is also known as 12
Let’s break these down a bit further below using some real-life examples from the English Premier League.
1. Double chance 1X (HOME/DRAW) meaning
Having a bet on the double chance 1X market – also known as the HOME/DRAW – means that your wager requires either the home team to win or for the match to end in a draw in order to be successful. This is a good option if you think the home team will win but the away side may sit deep and try to prevent the home team from scoring.
For instance, let’s say there’s a match between Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League. If you’re confident that Chelsea will win, you can choose the 1X (HOME/DRAW) double chance option. Even if the game ends in a draw, you will still win your bet.
2. Double chance X2 (DRAW/AWAY) meaning
When you choose the X2 or the DRAW/AWAY double chance bet, it means you believe the away team will either win or the game will end in a draw. This usually happens when the visiting team is performing well and is expected to win the game.
However, there is a possibility that the home team – playing in front of their fans – could snatch a draw. In such cases, if the away team doesn’t win, they might at least end the game with a draw – in which case your bet will be a winner!
It’s important to compare the two teams to one another in order to gauge who you think has a better chance of winning. For example, if there is a match between Arsenal and Chelsea and you select the X2 (DRAW/AWAY) bet, it means you are confident that Chelsea will win. But if that doesn’t happen, you can still win your bet if the match ends in a draw.
3. Double chance 12 (HOME/AWAY) meaning
The double chance 12 also known as HOME/AWAY is a bet you take when you’re not sure who will win the game, but you believe that it won’t end in a draw. For this bet to win, either the home team or the away team needs to win.
This type of bet is usually reserved for when two high-scoring and unpredictable teams face off against one another – think Liverpool when Jurgen Klopp first arrived, or Manchester United when Sir Alex Fergusson’s great sides would concede often, but often outscore their opponents.
Let’s say Arsenal are facing Chelsea in a league match. You’ve identified that both sides have been both scoring and conceding regularly. This is the ideal match to bet on the 12 (HOME/AWAY) market. Here your bet will win if either Arsenal or Chelsea win. If the game ends in a draw, your bet will lose.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
To round off, let’s take a look at some of the more common questions that punters tend to ask about the double-chance betting market.
A double chance bet gives you a better chance of winning a bet by allowing you to cover two results with a single wager.
Absolutely! In fact, a popular tactic many punters use is to build out 10-leg or more multiples using only the double chance market! It’s a great way to offset the risk posed by longer multiples.
Absolutely! In fact, taking a multiple consisting exclusively of double chance bets. Although each leg might return reduced odds, the insurance provided by covering two of the three outcomes in each leg makes it an attractive proposition.
