If you thought figuring out which team will win was tough, wait to hear about correct score betting. With this wager, you not only have to predict the victor but also the exact scoreline. For example, the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the Golden State Warriors 110-107.
Correct score betting is one of the most easiest betting terms to understand. These types of bets are very popular as they often have long odds which gives you the chance to make big wins. To win a correct score bet you must accurately predict the final score for the game you are betting on. You can’t just be a little out, you have to be 100% exact. This is why they present good value.
There’s a little more to correct score bets than that. So pull up a chair, and let’s explore this betting market together!
Correct Score Bet Types
Sportsbooks continue to dream up different correct score bets. Here are the most common ones you’ll come across:
Half-Time Correct Score
You don’t have to wait until the end of the game to settle your correct score bet. With this variant, you only care about predicting the score when the ref blows the half-time whistle.
Second-Half Correct Score
This one is similar to a half-time correct score, but you need to predict how many points or goals both teams will score in the second half. With this bet, the score sheet goes back to zero at the start of the second half. For example, if the half-time score between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots is 20-7 and then the Chiefs win 27-14, your second-half correct score wager would pay out if you bet on the second-half score being 7-7.
Full-Time Correct Score
Guess the exact score when the game finishes to win. You might bet on Novak Djokovic beating Jannik Sinner 7-6, 6-3.
Half-Time / Full-Time Correct Score
If you’re feeling very lucky, you can combine a half-time and full-time correct score wager into one wager, called a Half-Time/Full-Time Bet. You’ll only win if both predictions are correct. For example, the New York Giants to be leading at half-time against the Dallas Cowboys 14-7 and then win the game 21-17.
Scorecast
This is a type of soccer correct score bet where you predict a player to score a goal and the final score in the match. You could bet on Harry Kane to score and Bayern Munich to beat Real Madrid 2-1.
Best Sports For Correct Score Betting
You make correct score bets on all sports, from soccer to tennis to baseball to football. It’s much harder to predict the score for sports like basketball, where it’s easier to rack up points, and there is a greater range of possible scores. However, you’re rewarded for the additional risk with greater odds.
Low-scoring sports like soccer, hockey, and baseball tend to be the most popular markets. Even though correct scores are still long shots for these sports, you have a much higher chance of winning compared to guessing the score of a football or baseball game.
Two sports that work particularly well for correct score betting are tennis and ice hockey. There are two correct score markets in a tennis match. You could choose between the number of games in each set or the number of sets. For example, in a match between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, you could bet Alcaraz to win the first set 6-4 and win win by three sets to one.
Correct score betting in ice hockey is almost exactly the same as betting on a football match. There is the option to select the ‘any other market’, which you can choose if you don’t like any of the scores the operator has listed.
Should You Place a Bet on the Exact Score?
Bettors tend to overestimate the likelihood of longshots winning. Sportsbooks take advantage of this by jacking up the juice and offering poor odds. It’s not uncommon for correct score markets to have 10% or 20% juice compared to moneyline, where the average juice is below 5%.
However, don’t let the high juice put you off completely. If you want to chase long odds and potentially scoop a massive payday, then correct score bets can still be a bit of fun. Also, you can’t beat the feeling of tapping into your inner Nostradamus and actually getting the score right.
Personally, I stick to totals. The over/under bet style gives you a much higher chance of winning, and if you crunch the numbers correctly, you can outsmart the sportsbooks.
Correct Score Betting Strategies
Winning correct score bets is no easy feat, but here are a few tips to improve your odds:
- Don’t back 0-0 – There is a good reason sportsbooks offer such high odds for this bet because it happens so rarely!
- Avoid high-scoring sports – Soccer and ice hockey correct score bets are hard enough to win, don’t make things even more challenging by trying to predict the score of basketball games or betting on cricket matches.
- Reduce your normal stake – Correct score wagers are long shots, if you bet your typical stake, you’ll burn through your bankroll before you know it.
- Stats are your friend – There is now tons of free data. You can quickly pull up hundreds of games and look at the average number of points and goals each team typically scores. You should base your wagers around these stats.
How to Bet on the Exact Score
Now that you’ve received your bachelor’s in correct score betting, it’s time to show you how to place one of these bets.
- Sign up at one of the listed sportsbooks
- Select a sport, eg. soccer
- Click on a game, eg. Man City vs Chelsea
- Go to the correct score betting market
- Choose a particular score eg. Man City to win 2-1
- Enter your stake
- Confirm your bet
All that’s left to do is cross your fingers and hope both teams don’t let you down!
