What is Live Betting? Complete Live Betting Guide

Live Betting

Live betting, also known as in-play betting, is when a bettor places a wager on a sporting event after it has started and while it is taking place.

Generally, live sports betting shares many similarities with pre-game betting, although live betting does offer some unique markets. Another trait of in-play betting is that it typically features rapidly changing live odds, as sportsbooks react to in-game events such as scoring plays.

❓How Does Live Betting Work?
📊Benefits of Live Betting
💡How to Place a Live Bet
🏈Live Betting on Your Favorite Sports
✅Live Betting Strategy

How Does Live Betting Work?

Live sports betting works in largely the same way as pre-game betting. The bettor is presented with a selection of different in-game bets, including traditional options such as the spreads, prop bets, and moneyline bets, and chooses which betting option they want to wager on.

The fundamental difference is that pre-event odds tend to be static, only really changing in reaction to significant market-moving events, such as injury news or a flurry of bets. Live betting, on the other hand, is much more dynamic with odds constantly shifting as the event progresses.

Bettors typically place pre-event bets based on a range of considered factors, such as form or injury news. Pre-game betting, though, is more instinctive and reactive than in-game betting. It can reflect momentum shifts in games or a hunch that a team is about to score.

The management of live betting odds by sportsbooks is called trading and is a fluid process where odds and lines are continuously shifting.

To give an example, an NFL game may offer a pre-game expected total points line of 49.5. This means that, in a 60-minute game, the sportsbook expects a point to be scored every 1 minute and 12 seconds on average.

So, for every one minute and 12 seconds that passes without a point being scored, the total points line will reduce by one. However, when scoring does occur, the line will increase again.

The process is largely mathematical but does include an element of human judgment if it becomes clear that the pre-game expectations were wrong or if a significant event, such an injury to a key player, changes the likely outcome.

In this instance, it is up to the trader to react to the developing circumstances and up to the bettor to take advantage of incorrect odds if the trader fails to do so. That, essentially, is the challenge of live sports betting.

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Benefits of Live Betting

In this section we’ll sum up the positive and negative aspects of live sports betting, to ensure that you can make an informed decision before investing your money.

Advantages of Live Betting

Intuition. Whereas pre-game betting tends to revolve around measurable factors such as form and injury news, live betting relies on instinct and skill. Your reading of the game and ability to predict momentum shifts better than the sportsbook will determine whether you win or lose an in-game bet.
Can Guarantee a Return. Some sports have wildly fluctuating odds which you can exploit to guarantee a profit, a practice known as hedging. To successfully hedge, you must back both sides of a moneyline, or similar market, at odds greater than +100, therefore guaranteeing a profit regardless of the outcome.
Entertainment. Placing a bet can make even the most mundane sporting event thrilling to watch. Betting should always be for fun, not because you need money, and so wagering to add an extra layer of excitement is fine, as long as you bet responsibly.
Quick Returns. Pre-event bets can take days to settle, depending on when you strike them. Live betting offers a far quicker turnaround. Markets such as ‘next player to score a touchdown’ can win, or lose, moments after the bet is placed. It’s high-octane betting and that adds to the thrill.

Live Betting Drawbacks

Difficult to Stick to a Plan. It’s an unstructured way of betting which makes it tough to stick to a considered live betting strategy. You might plan to take a specific price or line before an in-game event radically shifts the odds against you.
Impulsive Bets. Due to the volatile nature of live betting and how rapidly odds change, bettors aren’t given much time to consider their wagers. This can lead to ill-considered bets as well as potentially chasing losses, both of which are negative betting habits.
Reliance on Speed of Video. Unless you’re placing your bets whilst actually attending an event, a practice known as courtsiding, you will rely on television pictures or internet streams to follow the action. The problem with this, particularly with internet streams, is that they can be very slow. If your pictures and, by extension, information are behind the sportsbook’s, they have an advantage.
Odds Can be Volatile. Because sportsbooks continually update their in-play odds, it can be a challenge to get bets placed when live betting before the prices change. They also often utilize a five second delay before your bet is accepted, which can make it even harder to get your bet struck at the price you want.

How to Place a Live Bet

Placing a live bet at an online sportsbook is simple and, if you’ve already placed a pre-game wager, you won’t have any issues. In this section we’ll talk you through the process in a few simple steps for live betting opportunities on your favorite sport.

Open a Betting Account
Navigate to the Live Betting Section
Find an Event and Betting Market
Place Your In-Game Bet

1. Open a Betting Account.

Visit the betting site, click ‘Register’ or ‘Join’, which is usually located in the top right corner, and fill out the registration form. Make sure you create a memorable username and password. Don’t forget to claim any active welcome promotions.

2. Navigate to the Live Betting Section.

Once you’re logged in, find your way to the live betting section of the website. Here you’ll see a list of all the events that are currently in-play, as well as events which are scheduled to start soon.

3. Find an Event and Betting Market

Find the event that you want to bet on and navigate to your market of choice. Keep in mind that certain in-play markets, such as next quarter winner, are time limited, whilst others, like next touchdown scorer, can close at any time. If you can’t immediately find the market that you want, that doesn’t mean that it won’t open soon.

4. Place Your In-Game Bet.

Click on the selection, enter your stake and confirm the bet. Sometimes odds will change as you are placing a bet, in which case you’ll be offered the updated price. Once the bet is live, be sure to check for cash out offers as the event progresses.

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Live Betting on Your Favorite Sports

Like pre-event betting, in-play wagering offers a huge range of markets which can differ from sport to sport. In this section we’ll run through the difference you’ll encounter when live betting on some of the major competitions and sports.

NBA Live Betting

Live betting on the NBA is fast and furious, due to the frequent scoring which impacts the major markets, such as moneyline, point spread and totals,. However, you’ll also find a range of unique in-game markets such as next quarter winner and props.

NFL Live Betting

NFL live betting tends to be more relaxed as there are so many breaks in play which offer wagering opportunities. High scoring plays mean that line moves can be quite extreme and a converted touchdown, for example, can shift the prices significantly. Popular NFL live betting markets include the spread, totals, next touchdown scorer and next scoring play.

NHL Live Betting

Owing to the relatively low-scoring nature of hockey, NHL live betting differs from football and basketball. The moneyline market, in particular, is unique as there is a 2-way or 3-way option to bet on in-play. The three-way option includes the tie as a potential outcome, whereas the two way just offers either team. In the event of a tie in a two-way market, the sportsbook may either result the market based on the overtime score, or settle the bet as a push.

MLB Live Betting

As baseball also features a lot of breaks in play, MLB live betting also offers plenty of wagering opportunities without too much concern over markets being suspended. The most popular live betting markets are the run line, point spread and run total but you can also bet on unique markets such as player props and innings totals.

Soccer Live Betting

Soccer offers perhaps more live betting markets than any other sport and, as matches only last for 90 minutes, it can be frantic. Match winner betting, known as the moneyline in US sports, is the primary market but you can bet on a huge range of alternatives, including handicaps, next goalscorer, total goals, time of next goal, whether a red card will be shown and much more.

eSports Live Betting

As eSports has grown in recent years, so has demand for live betting on eSports events, to add an extra layer of excitement to the action. The diverse nature of eSports means that betting markets change depending on which game is played. Typically you can bet on a version of the moneyline but also you’ll find game-specific markets, such as the total kills in CS:GO or total goals in FIFA.

Live Betting Strategy and Live Betting Odds

We’ve explained what live betting is, how to do it and touched upon how it works in some of the biggest sports but how do you make money from it? Here are five tips to improve your live betting strategy.

Compare Sportsbooks. Rival sportsbooks offer different odds and having a few sites open at once can allow you to cherry-pick the biggest price available and boost your returns.
Live betting odds. These constantly change and reflect the probability of a particular outcome. It's important to understand how they work and that odds vary between different sportsbooks. Comparing odds can improve your returns. Keep an eye on the odds during the game, as they can indicate significant events, such as a key player getting injured.
Look for overreactions. Some sportsbooks might overreact to an in-game event, capitalize on these mistakes before they are corrected.
Hedge your bets. As mentioned earlier in the article, with enough practice and know-how you can learn how to back every outcome and guarantee a profit.
Find fast streams. The quicker you know about an in-game event, the better your chance of reacting to it before the sportsbook does.
Become an expert on the sport. Ultimately a lot of live betting is instinctive and becoming an expert on a sport will help you read the patterns of play and momentum changes better.
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