| Point Spread and Money Line are two most common | | | | no matter how the game turns out. This is called the |
| types of betting in soccer. To judge which one is a | | | | “Theoretical Hold” and is expressed as a |
| better play, let us look into details of both of them. Also | | | | percentage. It represents the combined amount of |
| known as 1X2, money line is an older system of | | | | customers' bets that the bookmaker expects to keep. |
| soccer betting. In this type of betting, there are three | | | | Compared to the North American sports, soccer |
| options, Home Win, Away Win and Draw. Nearly 30 | | | | moneylines give the bookmaker a much bigger |
| percent of soccer games end in a draw, so picks are | | | | theoretical hold making it the most lucrative betting |
| to be made wisely. However, it is very disappointing to | | | | format from a sportsbooks perspective. |
| lose a bet when the game ends in a draw. This led to | | | | There is another drawback with moneylines. As the |
| a new form of wagering known as hang cheng or | | | | visiting teams often draw rather than winning outright, |
| Asian Handicap, which eliminated the draw option. This | | | | away wins are much rarer in soccer than in other |
| is what we know as point spread. In this, you have | | | | sports. So, the general tendency is not to play on the |
| two betting options, home win and away win. The | | | | away team. |
| draw option is eliminated. If the game ends in a draw, | | | | On the other hand, point spread offers much better |
| the wager will be graded a 'push' and stakes refunded. | | | | value because of a lower theoretical hold. Intense |
| However, since the risk is smaller, the rewards are | | | | competition among sportsbooks in recent years has |
| also smaller. Since you don’t lose with a draw, the | | | | also made it possible for the betters to secure even |
| odds on home and away teams are lessened. | | | | better odds. Most Asian books offer reduced juice on |
| Recently, point spread betting has been gaining more | | | | soccer. Pinnacle Sportsbook recently began posting |
| and more popularity because of the matter of | | | | lines as low as four-cents on soccer spreads (lay |
| ‘value’. For a sportsbook, three-line European | | | | -102), with a theoretical hold of only 0.98 percent! |
| moneylines have bigger profit margins than two-line | | | | Just like puck lines in hockey, or run lines in baseball, the |
| point spreads. Offering three options allows the | | | | soccer point spread makes wagering more flexible |
| bookmaker to extract more 'juice' from each line. | | | | than moneylines. Because of all these reasons. Point |
| When creating lines, a sportsbook will offer odds on | | | | spread is becoming more popular these days than |
| each team that give it a slight edge, ensuring a profit | | | | moneylines. |