Double Chance Betting

A double chance bet on football gives the punter more chance of winning by allowing them to cover two of the three possible outcomes on a match. Double chance betting is a very popular form of betting, read on to see why.

How Does a Double Chance Bet Work?

Basically, there are three possible options when betting outright on a football match. You can either back the home team to win, the away team to win, or the match to end in a draw.

With a double chance bet, you increase your chances of winning by combining two of these possible options into a single bet.

Home or Draw – Your bet will win if the home team wins or the match ends in a draw, it will lose if the away team wins.

Away or Draw – Your bet wins if the away team wins or it’s a draw. You lose if the home team wins.

Home or Away – With this bet, you win if there’s a winner regardless of whether it’s the home or away team. However, your bet will lose if the match finishes level.

Advantages to Double Chance Betting

There are clear advantages to double chance betting.

Firstly, there’s the increased chances of your bet winning. You are backing two of three possible outcomes, instead of one, so it doubles your chances of a winner as the name suggests.

Also, this is a great bet for backing the underdog if you expect an upset in a match. For instance, if the league leaders were playing a lower-placed team just days before a huge European cup tie it may pay to back the “lesser” team.

A double chance bet allows you to back the underdog without the need for them to pull off a huge upset victory. You would also win if they can get a much more realistic draw.

Disadvantages to Double Chance Betting

Obviously, as you are getting two outcomes in one bet, the odds will be significantly lower than if you backed just one outcome on the match.

Also, it isn’t a great option if you are backing a clear favourite. A double chance bet is fantastic if backing the underdog, but as the odds are low, you will lessen your chance of profit if you use it to bet on a one-sided match.

Would it Be More Profitable to Just Place Two Separate Bets?

Some people may think it would be more profitable to place two separate bets instead of using the double chance option, and occasionally they would be correct. However, this isn’t always the case.

It obviously pays to look at the odds and use a bet calculator to work out your potential profit before placing your bet.

Here, using odds from Bet365 and a total stake of 100, we look at the profit potential for the Under-21 fixture between England and Poland.

So, if you use the double chance option for your fixture you would get odds of 1.14 for England or the Draw, 2.60 for Poland or the draw, or 1.25 for England or Poland.

This means a stake of 100 would give you a total win and profit of:

England/Draw – 114 (profit of 14)

Poland/Draw – 260 (profit of 160)

England/Poland – 125 (profit of 25)

If you split your stake into two bets of 50, you get outright odds of 1.53 on England, 6.00 on Poland, or 4.00 on the draw.

This is winnings of:

England – 76.50

Poland – 300

Draw – 200

So, if you backed England or the draw separately and England won, you would lose 24.50 based on a total stake of 100. Your overall profit if the game was a draw would be 100.

Therefore, if you want to back England but at less risk than placing the full 100 on them, it’s best to use the double chance option.

If you are going to back Poland or the draw, you have a decision to make as to whether you use the double chance option or not.

The overall profit of 100 for the draw in an outright bet is lower than the potential double chance profit of 160. However, you also have a chance of a 200 profit if Poland win.