Enough background, lets talk about betting on the sport. Betting on Soccer is a little different than betting on football or basketball as a result of typically low scores. This means soccer betting is more like wagering on hockey or baseball, in that spreads and totals are not moved to balance action. Instead, the House moves the attached moneyline to create value and attract betting dollars where desired.

However, there is a major difference between soccer and baseball/hockey - the likelihood of the game ending in a tie. Baseball can never end in a tie (although you should never say never, because the Yankees and Orioles played to a 1-1 tie last September), and neither can playoff hockey. Soccer, on the other hand, ends in a tie very often. With few games and frequent ties, European betting shops simply added the "Draw" as a wagerable option to increase earnings, and three-way betting was formed.

So when you see a line like:
Portugal -250
USA +550
Draw +280

A bet on Portugal is a loss, not a push, if the game ends in a tie. The same goes for a wager on the USA. A bet on the Draw is a winner only if the game ends in a tie, so if either team wins, the Draw wager is a loss.

Some North American books (including Bodog) have added a more traditional spread for the World Cup to make it easier for their clients to play. At these books, you may see a line like:

Portugal -1/2 (-250)
USA +1/2 (+210)

Please note that the attached moneyline of the Portugal spread is the same as the line in three-way betting at -250. This is because the bets are the same thing. Portugal -1/2 means they must win the game, and that a loss or a draw results in the wager being a loser. Sometimes, the spread will be -1.5 (like baseball and playoff hockey), but regardless, when betting favorites in soccer, you should always check both the spread and the three-way moneyline to find the best value.

The converse is not true, though, as a wager on USA +1/2 essentially represents both USA +550 and the Draw +280 in a single pick. You can use this to your advantage to get a higher return on your bankroll in certain situations. If you like the US to win, why settle for a return of +210 on the spread when an upset can pay +550? If you like the draw at +280, perhaps you may want to include the possibility of a US win, and only give up 70 cents. There are many opportunities here, and it is worth spending some time with a pen and paper working through different scenarios to see where you can benefit.

Some soccer games (World Cup games after the first round for example) require a winner, but to keep betting options the same, books traditionally only accept wagers for regulation time. This means that golden goals (overtime winners) and penalty kicks (the shoot-out after scoreless overtime) have no effect on wagering. Always make sure you are aware of exactly what outcome you are betting on in soccer.

Two other typical soccer bets are the Exact Score and Double Result. The Exact Score bet is pretty clear - predict the final score. This type of bet doesn't work very well in other sports because of the higher scores, but is very popular for soccer. Double Result wagering requires you to pick the outcome of the first half and the game. For example, Portugal-Draw would require that Portugal be leading after the first half and that the score be tied at the end of the game for the bet to be a winner.