Ante post betting is a great way to find good value before the season gets underway. With football especially being so unpredictable these days, it can pay dividends to get your money on who you think will win the league, be relegated, bag a European place or finish as top scorer nice and early.
Also, be sure to check out our top football free bets to help stack the odds in your favour.
What Is Ante Post Betting?
There’s so much to bet on in football each year before a ball has even been kicked. Ante post betting can sometimes be the best way of having a bet regardless of the market you choose, as there are always top offers and enhanced odds floating about before the season has begun.
You can also bet on who will be the top PL London, Midlands, Northwest or Southern club, who will stay up, or even who will be top at Christmas, among various other markets. Of course, it can also be a risk. A bad start for your predicted winner and those 6/1 odds you got pre-season could now be a lot longer. That also works the other way, though, as a good start from a team not predicted to do too well will see their price drop quickly.
Like all types of betting in any sport, there are always pros and cons. Still, for those of you looking for pre-tournament value, ante post betting is certainly the way to go.
Each Way Betting on the Top Goalscorer Market
Each way betting is a popular option on this market, and with even the favourites priced at double-digit odds or close to them, it’s easy to see why.
An each way bet on the outright favourite would still return a net win for a place. However, if you manage to land a place on an outsider you could be looking at a really tidy sum.
Remembering that bookies frequently offer ¼ of the odds for a top four finish, that means just three or four goals could well be enough to land a place.
Dead Heat Rules
Note that if you are betting on the top goalscorer market as opposed to the Golden Boot winner, there is a chance of a dead heat. FIFA use assists and game time to determine the Golden Boot winner in the event of a tie, however, bookies use dead heat rules for the top goalscorer market.
For example, if two players both score six goals and tie for top scorer, half of your bet will be treated as a winner. The other half of your stake will be lost. With an each way bet on the top goalscorer, a dead heat is even more likely.
For example, if your pick finishes second but is tied, say, on five goals, with five players, you won’t win all of your each way bet. Obviously the winner portion of the bet will be lost but so will part of your each way stake. In the example above, your player has effectively finished partially 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. As such, 60% of your each way bet will win and 40% will lose.