Correct score betting and HT/FT: settlement and high odds

Correct score betting and half time/full time (HT/FT) — how they are settled and why the odds are so high

When browsing a bookmaker’s markets, a beginner sees a condensed view. This means the main odds, displayed in a single row after the names of the teams taking part. Most often, this row contains the main match results (home win, draw, away win), double chance selections (1X, X, X2), as well as handicaps and totals.

Some bettors look no further than this row, but experienced bettors almost always open the full list of markets for a match. Depending on the level of the fixture, this list can contain anything from dozens to hundreds of additional selections at different odds. Sometimes an experienced bettor looks for an alternative handicap or total line in the expanded markets. More often, they look for high odds as part of their betting strategy.

Correct score and half time/full time (HT/FT) markets are straightforward examples of where to find higher odds. These selections almost always carry high odds because they require the bettor to predict more than a simple match result, such as either team winning.

For a correct score bet to win, the bettor must predict the exact figures on the scoreboard, as recorded in the official match report, regardless of the sport. Naturally, this task involves not two or three possible outcomes, but dozens. The teams could finish with a score of 1:1, 2:1, 0:3 or 6:1. To win, the bettor must predict those figures in the correct order. Bookmakers usually offer a substantial return for such precision.

A half time/full time bet is only slightly more complicated to understand than a correct score bet. The aim is to predict the result of the first half and of the match as a whole. The first part, such as 1 in a 1/X bet, denotes the first-half result; the second part denotes the full-time result, X in the same example. Here, bookmakers have a list limited to nine possible outcomes.

A particularly important condition for these types of bets is that bookmakers accept them on normal time. In football, this means two halves including stoppage time, which should not be confused with extra time. In ice hockey, bets exclude overtime and shootouts. However, although this is the established and widely applied approach, bettors should always read the rules of the particular bookmaker they use. This helps avoid unpleasant surprises and unwanted financial losses.

H2: Correct score betting: what you need to predict

A correct score bet has a very simple premise. To win, the bettor must predict how many goals the home and away teams will each score over the whole match. The referee’s final whistle confirms the final score. If the score selected for the bet matches the one recorded by the referee, the bettor receives a substantial payout. If there is even the slightest difference between the selection and the actual score, the bet loses and the bookmaker keeps the stake.

Correct score selections can usually be found in a bookmaker’s section of that name, with a list of odds similar to the following: 1:0 — 7.60; 2:0 — 8.70; 2:1 — 7.80; 1:1 — 7.10, and so on. Bettors do not need to consider who scores for the home or away side, how the goals are scored, the minutes in which they occur or other statistics. A player in the selected match could even score an own goal. The only fact that matters when settling the bet is whether the selected score matches the one recorded by the referee at the end of normal time.

Settling a correct score bet is very straightforward. If the selected score is 2:1, but the referee records a final score of 1:0, 1:1 or 0:3 in the official match report, the bookmaker settles the bet as a loss. If the bettor predicts the exact final score, the bookmaker settles the bet as a winner, multiplies the stake by the odds and then credits the resulting total payout to the betting account.

Let us look at examples of how winning correct score bets are settled, using hypothetical odds and a hypothetical stake of €100:

Winning score Odds Implied probability Total payout, € Net result, €

1:0 7.00 14.3% 700.0 +600.0

2:1 9.00 11.1% 900.0 +800.0

1:1 6.50 15.4% 650.0 +550.0

0:0 9.50 10.5% 950.0 +850.0

0:2 8.50 11.8% 850.0 +750.0

H2: Why correct score odds are high

Correct score odds are almost always high because the number of goals scored by the home and away teams is difficult to predict and depends on many factors. A standard match result bet has three possible outcomes: a home win, a draw or an away win. With this limited number of outcomes, bookmakers offer relatively modest odds.

With correct score bets, the match in question could finish 1:0 just as it could finish 2:4. Sports fans hardly need reminding how many matches in modern football finish 5:2, 6:3 or 0:8. Of course, predicting such a score is extremely difficult. However, if a bettor gets it right, the payout is very large.

The odds for each correct score offered by a bookmaker can differ. They may reflect a low or very low probability of a particular score. However, the odds guarantee nothing. Even if team A have finished four of their last five home matches with a score of 1:0, and the league itself is not particularly high-scoring, a bet on team A’s familiar 1:0 score could still end in a 2:3 defeat and the loss of the bettor’s stake.

One correct score strategy involves selecting the six or seven most likely scores in one match and placing equal-stake singles on each at odds of 8.00 or higher. This would produce an overall net profit if any of the seven selected scores occurred. The other side is that the strategy would fail and lead to substantial losses if the final score were not among those selected by the bettor.

H2: Half time/full time: nine combinations

A half time/full time bet combines two bets into one. To receive a payout, the bettor must get both parts right. In football, for example, the first part concerns the result of the first half, and the second concerns the result of the whole match, not the second half on its own.

Bookmakers usually display odds for this type of bet in a section called “Half Time/Full Time” or “Half-Time/Full-Time”. Given that bookmakers accept these bets on normal time, there are nine possible combinations, unlike correct score bets. In the relevant section, selections are almost always displayed in one of two ways: Home/Home or 1/1. Both mean a bet on the home team winning the first half and winning the match.

Listing every possible combination using numerical notation gives the following:

1/1 — home win in the first half / home win in the match;

1/X — home win in the first half / draw in the match;

1/2 — home win in the first half / away win in the match;

X/1 — draw in the first half / home win in the match;

X/X — draw in the first half / draw in the match;

X/2 — draw in the first half / away win in the match;

2/1 — away win in the first half / home win in the match;

2/X — away win in the first half / draw in the match;

2/2 — away win in the first half / away win in the match.

Let us look at examples of winning bets for every possible half time/full time combination:

Half time/full time combination First-half result

(at half-time) Match result

(after the referee’s final whistle) Example

(half-time – full-time)

1/1 Home team leading Home team won 2:0 – 2:1

1/X Home team leading Draw 1:0 – 2:2

1/2 Home team leading Away team won 1:0 – 1:2

X/1 Draw Home team won 0:0 – 2:1

X/X Draw Draw 1:1 – 1:1

X/2 Draw Away team won 0:0 – 0:1

2/1 Away team leading Home team won 0:1 – 2:1

2/X Away team leading Draw 0:1 – 1:1

2/2 Away team leading Away team won 0:1 – 0:2

When choosing a half time/full time bet and reviewing the results, it is important to remember that 1/1 does not mean the home team must win both halves. They must win the first half and the match overall. For a 1/1 bet to win, the home team could even lose the second half in isolation, but they must win the first half and the match.

For example, if the home team win the first half 1:0 and each team scores once in the second half, making that half 1:1 and the final score 2:1, a 1/1 bet wins despite the second half itself being drawn.

H2: How the payout is calculated and why the odds are higher than for a match result

Let us use examples to calculate the settlement of several winning half time/full time bets and assess the probabilities implied by the bookmakers’ pre-match odds. We will use hypothetical odds and a €100 stake on each combination:

Half time/full time combination Odds Implied probability Total payout, € Net result, €

1/1 2.60 38.5% 260.0 +160.0

X/1 4.50 22.2% 450.0 +350.0

X/X 5.50 18.2% 550.0 +450.0

2/1 21.0 4.8% 2100.0 +2000.0

Where a bookmaker offers 1/1 at odds of 2.60, a standard bet on the home team to win the match might be available at 1.70. The difference in odds is considerable. A €100 bet on a straightforward home win produces a net profit of €70. A winning 1/1 half time/full time bet, on the home team winning the first half and the match, produces a net profit of €160.

However, the probability of that half time/full time bet winning is also lower than for a standard match result bet. When backing a home win in the standard match result market, the first-half result does not matter at all.

The 1/2 and 2/1 half time/full time combinations are the rarest and carry high odds because they require the team losing at half-time to win the match. According to figures available online, around a quarter of English Premier League matches end with the 1/1 half time/full time combination, while 1/2 is the rarest, occurring on average in one match in fifty.

H2: Match periods and abandoned matches

Correct score and half time/full time bets cover normal time only, including stoppage time but excluding extra time and penalty shootouts. If a match is abandoned before half-time, half time/full time bets are settled at odds of 1.00, with the stake refunded. If the match is abandoned after half-time, bets that have already lost based on the first-half result are settled as losses, while those that have not lost are settled at odds of 1.00, with the stake refunded, because the match has not been completed. In all circumstances, the applicable betting rules must be checked with your bookmaker.

H2: Frequently asked questions

Question: Do own goals count in correct score bets?

Answer: Yes. Who scored the goals and how they were scored do not matter for settlement. Only the final score matters.

Question: Will a 1/2 bet win if the home team win the first half and the away team win the second half?

Answer: Only if the away team’s second-half win is enough for them to win the match.

Question: Which is more profitable: match result or half time/full time bets?

Answer: Half time/full time odds are usually higher than those offered for standard match results, but profitability depends on how successful the bets are.