To make sports bets with good chances of return on investment, it is essential that you have knowledge of the sport and the market in which you are going to invest your money.

Regarding football matches, it is common to find variants of the most common types of bets (such as bets on goals scored).

In this article, we explain what a common market is in soccer betting, specifically in the type of bet on -2.5 goals in a match.

What are -2.5 goals bets?

Also known as 2.5 Goal Bets, these are a specific type of sports bet where the bettor believes that the number of goals in the match will be less than 2.5. Therefore, it does not matter if the game ends in a draw (1-1) or if a team wins (2-0), what matters is that the total number of goals is less than 2.5.

How do -2.5 goals bets work?

These bets depend on the total sum of the number of goals in a match or a certain time of a match. For example, in a classic like Brazil against Italy, you can come to the conclusion that the game will have few goals, 2 at most (ie less than 2.5). If the final result is 0-0, 1-0, 2-0 or 1-1, you will win, regardless of other factors.

Meaning of -2.5 in sports betting

In other words, “-2.5 goals” in sports betting means betting that the match will have a maximum of 2 goals. You may be wondering why the -3 reference is not used then, since there is no such thing as a half goal in soccer. This is because by including a decimal number, any ambiguity is avoided.

Messi vs Mbappe

If the market type had the relationship +2 or -2, and the match ended with 2 goals scored, the result, regardless of the bet, would be a draw: if you bet on -2, and the match ended with 2 goals, it would not be won either, since less than 2 goals would not be scored. However, you would not lose either, since the match had no more than 2 goals.

Markets with -2.5 in sports betting

There are two major markets that use the -2.5 goals benchmark in sports betting: the Over/Under market and the Asian Handicap/Handicap market.

More than/Less than

In the bet it is believed that the number of goals in a match will be greater (more than) or less (less than) than a certain number established in it.

In the specific case, betting on less than 2.5 means believing that the match will have a number of goals less than 2.5. And the same happens with more than, but with a higher number than the one proposed in the bet.

Handicap in sports betting

Handicap means “handicap”. A handicap bet is a type of market where you play with one team handicap over another.

In this bet, one team starts with a disadvantage (such as -2.5 goals) to the other, and the bet is that the team will reverse this difference or not.

Asian Handicap

Known as HA or AH, the Asian handicap is the handicap that seeks to equalize the strengths between the different competing teams.

For example, in a soccer game, team A is much better than team B. Thus, an HA of -2.5 for team A means that team A will start the game with a deficit of 2.5 goals. So for a winning bet, A must win with an advantage of at least 3 goals.

Why bet on -2.5 goals?

This type of bet is interesting because it provides profit with a guess that does not need to be exact or conclusive. It is also common to find bets of more than or less than for the first half or the entirety of a game.

Differences and similarities between -2.5 goals and total goals bets

Over/Under predictions and total number of goals bets represent two of the biggest markets in sports betting today.

And among them, they have some similarities and differences that at Bodog we will explain to you so that you can make your bets more easily.

Similarities Between -2.5 Goals and Total Goals

The main characteristic of these two markets is the fact of not having to choose between one of the teams that are facing each other. Furthermore, for both types of bets, it does not matter who will be the winner of the match. The focus is on the number of goals scored.

Differences between total goals and -2.5 goals

The big difference is that in total goals you bet on an exact number, and in the over/under models you bet on the probability that the goals are higher or lower than a number set by the market.

The main characteristic of over/under bets is that neither the number of goals nor the winner is exactly known.

Easy bet

And now that you know how the -2.5 betting market works, try to play and get more and more used to this type of play. The logic of the over/under market is the same, regardless of the number of goals established in the bet. What do you think if we bet on a football match?