Double Chance Betting Term Meaning
Double chance is a relatively new betting term. It refers to a specific set of betting markets offered mainly by online bookmakers, although you can find coupons in your local betting shop these days that offer double chance markets.
‘Double Chance’ betting is usually only offered on football matches and occasionally on certain NHL fixtures. It gives punters the opportunity to back two of the three possible outcomes from the match result market, which means the bettor stands more chance of picking a winner. While double chance bets reduce the possibility of your wager losing, the odds that the bookmaker offers will reflect this.
Let’s have a closer look at the options you’ll have:
- Home team or draw - If the home team manages to secure a win or a draw your bet wins.
- Draw or away team - If the travelling team picks up at least a point your bet wins.
- Home team or away team - If either team pulls off a win, your bet’s a winner but if the match ends in a draw you’ll lose your stake.
Punters have discovered that backing two markets instead of one can pay dividends in tight games. For example, in a game between Man Utd and Man City you might want to back the ‘Man Utd or Man City’ option rather than trying to call an outright winner. This means that it doesn’t matter who wins, as long as one of the teams do.
In games which you sense an upset might be on the cards, including the draw option into your double chance bet is often a wise move. For instance, Wolves playing Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux. Tottenham are the match result favourites but Wolves have performed well at home, so a double chance on either Wolves/Draw or Tottenham/Draw is potentially a better option.
When to Place Double Chance Bets
Not every football match is suitable for double chance betting, so it’s a case of doing your research and gaining knowledge to find the best value bets in this market. Let us look at a couple of real-life examples to illustrate:
Match Result | Home | Draw | Away |
---|---|---|---|
Fulham vs Manchester City | 21.00 | 9.00 | 1.12 |
Double Chance | |
---|---|
Fulham or Draw | 6.50 |
Fulham or Manchester City | 1.07 |
Manchester City or Draw | SUSP |
These are the current pre-match market odds as offered by Ladbrokes. Manchester City are huge favourites to win the game which is why their odds in the match result are market are 1.12. The chances for Fulham are slim (at best), so most punters would agree the best they could hope for would be a draw. Ladbrokes has suspended this market to prevent scouts for betting big on what is close to a dead cert win for the punter.
Match Result | Home | Draw | Away |
---|---|---|---|
Burnley vs Wolverhampton | 3.00 | 3.10 | 2.45 |
Double Chance | |
---|---|
Burnley or Draw | 1.53 |
Burnley or Wolves | 1.36 |
Wolves or Draw | 1.36 |
The betting for this match is much closer, so there is potential value on certain bets, but not all. If you think of a £10 wager on a double chance market, the same as two £5 wagers, you can find the best options.
- £5 on Burnley win: £5 x 3.0 = £15 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £5 profit)
- £5 on the draw: £5 x 3.1 = £15.50 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £5.50 profit)
- £10 or Burnley or Draw: £10 x 1.53 = £15.30 return. £5.30 profit
- £5 on Burnley win: £5 x 3.0 = £15 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £5 profit)
- £5 on Wolves win: £5 x 2.45 = £12.25 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £2.25 profit)
- £10 or Burnley or Wolves: £10 x 1.36 = £13.60 return. £3.60 profit
- £5 on Wolves win: £5 x 2.45 = £12.25 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £2.25 profit)
- £5 on Draw win: £5 x 3.1 = £15.50 return (deduct £10 stake for both bets = £5.50 profit)
- £10 or Wolves or Draw: £10 x 1.36 = £13.60 return. £3.60 profit
Alternatives to Double Chance Betting
‘Draw No Bet’ markets are the closest alternatives to double chance markets with the key difference being that your stake will be refunded if you bet on a draw no bet market whereas your bet will actually win in the event of a draw if you bet on double chance.
Our advice is to weigh up your options and see which of these markets offers better value for money. This will, of course, be completely dependent on the bookmaker and the event you’re betting on.