To make informed wagers in the sports betting industry, a fundamental knowledge of the odds and the betting markets is necessary. This is particularly true in Malawi, where sports betting has seen a surge in popularity.
If you’re interested in Betting Malawi has a large array of bookmakers to choose from. But before you can start placing a wager on any sport, you’ll need to know about the popular betting markets. You will also need to be able to tell good odds apart from bad ones.
Luckily for you, today’s betting guide covers all of that. We’ve prepared this in the context of Malawi so that it’s relevant to the bettors there. Let’s have a look.
Understanding Odds
Before we can get to the betting markets, we must first talk about the odds. In case you didn’t know already, there are different formats used in the betting Malawi industry. We need to introduce you to those first before we can do anything else.
Decimal Odds
This is the most common format used in Malawian sports betting. It’s essentially the amount a bettor can potentially win for every unit staked. For example, if the odds are 2.50 and you bet 1000 MWK, a successful bet would return 2500 MWK.
This amount includes the initial stake as well. So your net profit from the market would be 1500 MWK.
Fractional Odds
While it’s less common in Malawi, you might occasionally encounter this in Malawi betting sites. These odds express the potential profit in relation to the stake.
For instance, 5/1 means you would win 5 MWK for every 1 MWK wagered, plus your initial stake. So, a wager of 100 MWK would give you 500 should you win the wager.
Moneyline Odds
If you’re familiar with American sports betting, you should also know about moneyline odds. They are also gaining popularity in Malawi. The values for the money line bets can be positive or negative.
The odds represent how much you need to wager if you want to win 100 MWK.So, for example, if a market says +250 next to it, this means if you wager 250 MWK, upon a successful prediction, you will get 100 MWK in winnings.
Different Types of Betting Markets
Now that you have a better idea about the odds, we can move on to talking about the different types of betting markets. While the markets are going to be different for every sport, we’ve managed to fish out some of the common ones that apply to every sport. Let’s see what those are.
Match Result (1X2)
This is the most straightforward bet, where you predict the outcome of a match. There are some variations to it as well. Some bookmakers will allow you to choose only a single winner.
But sometimes, you will also get the option to wager on the draw outcome. It’s a common market in Malawi for various sports.
Over/Under (Total Goals)
This market involves predicting whether the total number of goals scored in a match will be over or under a specific value. The bookmaker sets this value after analyzing historical data for each of the teams.
While this market might sound simple, you need a fair bit of experience before you can actually start making correct predictions. But once you get the hang of things, it’s a lot of fun. This is also a popular market for football enthusiasts in Malawi.
Handicap Betting
Handicap betting aims to level the playing field when the matchup is unfair. By giving one team a virtual advantage or disadvantage, bookmakers aim to balance out the odds. For example, if you bet on the Malawi National Team with a -1.5 handicap, they need to win by at least two goals for you to win your wager.
First Goalscorer
This is a prop bet, where your job is to predict the player that scores the first goal/score of the game. You will have the option to wager on players from either team. So, if you’re knowledgeable about the players and the teams, then this might just be the market for you.
Futures Betting
The most common place you’ll see futures betting is for events that are due to take place in the future. This market is riskier than your average pre-match bets. It’s also the reason it’s popular among betting Malawi fans who prefer huge payouts.
Wrapping Up
If you want to have a successful career as a punter, you will need to master the concepts of odds and markets. Even if you’re just in it to have fun, learning these things will only enhance your betting experience. That’s why we recommend properly learning about them before you start your betting journey.
