Winning margin bets take the back seat when compared to the betting handle of handicap or match betting. No question there. However, the potential higher payouts that come with winning margin wagers are attracting more and more punters. In this guide, we’ll explain how winning margin wagers work, the sports y♉ou can use them on, and strategies to maximise their features.
Winning Margin Bet Meaning
A winning margin bet is considered to be a type of single bet. Some look at it as the alternative to betting on a correct score since it allows for more possible winning outcomes. The definition of a winning margin bet is a wager placed on the exact difference in goals between the winning team and the losing team.
Top online bookies offer ranges (often called bands) of points to choose from when betting on a winning margin. For example, if you were betting on a rug🦩by match betweꦕen England and New Zealand (held on Nov. 2, 2024), you would see two columns listing both teams followed by various winning margins underneath.
New Zealand won 24-22, so if you selected the option “New Zealand to win by 1-3 points,” you’d be looking at a great ROI, especially considering the odds for this selection were in the neighbourhood of 4/1. If you instead chose Ne🐽w Zealand to win𒊎 by 7-12 points or England to win by 1-3 points, that smug look on our faces when we win a bet wouldn’t be there.
Bookmakers also offer single digits rather than bands to mark the threshold for the winning margi꧒n bet. This actually depends on the sport. Usually, single digits are there for the lower-scoring sp🀅orts such as football. In this case, an operator would list Team A to win by 1 or Team B to win by 2.
Winning margin wagers are also available for American football, basketball, baseball, golf, ice hockey, horse ra🌞cing, a🔯nd motorsports.
Here’s one for an NBA match between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic. The great thing about basketball fixtures is that you can use 12-way winning marg𝔉in bets amounting to 12 possible outcomes and predefine🌜d point ranges, with six for each team.
If you want to learn more about different betting terms, check ou𓆏t our A-Z dictionary of terms that defines 150+ of them.
How Do I Place a Winning Margin Bet?
Wondering how to place a winning margin bet ෴on a sportsbook? Let’♏s use 10bet’s Formula 1 Racing event as an example:
Variations of Winning Margin Bets
Winning margin variations include margins separated by one or multiple goals (showcased by bands). Let’s check out the most com𓆏mon types of winning margin bets. We are going with the ones that are a staple in football betting, but the bands may be the more 🗹appropriate option for other sports.
Winning Margin by 1 Explained
We’ll start with the following scenario: Liverpool is playing at home against Leicester City in a Premier League match, and you decide to place a winning margin bet on Liverpool to win by 1. If the outcome of the match is 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, or 4-3, your bet will be successful. If the match ends in a draw, a Leicester win, or a Liverpool win byᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ a margin greater than 1, the bet is considered a loss.
Winning Margin by 2 Explained
We'll go with another example. Arsenal is playing Aston Villa at home, and you place a winning margin bet on Arsenal to win by 2 goals. You will need a 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 or 5-3 scoreline for your bet to cash. Anything other than a 2-goal margin win to Arsenal will result in you losing th♛e bet.
Winning Margin by 3 Explained
Let's say Norwich꧒ is facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and you fancy your chances on a Chelsea to win by 3 bet. You'll need the Blues to win 3-0, 4-1 or 5-2 to win your bet. Any other score or outcome that doesn’t involve them winning by three goals will result in a losing wager.
Winning Margin 4-Way Explained
This bet type breaks up the winning margin into four outcomes and allows the bettor to select one. The sportsbook can choose any range of points for the four ♛bands. 🌜It does not mean by four points or 1-4 points. The “4” alludes to the four choices. In a sport such as rugby, typical bands include 1-10 points, 11-20 points, 21-30 points and 30+. If you select “Team A” to win by 11-20 points for the match, and it triumphs by 14 points, your wager cashes.
Winning Margin 1-5 Explained
🍬Thꩲis winning margin bet relates to the specific number of points offered in various bands. The outcomes offered by the sportsbook will be in increments of five points. For example, the bookmaker will provide winning margins for a team, and the punter can select from 1-5 points, 6-10, 11-15, or 16-20 points.
How to Predict a Winning Margin – Useful Stats and Tips
When researching before placing a wager, we strongly suggest looking at some statistics related to the match you are considering betting on. Plenty of football stats are aꦉvailable online for freဣe, covering various match details such as the score, winning margin, goal scorer or even the number of corners.
When it comes to winning mar🦄gin bets, here’s the data to consider:
Check Head-to-Head Records
Researching head-to-♚head records can help provide insight into how two clubs perform against each other and give punters an edge in formulating an informed betting strategy for winning margins.
For example, if a bettor w🔯ere thinking about staking the winning ma💃rgin in favor of Real Madrid vs. Rayo Vallecano, they would notice that the clubs have drawn during their three outings during the current (2024/2025) and past (2023/2024) campaigns.
These matches ended 3-3, 1-1, and 0-0, indicating a high likelihood of either a draw or a small winning margin, such as “by 1,” ✅favouring Real Madrid. Selecting larger margins, such as “by 3 or more,” w🔯ould carry significantly more risk in this scenario.
Get Familiar with Team’s Form
We also suggest investigating how a team and its opponent have performed over the course of its past 5-10 recently played matches, along with the entirety of the campaign. Examining data such as the average number of goals scored and conceded against similar opponents is the backbone of any successful football betting strategy.
It is also recommended that each club’s home a𓄧nd away form be considered, depending on where the fixture will be played🎉. These stats can help indicate the likelihood of a particular result occurring and the potential winning margin.
For exampl♏e, during the 2023/2024 Premier League season, Liverp🧜ool (15 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss) and Manchester City (14 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses) owned the best home records. If punters researched this and were aware, the stats could factor in when staking one of the two teams or a potential opponent.
Several factors can influence a team's short-term form, such as a shortened week, a shock result, or a player coming in on loan.𓆏 These may immediately impact the team's goal-scoring capabilities and affect the potential winning margin you want to bet on. Also, be aware of possible squad rotatio🀅ns.
These rotations occur for various reasons, including to rest players, because of an injury, or based on their form. Team chemistry can be affected, which in turn can negatively impact performance. A common scenario would b🦹e multiple reserve players being called up to start in the place of the starters.
A combined team of starter⛎s and reserve players haven’t played for many competitive minꦏutes together, so they likely won’t perform up to the standards of the regular XI.
Understand the Game
When betting on a particular sport, such as football, you shouಞld have a strong knowledge of more than jඣust the basic principles and the rules.
Understanding how positions and formations work and how players perform in specific roles is how you can tip the scales in your favour. We’ll༒ use England and Real Madrid player Jude Bellingham as an example of how knowing the ins and outs of football can mean for your betting game.
When Bellingham plays in the No. 10 position (as an attacking midfielder) directly behind the centre forward (or main strikers), he’ll have a much highe𝕴r chance of shooting, scoring or assisting compared to a traditional midfield role where he will be asked to run up and down the pitch and defend more.
Understanding this is vital when betting on his total shots, as an anytime goalscorer or to assist. Watching matches and highlights, or at leꦆast checking substitutions and stats after matches, is crucial to obtaining more in-depth knowledge. We’ll use the following Euro 2024 scenario:
Kai Havertz, who often plays as an attacking mi💧dfieldeꦜr for Arsenal, started for Germany in the No. 9 role up top. He lacked conviction and was frequently subbed off with 25-30 minutes left to play for Niclas Füllkrug, a traditional centre forward.
Watching the match, highlights, or seeing he was subbed off in the online ꦕmatch data shows you he wasn’t consistently playing close to 90 minutes, which decreased his chances of scoring.
Check Player Injuries
Injuries affect the performaꩲnce of an entire squad and individual players. If you wish to back a team such as Real Madrid, and Vinicius Jr. is injured, check the scoring averages when he isn’t in the lineup compared to📖 when he is.
His absence might no𝔉t mean much against a team at the bottom of the table, but it will be more significant against top-tier opposition in a derby, like against Atlético de Madrid.
His teammate, Kylian Mbappe, might also have much less space in his absence. If you were thinking about betting on specific🦋 props for Mbappe, make sure ♌to factor in how he does without the Brazilian superstar.
Winning Margin in Other Sports
Are🦋 you looking for the basic strategies for placing margin bets on other sports? It’s up to the individual bettor to decide whether these tips are useful to their betting plan since no win is guaranteed.
Winning Margin Bets in Golf
Popular golf betting tourname🐈nts such as the Ryder Cup and major championsh♛ips are also great opportunities for placing margin bets.
Let's take the Ryder Cup as an example. To place a winning margin bet in the Ryder Cup, you will need to predict whether the US or Europe will win and the margin of points by which that team will win, say, US to win by margin of 5 points. The o⭕ptions in this betting market normally consists of point ranges, such as a margin of 1-3 points, 4-6 points and so forth.
In other golf tournaments, including majors, w𝓰inning margin bets are normally based on the number of strokes made by the victorious player. In this case, you won’t need to predict the actual winner but only the winning margin – for example, two strokes.
Winning Margin Bets in Basketball
When placing this type of bet on a basketball match, you will need to determine the winner and the amount of points the team will win by – for insta🐼nce, the Orlando Magic by 7-9 points. Once again, the options within this betting market consist of point ranges suchꦫ as 1-2 points, 3-6 points and 7-9 points.
Winning Margin Bets in Baseball
When it comes to using winning margin in baseball betting, you will need to try to determine the number of runs a particular team will win the match by. An example ওof this would be the Cleveland Guardians to win by two runs.
Winning Margin Bets in Ice Hockey
In ice hockey betting, a winning margin wager is very similar to one in football. The final scores depend on the number of pucks that make it into the respective nets, so a winning margin bet will determ🥀ine which🥀 team will win and by how many goals. In this case, the options are single numbers, such as the Dallas Stars to win by 2.
Other Common Betting Terms
ThePuntersPage Final Say
Placing a winning margin bet requires consideওrable time spent on scouti𒉰ng potential opportunities, studying trends through statistics, and picking the right matches to stake.
While you may end up winning a few bets without performing your due diligence initially, this strategy will not guarantee future wins. Then again, ওnothing in the betting world is guaranteed.
You should also look through several bookma💎kers and choose a site that can provide youඣ with the best odds.
Winning Margin Bet FAQs
A score draw is a type of margin bet where you predict the game will end in a tie, ꦕrequiring both teams to score. For example, the game can end 1-1, 2-2, 3-3 and so on as long as it doesn’t end scoreless (0-0).
You should research stats such as team form, past head-to-head records, pla𓂃yer injuries, predic⛎ted score models, player prop projections and compare predictions from various well-renowned tipsters.
Yes. Winning margin be𓃲ts are also available for other sports, such as golf, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, and more.
A sports betting margin calculator is a tool that allows punters to determine the profitability of a betting marꦛket. It calculates the implied probability of each result as well as the bookmaker's margin, which is effectively the commission the bookmaker charges on each bet.
A winning margin bet accumulator includes multiple mꦰargin bets combined on a single bet slip. Each leg of the accumulator must be successful to cash the wager.
It’s up to the punter to determine whether they believe it’s worth placing margin bets. If they’re able to find an edge in a certain market or specific game, then they can ﷺbe.
To bet a winni🍌ng margin, you must correctly predict the margin of victo⛄ry between two opponents.
A winning margin in horse racing is determined by the distance a horse has been beaten or won by when it crosses the fi🦹nish line. A common scenario would be if a winning horse is eight feet long, and the second-place horse lost by a dista☂nce of 24 feet to it. This signifies the triumphant horse won by three lengths.
It means you are betting on a team to win by ♉a margin of 2-3 points or goals. It is different from the winning margin 3+ meaning, which indicates the team you select must win by three or more points. The winning margin meaning in football and ice hockey will include goals rather than points in other sports such as basketball.