When looking to boost your sports betting odds in soccer, rugby, basketball, and other games, the half-time/full-time bet is among the best predictions you can make. While it’s not the easiest to make given the complexity of many sports games, the rewards are great when you identify successful bets.
In this sports betting guide, we examine how the HT/FT bets work, market variations, and how payouts are calculated. We will also explain some smart betting strategies and tips that you can use to increase your profitability when placing a half-time/ full-time bet.
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What Does Half-Time/Full-Time Mean in Betting?
Half-time full-time betting refers to placing a single bet, but you must meet its two-part criteria to win. For the first part, you will need to predict the half-time results. The second part involves predicting full-time results. That means your half-time and full-time predictions must agree with the match results or you’ll lose your wager.
- Half-time bet
The half-time bet is all about predicting the results after the first 45 minutes in soccer or before the break in other games. You’ll have three options for this market, including a home win, away win or draw. The home team is represented by 1, the away team by 2 and X denotes a draw when betting online.
If you choose to back, the home team must win the first half. However, If you choose X, the match must be at a draw by half time and if you bet on 2, the away team must lead by half-time. That means if the first part of your wager fails, you lose the whole wager.
- Full time bet
This part of the half-time/full-time bet involves predicting the results at the end of the game, but you must correctly predict the first half for the bet to be relevant. This part of the bet also has a three-way outcome, just like the half-time bet.
That said, HF/FT bets come with a range of options, depending on the sport you’re playing. Some of the most common HT/FT bets options include:
- Home win/ home win (1/1)
- Home win/ away win (1/2)
- Home win/ draw (1/X)
- Draw/ home win (X/1)
- Draw/ away win (X/2)
- Draw/ draw (X/X)
- Away win/ away win (2/2)
- Away win/ draw (2/X)
HT/FT Betting Examples
HT/FT bets work differently depending on the sport you’re wagering on. To help you understand these variations, here are some real-world examples. Each half-time/full-time bet example explains how these bets work before you can place a wager.
Football/ soccer is the most popular sport in the HT/FT betting market. The half-time full-time bet originated in football and other sports have successfully adopted it. However, more HT/FT bets are placed on football than any other sport.
When placing a half-time and full-time bet on football, you can choose from three results; home win, draw, and away win. That creates nine possible predictions that you can bet on:
- Home win/ home win
- Home win/away win
- Home win/draw
- Draw/draw
- Draw/ home win
- Draw/ away win
- Away win/ away win
- Away win/ home win
- Away win/ draw
While you can bet on any of these nine combinations, you must pick the correct result after every half to win the half-time full-time bet. For instance, if you bet on a draw-away win, the half-time result must be a draw and the away team must score to win at full-time.
Basketball works a little differently than soccer since the action includes overtime until a winner is decided. While there’s no draw in the final results, some bookmakers allow you to wager on the full-time results with the draw. In that case, the overtime results won’t contribute to the HT/FT bet and you’ll have nine options to bet on.
Take an example of an NBA game featuring the New Orleans Pelicans against the Washington Wizards. The books have the Pelicans as the heavy favorites at 1.12, while the Wizards are less likely to win at 7.40. In that case, the half-time/ full-time betting market will appear as below.
The lowest odds, in this case, are 1.26 for the Pelicans to lead in the first half and at full-time, since they’re the heavy favorite for the game. The strongest odds for this game stand at 101.00 for a tie at half-time and full-time, since such results would be rare.
That said, the number of possible half-time-full-time bet predictions in basketball is reduced from nine to six with overtime included. They include:
- Home Win/ away win
- Away win/ home win
- Home win/ home win
- Tie/ home win
- Tie/ away win
- Away win/ away win
While ice hockey isn’t a mainstream sport like football and basketball, it offers half-time/ full-time bets. However, the sport might be a surprising inclusion in this betting market for many, considering it features three periods and doesn’t have an official half-time.
The workaround to facilitate the HT/FT bet is that it captures the winner for the first period and after the end of 60 minutes. That gives you nine possible outcomes for the HT/FT bet similar to soccer, within the regulation time only.
Although rugby betting is still in its development stage in most markets, the sport is attracting a lot of attention in the US and abroad. With two disciplines in union and league rugby, there are plenty of opportunities to wager on the half-time full-time bet market.
In rugby, the HT/FT bet is straightforward and works similarly to soccer, with nine possible predictions for punters to wager. These nine predictions are made with three combinations; home win, away win, and draw.
How to Place an HT/FT Bet?
The HT/FT betting market is easily accessible in leading online sportsbooks, with odds available in various sports including basketball, soccer, American football, rugby, and more. Here’s how you can start placing half-time full-time bets with online sportsbooks:
To start placing HT/FT bets in an online sportsbook, you’ll need to register an account at your bookmaker of choice. Make sure you choose a licensed and reputable bookmaker to avoid any deposit or withdrawal issues.
Once you have created a betting account, log in using your credentials (email/ phone number & password). Head to the payments section on the platform and make your first deposit. The deposit options available will depend on your location, but most bookies accept e-wallets, credit/debit cards, and direct bank transfers.
With your stake loaded in your betting account, it’s time to choose your favorite sport and start finding the games you’d like to bet on. You can use the navigation menu available to navigate through the selection of sports and games.
Most online sports books have their half-time/ full-time bet markets listed next to their list of prop bets. Scroll down the dozens of betting markets available until you locate the HT/FT betting markets.
To place an HT/FT bet, click on the odds for the selection you want and it will be automatically loaded into your bet slip. Once you choose the prediction you want, head to your bet slip and choose the amount you want to stake. Confirm your selection and click “Place Bet”.
How Odds and Payouts are Calculated
Most online sportsbooks offer American-style betting odds by default, but you can also choose fractional or decimal. The odds show the implied probability or the likelihood of an outcome occurring in a game. That tells you the chance of winning a specific bet.
For instance, if you’re flipping a coin, there’s a 50% chance it will land on heads and a 50% probability it will be tails. The implied probability in this case will be even money and the betting odds will be +100.
HT/FT bets also work similarly. The most likely half-time/ full-time outcomes will feature tight odds, while the least likely outcome will feature long odds.
Half-Time/Full-Time Betting Strategies
While the half-time/full-time betting market is readily available in almost every game, its complexity can make it tricky to make an accurate prediction. The trick is knowing which sports and teams to target and the best bets to make.
Here are several effective HT/FT betting strategies to help you work out profitable picks.
Most points from losing positions
The best returns on the half-time full-time bet market come from matches where you can choose a team that will lose at half-time and goes ahead to win the game. This outcome normally features long odds since it’s less likely to occur. That’s because most teams tend to win or tie when they’re leading in the first half.
To find such a bet, you need to look at statistics like points won coming from losing positions. Football is an excellent place to start since there are a lot of statistics available to help you understand this scenario.
Target half-time results
When betting on a two-part market like half-time/full-time, start your research with the first part. If you get the half-time results wrong, your whole bet loses even before the game ends.
Check the team statistics and look for numbers such as losing and winning percentages at halftime. Any league graph or table that you can use to know the loss, with or draw percentage can help you massively to make accurate predictions on the first half.
Most points/ goals scored in the second half
In soccer and hockey, most points are scored in the second half compared to the second half. In most of these games, the first half is normally cagey and varies significantly from the second half.
When betting on football, using this type of data is easy. The match starts as a draw and there are likely to be fewer goals in the first half compared to the second half. As such, find teams that have a hard time scoring in the first half, but come back strong in the second half.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Half-Time and Full-Time Betting?
| ✅ Pros | ❌Cons |
|---|---|
| The HT/FT betting market significantly increases the odds, even for heavy favorites in a game. | The half-time full-time bet comes at a greater risk. |
| When you’re confident a team will start a game well, the HT/FT bet is an excellent way to boost your winnings compared to the outright market. | Requires in-depth analysis of the opponents’ strengths and weaknesses. |
| It allows sports enthusiasts to be more invested in matches. | |
| It offers a more dynamic betting experience. |
Types of HT FT Bets
The half-time full-time bet market has evolved significantly in the last few years, diverging into different types. These variations give players the option to wager on different events at half-time and full-time. There are different HT/FT bets that you can place:
Winner
When betting on the winner in the half-time full-time betting market, you’ll need to predict which team will win at half-time and full-time. Such a bet should be well-thought since you’ll lose the wager if the results are opposite to your prediction.
Correct score
The correct score half-time full-time bet involves predicting the correct score of a game after the first and second half. The score that you predict has to be the same as the actual results at half-time and full-time. Fortunately, this type of half-time full-time bet has some of the strongest odds since it’s almost impossible to accurately predict the correct score at half-time and full-time.
Total Goals
When looking to boost your wins on the half-time full-time betting market and manage your risk, the goals market is a great way to get lucrative wins. The market involves predicting the number of goals in a match after the first half and at full-time.
FAQs
HT/FT 1X2 is a common type of half-time/ full-time bet that involves predicting whether the game will end up in a draw or which team will win in the first half and when the match is complete. In this wager, 1 represents the home team, X represents a draw and 2 represents the away team.
Before you place a half-time/ full-time bet it’s important to understand the difference between the results of every half. Some teams start stronger in the first, while others are highly competitive regardless of which half they’re playing. That said, check the team’s statistics before betting to understand how the teams perform in each half.
The most common pitfall that punters make with half-time/ full-time bets is wagering without considering how the opponents play in each half. Most people tend to focus on the final results, but you’ll need to accurately predict first-half results for your bet to be viable. To do that, check the teams’ statistics and take note of things like losing and winning percentages for each half.
Online bookmakers don’t allow you to combine the HT/FT bets with other wagers on the same game, but several markets work similarly. That includes double chance bets, the highest scoring half, and correct score for half-time and full-time. However, you can create accumulator bets with HT/FT bet predictions across multiple games.
The Final Words
While half-time/ full-time bets are an excellent way to find value in your bets and boost your profitability, you’ll need an effective betting strategy to succeed. Start by checking the teams’ statistics and check which team is likely to win in the first half or which is likely to lose. Once you accurately make your first-half prediction, it will be easier to predict full-time results.
