6 Proven football betting strategies & systems that work [2024]

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Are you looking for the best football betting strategies and proven football betting systems? I’ve used many of them, and below, you can find out which ones are worth trying.

The football betting strategies mentioned in this article were tested and some of them were even used for many years as my main income sources. The most successful strategies require an advantage against bookies.

This state appears when bookies offer wrong odds, lines, or bonuses that can be exploited.

Edited on March 10, 2024. Added new tips about value betting.

Best proven football betting strategies and systems?

The less risky football betting strategies are matched and arbitrage betting. Based on statistics, the most profitable, riskier, but proven football betting systems are value betting and bets.

#1. Matched betting – simplest football betting strategy

Matched betting, or by other names, bonus hunting, is the best football betting strategy if you don’t have too much experience.

By this, I mean experience in sports betting or football.

Many football mathematical betting strategies can generate hundreds and even thousands of euros of profit each month.

But not every bettor knows enough to follow such football betting systems.

Matched betting is the technique used for taking advantage of bookmaker offers.

With this system, you can complete the rollover requirements without risking your deposit/the bonus itself.

It is the most straightforward strategy if you want to bet without losing.

Why is matched betting the best football betting strategy for beginners?

• Everybody can start it even without any previous experience
• It can be started even with a smaller capital
• Many affordable software for this betting strategy
• The best system for learning about smart betting techniques
• You work more; you earn more -> flexible source of side income

How does this proven football betting strategy work?

• Make a list of your local bookmakers that offer bonuses.
• Select the ones that have a realistic rollover requirement (free bets, deposit bonuses with rolling over the bonus + deposit for less than 8-9 times)
• Deposit the maximum amount to match the whole bonus offer 
• Use software to spot matched betting opportunities (bets where you can cover both outcomes on the market without losing money). You might want to check my reviews about two affordable services: Breaking Bet Review and Surebet.com Review

You can also take a look on my dedicated article about no-risk matched betting in the USA.

The odds between bookies are slightly different, and, commonly, some of them are offering a somewhat higher price for the same outcome.

Taking advantage of these overpriced markets is the most straightforward football betting strategy to help in bonus hunting.

It is the most popular betting system in the United Kingdom, where hundreds of betting sites try to attract new customers with bonus offers.

#2. Arbitrage betting – football betting system for bigger returns

I’ve been practicing arbitrage betting for many years. It is my all-time favorite if I need a guaranteed profit in a fairly short time. 

Sure betting is the best football betting strategy for bettors who don’t want to take risks, but they are out of bonus offers and want to make even more money.

This football betting system is very similar to bonus hunting. 

Basics of this soccer betting system:

• Start using arbitrage betting software
• They spot wrong/overpriced odds at bookies
• You place bets on these wrong odds and cover the outcome at another bookie
• Use the right stakes with the help of calculators in this software

The profit with matched betting is generated only because of the bonus offers. With this betting technique, you place sure bets that have a very low-profit %. In many cases, this can be even below 0%. 

With arbitrage betting, on the other hand, you are placing sure bets with a higher profit percentage on each bet. It’s not uncommon to find betting opportunities with a payout of above 5%-8%. 

For example, you can find sure bets where both outcomes have an odds of 2.10. By covering each of them with the same stake, you can make a profit of 5% of your total stakes.

I have to relevant articles that might help you start the above-mentioned football betting strategies:

• How to find arbitrage betting opportunities?
• The list of the best arbitrage bet finders
• My arbitrage betting guide

#3. Value betting – football betting based on wrong odds

I’ve been practicing value betting for around 4-5 years. Without any doubt, I can say that it is the most profitable football betting system on this list. 

It’s not only my personal opinion and experience, but many other professional bettors think the same about it.

If you are looking for a football betting system that works in the long run and most bookies can’t spot it right away, you just found it.

How does this proven football betting system work?

Define the probability of the outcome

Each bookmaker tries to figure out the statistical chance of an outcome. Some of them are capable of predicting football matches correctly. These betting sites are called sharp bookies on betting forums/sites. 

Following their betting lines will give you a good idea and direction about the true possibility of an outcome.

You can compare odds between your local bookmakers and these sharp bookies manually. I’ve done this many times.

But using software that is capable of comparing odds between bookies will save you a lot of time. Most bookmakers got fast in correcting wrong odds. 

So, spotting overpriced odds even with the cheapest software is what will boost your income with this football betting strategy.

Place bets on odds that will beat the bookmaker

Positive expected value betting is fairly simple. You need to find betting opportunities where the odds are significantly higher compared to sharp bookie odds.

Calculating these value bets can get complicated if you start figuring out the math behind it.

I don’t like sharing information that needs too much learning or knowledge. Based on my experience, if you find arbitrage bets between your local bookie vs. sharp bookies, with a profit percentage over 0.5%, you can beat the bookies in the long run.

The bigger the profit percentage is, the faster you will end up in profit.

Deal with variance

Taking risks and losses is normal if you practice this football betting strategy. You are not covering each outcome, so facing longer losing streaks will be a daily phenomenon in this betting system.

Many people don’t have the experience and self-confidence to place the 14th bet after already losing 13.

But if you compare odds to sharp bookies and beat them on each of your bets, you will eventually end up in profits. 

#4. Football betting strategy with historical data and statistics

The majority of football betting strategies are based on the possibility of an outcome and taking advantage of overpriced odds and betting lines.

The above-mentioned strategies require software that scans bookies and compares odds between them.

The biggest disadvantage of these techniques is the high number of players using them. When many bettors start placing bigger stakes on the same outcome/odds, the bookie algorithm starts noticing this uncommon behavior.

Each betting strategy mentioned above can generate large profits but with the risk of getting your maximum stakes limited.

Using a football statistic database, on the other hand, gives you an edge over these bettors and the bookies too.

If you have some experience in football betting, you can spot valuable betting opportunities with the proper statistics.

Many services support the best, proven football betting strategies with historical data and statistics based on tens of thousands of events each year.

With the right algorithm, they offer predictions based only on pure data. If you have some experience in Live football betting, spotting great opportunities is possible. 

I know bettors who started beating big betting sites like Bet365 on in-play football betting based on simple statistical tools like StatisticSports or PlayThePercentage.

Both of these software offer historical data and predictions for almost each football event.

Do you have a football betting strategy for corners, half-time goals, or Yellow cards? You can test it with the help of StatisticSports. 

They offer the possibility of backtesting strategies based on historical data from more than 5 years of football events. It means their football betting algorithm is testing the viability of your football betting system, and you can know its profitability without having to risk your own money.

#5. Follow professional football bettors

Many people don’t have the time to learn and practice the strategies mentioned above, and I know from experience that each of them will require you to stay hours in front of your computer.

Both arbitrage and value betting are time-consuming. It’s not uncommon that I’m betting 10 hours a day to make a good profit in the long run.

If you don’t have the time to practice these strategies, following someone who gives betting predictions based on them might be a solution.

Many talented bettors offer tipster services on a platform like Tipstrr. I should warn you that following a tipster won’t offer guaranteed profits like at matched or arbitrage betting.

But picking the right tipster who follows a proven football betting strategy can offer some profits without too much time investment.

I’ve been following tipsters and Tipstrr for a while, and some offer great predictions based on value betting.

Many of them check if their picks are useful by comparing odds to Pinnacle or other sharp bookmakers. These predictions can really offer long-term profits and can be good football betting systems.

Check my detailed article about the best tipster sites and football betting tipsters.

#6. Staking system for football betting strategies

Many bettors don’t give enough attention to the importance of a proper staking system for their football betting strategy.

I know from my experience that even the most bulletproof strategy can be ruined with bad stakes.

Even the simplest flat staking method is better than not following any method.

Kelly criterion is a more advanced staking system that allows you to maximize your profits by minimizing the risks.

You don’t need to follow complicated steps to optimize your football betting system. It’s more than enough to use the same percentage of your balance every time.

Many bettors prefer betting with 3.5%-5% of their actual capital on their accounts. Every time you win, the stakes and the possible profits are also increasing.

If you face a longer losing streak, the amount you can lose with the next bet is getting smaller and smaller. 

With a simple staking strategy like this, you can decrease the effect of bad losing periods.

Best beginner-friendly football betting system that works

Matched betting is the best football betting system that works even if you don’t have any experience. Many betting guides are helping to learn about this technique.

On the other hand, Arbitrage betting requires a little bit more experience. But starting small until you learn enough can put you in the right direction without risking too much of your capital.

Value betting requires more experience and persistence, but it is the best football betting strategy ever in the long run.

If you want to read more about these and know more about the basics, check my following articles:

• How to find arbitrage bets?
• My list and review of the best arbitrage betting software
• Bet365 tips and Bet365 Strategies to make money

Another interesting read might be my presentation of betting sites without verification.

FAQ