Curious about 1X2? This popular betting option, available at all bookmakers, offers three simple choices:
- 1 corresponds to the victory of the home team
- X corresponds to the game ending in a draw
- The 2 in the betting slip corresponds to the away team winning
This bet allows you to predict the outcome of a match or sporting event. With three options to choose from, it’s commonly used in football, basketball, handball, and ice hockey, among others. In neutral venue events, the organizers determine which team is associated with 1 and which team is associated with 2. For example, if you’re interested in betting on a PSG vs Rennes match at PSG’s home stadium, you’ll have 1X2 betting options.
1X2 betting: the strategies to use
To maximize your chances of success in 1X2 betting, it is important to adopt some well thought-out strategies. Below we have collected a few tips to increase your chances of winning with this type of bet:
- Analyzing statistics and latest matches
- Play the double chance
- Compare the available odds
- Take advantage of error-corrected systems
- Do not be influenced by emotions
1) Analyzing statistics and recent matches
The first strategy to put into practice is to research and analyze information on both teams. Carefully studying statistics, finding out the past performances and current form levels of both teams can provide valuable insights into the odds of winning or drawing. It is also important to consider other factors such as weather conditions, injuries of key players and team dynamics, as these can significantly influence the final outcome of a match.
2) Playing a double chance
In the case of close matches, where it is difficult to predict the victory of one team rather than the other, you can resort to double chance betting, i.e. combining 2 results into one odds: 1X, X2 or 12. The odds will clearly be lower, but you will have two chances out of three to collect a win.
3) Comparing odds
Another good habit is to carefully compare the odds offered by different bookmakers. The odds represent the probability attributed to each result and may vary from one operator to another: comparing them allows you to spot discrepancies and identify potential opportunities.
4) Exploiting error-correcting systems
Another strategy that can be adopted is to exploit error-corrected systems. These involve betting on all possible combinations of results to cover all eventualities and guarantee a win regardless of the outcome of the match. For example, if you bet £100 on the three 1X2 options, you could bet a certain amount on 1, another on X, and another on 2 to achieve a positive result regardless of the final outcome. This type of approach requires careful planning and is usually more suitable for experienced bettors.
5) Matched Betting
Another strategy that has gained popularity in recent years is Matched Betting. This approach takes advantage of the bonuses offered by bookmakers to guarantee a win and reduce risk. In Matched Betting, one places a bet on a certain result and subsequently has to place an opposite bet for the same match (i.e. on the opposite result) on a Betting Exchange platform. In this way, you will cover all possible outcomes and still get a win thanks to the bonus offered by the bookmaker. This strategy requires a good knowledge of bonus rules and Betting Exchange but can prove effective, especially in the long term.
6) Do not be influenced by emotions
Finally, it is important to remain objective and not be swayed by emotions. Even if you are a fan of a particular team, it is essential to base your bets on rational and objective analysis. Avoiding betting on your favorite team purely for sentimental reasons can help you make more informed decisions.
1X2 handicap bet
The 1X2 handicap bet is an interesting and widely used market in the world of sports betting. This type of bet allows a handicap to be awarded to the team that is considered to be stronger, adding a certain number of goals to the team that is considered to be the underdog. The goal is to even out the differences between the two teams and increase the odds of success for the teams considered underdogs.
To better understand how the 1X2 handicap bet works, let’s take for example a football match that sees Manchester City hosting Wolverhampton Wanderer. City is clearly considered the favorite team. Let’s assume the handicap is +1 for Wolverhampton Wanderers (and therefore -1 for Manchester City). This means that City has one goal deducted from the final result, while their opponents have one goal added.
If we bet on Manchester City winning with a -1 handicap, the Blues will therefore have to win the match with at least a 2-goal difference for the bet to be won. For example, if the match ends 2-0 to City, the bet will be won, as the actual result would be 1-0 after the handicap is applied. Of course, this is a fictitious handicap, but in any case, this type of bet offers a greater variety of options and can be particularly useful when predicting a very unbalanced match.
Clearly, betting on the favorite team (such as Manchester City in the previous example) will result in very low odds, as it is the most obvious betting option. Betting on the 1X2 with a handicap, on the other hand, will result in more advantageous odds and possibly higher winnings. This is what happens, for example, when betting on the exact result: it is a very difficult bet to guess, but one that can have a very good return for the player.
Handicap bets are somewhere in between the classic 1X2 and the exact result bets because trying to predict the result with one or more goals to spare (e.g., 2 goals) is certainly less complex than guessing the exact outcome of a match.
Obviously, even 1X2 handicap bets require an in-depth analysis of the match and the two teams facing each other, which cannot be separated from a study of the offensive potential of both sides.
Since the 1X2 handicap bet is most often used by betting experts, our advice is to consider tactical aspects, injuries, and current form before including it in your betting slip. Carefully following the odds offered by bookmakers can also give you an important indication of your expectations of the final result. For example, a price that is suddenly lowered by the bookmakers as the match approaches could be the right one to play.
1X2 end of the first half bet
For a 1X2 end-of-half bet, you must predict which of the 2 teams will be ahead at the end of the first half, or whether the match will be deadlocked at the end of the first half. You will then have three options:
- 1 first half: the home team is ahead at the end of the first half;
- X first half: the match is tied at halftime;
- 2 first half: the away team wins at the conclusion of the second half.
The bet does not cover the 90 minutes, only the first half, and even if the result is overturned in the second half compared to your prediction, the bet will still be won.
Let’s take a practical example: If in the match Liverpool v West Ham you bet on the outcome “1 first half” and Liverpool is ahead at the end of the first half, the bet is won (even if West Ham draws or wins during the second half).
The 1X2 end of the first half bet is interesting because the odds are usually higher than the classic 1X2. As for handicap bets, it could be an alternative to the classic 1X2 to consider, especially for very unbalanced matches. Indeed, the odds for the victory of the stronger team over the 90 minutes are usually rather low, while the odds of winning the first half might be the better choice.
Example of a 1X2 bet
If you are not sure you fully understand what a 1X2 bet is, you can take the match between Arsenal and Sevilla on the bet365 website as an example.
As you can see from the image above, the choice is between three options: an Arsenal win (1), a draw (X), or a Sevilla victory (2).
If you bet on an Arsenal win, you have to hope for a victory for the Gunners because it is the only result that will make the bet a winner. You would get a return of £100 for a £10 bet on a Sevilla win. If the game is drawn or Arsenal win, you would lose your bet.
With the “1X2” bet, you choose to bet on a single result of a match. Of course, you can choose this type of bet as a single bet (i.e., on a single match) or as a combination bet (on several matches). For a combination of 1X2 bets, simply multiply the odds between them to get the total odds, but all the different bets must be winning in order to collect the winnings. The 1X2 bet is certainly the most popular among bettors due to its simplicity.
How to place a 1X2 bet at a bookmaker?
It is very simple to place a bet on a 1X2 bet. Regardless of which bookmaker you want to bet on, the method remains the same:
- Go to the chosen sports betting site
- Open the “Sports Betting” section of the site
- Choose the match you wish to bet on
- Click on the bet you are interested in (1, X, or 2)
- Choose the bet
- Click on the “Bet” button
In a few seconds, your 1X2 bet will be placed on the betting site. You only have to wait or “shake” in front of the match to know the result of your bet. Now it is simple to bet on the final 1X2 result.
Which is the best bookmaker to bet on 1X2?
What you need to know, first of all, is that the 1X2 bet is the one with the highest odds, which is also why it can be worth betting on this type of market. The odds vary between bookmakers, and it is rare that the same bookmaker has all the best odds. This is why it is recommended to create an account with as many betting sites as possible to always obtain the highest value of the odds and thus optimize earnings.
However, they are often the same ones that offer the best odds on 1X2. bet365 and William Hill are very reliable in this respect, and the odds of these operators are very popular on this type of bet. Bwin and 1xBet also offer attractive odds on many matches and stand out from the competition. In order to place interesting ‘1X2’ bets, one should especially turn to these bookmakers. By the way, they all offer welcome bonuses, allowing you to start your adventure with them in the best possible way. The advice is not to neglect this aspect.
You can also find odds and predictions on our 1X2 football prediction page.
1×2 bet meaning
