1X2 (three-way bet) explained

The three-way bet is the standard market in football. It comes first on almost every betting slip and in every odds overview. There are three possible outcomes:

• 1 – the home team (the one named first) wins.
• X – the match ends in a draw.
• 2 – the away team wins.

The result after normal time including stoppage time counts. Extra time and penalties do not. If a cup tie is 1:1 after 90 minutes, "X" wins, even if one team goes through later. If you want to bet on who progresses, you need a separate market ("to qualify" or "to go through").

For matches at a neutral venue, "1" is simply the team named first.

How the three odds relate to each other

Because exactly one of the three outcomes occurs, the probabilities ought to add up to 100 per cent. The reciprocals of the odds, however, add up to slightly more – the difference is the bookmaker's margin.

The underrated draw

In Europe's major leagues, roughly one match in four ends in a draw. Even so, many bettors and Kicktipp players (Kicktipp is a prediction-league platform popular in Germany) almost never pick X, because a draw feels like "no result". That hardly affects the odds, as bookmakers price the draw very precisely. In prediction leagues with an odds rule, however, other players' reluctance to pick draws can be an advantage.

Variants

If you want to rule out or hedge against an outcome, there are suitable markets: double chance (two outcomes), draw no bet (stake returned on a draw) or the handicap (a virtual head start for the underdog).