One Friday, Sipho found himself counting coins next to a five-a-side pitch. His next paycheck was more than a week away, but that didn’t stop him. He turned on his budget smartphone, opened YesPlay, and made up his mind to turn his R40 into some money that he was going to use for a cab, bread, and a cold beer, if lady luck was on his side.
The YesPlay football screen had all the leagues sorted by their kickoff time. Sipho never bets on favourites because they pay too little. Instead, he’s always looking for matches that have odds higher than 1.70. He quickly clicks on the Live tab and notices that one of the keepers is injured. That immediately affects the odds. He makes a few small bets that he knows are actually worth the effort.
Before placing any bets, Sipho always does his research by looking at soccer results and keeping an eye on goal statistics. Is Pirates conceding in almost every game? If that’s the case, then he’s likely going to be betting on Both Teams to Score. Are Chiefs playing extremely well? Then he’ll probably stay away from that game. Value is very important to Sipho, that’s why he likes to look at Handicap markets. Seeing that Arsenal is at -0.5 at 2.03 looks like an amazing deal, but Bournemouth at +0.5 whispers safety. He likes to factor in form, injuries, and weather conditions before he places any bets.
To make things a bit more exciting, he likes to check out soccer betting options for first goal scorers and corner kicks. His secret is to resist adding every bet onto the same slip. Instead, Sipho only makes two safe picks along with one that’s unlikely to happen, and always bets small. If he wins, he gets to treat himself to a tasty supper, and if not, well, at least he has something to talk about on Monday morning.