Double Chance Betting: A Sports Market Guide

There are many markets available for the average sports bettor to wager on. Each offers something unique and exciting. Betting sites carry dozens of different markets, but some rise above others in popularity. One popular form of sports betting is double-chance betting.

What does double chance mean in betting? We'll tell you all about it in this guide, but to put it succinctly, it is when bettors get to pick two of the three potential outcomes in a game. Double-chance betting is great for beginners because it is a low-risk form of betting, and it is also great for experts because there are savvy ways to use this market to fill your pockets.

In this guide, you'll get double chance betting explained. We’ll break down exactly what the double chance market is, how to use it, strategies for it, and the sports betting sites that carry this market. Ready? Let’s dive into it all. 

Double chance betting is a popular market used by bettors around the world. But it is also a limited market, and we’ll explain why. To understand double-chance betting, you have to understand the three different outcomes of a sporting event. We’ll look at soccer as our example because double-chance soccer betting is the most popular sport in this market.

If Manchester City is playing Real Madrid in a Champions League group match, three things can happen. Manchester City wins, Real Madrid wins, or the two teams tie. So what is double chance in soccer betting? It is picking any two of those three outcomes. Typically, people will pick one team winning and a tie as their two outcomes, but you can also pick both teams to win.

For a double chance bet to cash, either of the two outcomes you picked to happen must occur. For example, if you pick Manchester City to win and a tie, your bet will cash as long as Real Madrid doesn’t win. 

On sportsbooks like Betway or 888Sport, where you’ll find double chance betting markets, you’ll see it represented as a separate section, typically as a game prop. Double chance has a high hit rate, but unless the two outcomes you are betting on are both unlikely, the payout is small. Double chance betting is one of the safest forms of betting, which contributes to low odds that won’t win bettors too much money. 

What makes it so popular

• Straightforward to Follow: The Double Chance is very easy to follow. You know the two outcomes you need to happen, and it is straightforward to track what is going on with your bet.
• Low Risk: There are few bets that are lower risk than a double chance bet on a favourite. Two of the three possible outcomes are covered, meaning bettors have a great chance of earning some money.
• Can Still Have Significant Payout on Underdog: Betting the underdog and a tie on a double chance bet can still have a substantial payout. If Barcelona is playing Shakhtar Donetsk, the odds will heavily favour a Barca win. A double-chance bet on the underdog covers two possible outcomes and still provides a big payout.

There are two primary options for your double chance bets. These are single bets and parlays. You can make these kinds of bets on just about every sportsbook, whether you are mobile betting or betting from your computer. Let’s look at what they are and whether you should consider using double chance markets for your single or parlay bets.

A single bet is exactly what it sounds like. It is one bet on an outcome. An example of a single bet would be betting the Leafs to win on NHL betting sites. Single betting has lower payouts than parlay bets but less risk. Using a single bet for your double chance betting is a good idea and the right way to start for beginners. There will be a lowered risk.

Parlay betting is when bettors tie multiple bets into one. For example, if you went to NBA betting sites and bet the Raptors, Warriors, and Lakers to all win their games. The odds multiply, but each bet within the parlay needs to hit. Parlay bets have higher risks and higher rewards. You can add double chance bets into parlays to augment your potential winnings without placing a huge risky bet.

Before you start wagering on the double chance in betting, it is important you understand what odds are and how they work. If you’re an experienced bettor, then you probably already know this, but it is important to always brush up. So let’s look at how odds work and what they mean.

Odds essentially show bettors the probability of something occurring and the amount they would win if they placed a bet on the line. There are many kinds of odds. The most popular for Canadian bettors are American odds.

American odds operate on a +/- system. The + shows you how much profit you’d make on a $100 bet. If something is +200, you will make a $200 profit on a $100 bet. The - system shows bettors how much they’d need to bet to make a $100 profit. If something is -200, bettors need to wager $200 to make a $100 profit.

An example of this would be if you visited a World Cup betting site. Canada is playing Belgium, and you wanted to bet the Double Chance. Canada Win or Draw is +250, Belgium Win or Draw is -400, and Belgium Win or Canada Win is -350. If you bet Canada Win or Draw, an $100 bet would earn you a $250 profit if it cashes.

The other two odds types to know are decimal and fractional. Decimal odds show you what you’d return on a $1 bet in the form of a decimal. If something is 2.5, a $1 bet will return $2.50, including the original staked $1. Fractional odds are similar, but the payout is represented as a fraction and is centred on the profit. A 6/1 fractional odds means a bet of $1 will give a bettor $6 profit.

Understanding double chance betting is important, but there is more to it than that. It is also crucial that bettors take the time to develop a double chance betting strategy that allows them to be more consistently successful in betting on this market.

Let’s look at some of the different things you can do to create a successful and effective double chance betting system.

• Shop for Odds: Every betting site, from legacy bookmakers to new betting sites, will have different odds for the same events. You should look at different operators’ odds for the same event. There will be some discrepancies. Bet on the bookmaker with the odds that are most favourable to the outcome you prefer.
• Monitor Recent Performances: Before placing a bet, it is always crucial to gather information. Look at teams’ recent performances, whether they have any notable injuries or any other trends that might be important to monitor. This will help you make the most informed decision possible.
• Don’t Bet Both Teams to Win: When using the double chance, you can either bet Team A to win or draw, Team B to win or draw, or both teams to win. We’d advise betting against both teams to win. This is the outcome that will consistently have the lowest payout, and there still is a very real chance draws can happen. Avoid this type of double chance betting.
• Use Double Chance for the Underdog and Tie: The best usage of double chance betting is to bet on either the underdog to win or tie. This will still provide bettors with value, unlike betting on a heavy favourite and tie or both teams to win. You can still find decent odds on the underdog and tie double-chance bets, so seek this option out.
• Try and Find Value but Don’t Go Overboard: While we recommend finding underdog and tie markets, don’t go overboard! The favourite is often the favourite for a reason. If you are betting on soccer betting sites, and the top team is playing a relegation contender, don’t bet the relegation contender on the double chance just because it has a big payout. Be careful, and only make bets you believe in.

Favourite vs Underdogs

Another thing that bettors need to be aware of before they ever begin betting is the difference between a favourite and an underdog. The favourite is the team oddsmakers project is most likely to win the game, and the underdog is the team oddsmakers project is most likely to lose.

When you are double chance betting, as we’ve mentioned, you’ve gone in on two of the three outcomes that can occur in a game. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have a 66% chance of winning, as it depends on the picks you’ve made. Let’s look at the outcomes that can happen in a double-chance bet.

• Win: A double chance bet will win if one of the two outcomes you’ve projected happens. If you are betting on a soccer game between Arsenal and Manchester United, and you’ve picked Arsenal and a draw, and the game ends in a tie or Arsenal win, then you’ve won the bet.
• Loss: Contrarily, if you bet on an outcome that doesn’t happen, you lose. If you bet Arsenal and a tie in that same game, and Manchester United wins, then your bet does not cash.

One thing to note about double chance betting is that it is limited to a certain number of sports that you can find this market for. There are no ties in baseball, only extra innings. There are no ties in hockey, only overtime and shootouts. There are no ties in basketball, only overtime. Ties can occur in football, but they are extremely few and far between.

This limits the number of sports where you can expect double chance to be a market. While it does appear as an option on some hockey betting sites, it is nowhere near as popular as it is for soccer. Let’s look at some of the different leagues and sports where you can expect to find double chance odds.

• NFL: There are ties in the NFL, though they are extremely rare. Still, some NFL betting sites carry double chance markets where a bettor can place bets on a team to win in regulation or a game to go to overtime, or both teams to win in regulation.
• NHL: Ties also don’t exist in hockey, but there are sixty-minute bets where, similar to football, you can bet on either team to win in regulation and overtime as an option or just either team to win in regulation.
• MLS: America’s most popular soccer league is growing by the year, and double chance is a market you can surely find on MLS soccer betting sites around the world.
• World Cup: Ties are commonplace in World Cup matchups, and this makes double chance an important market to be aware of.
• Soccer: Whether you are a fan of the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Champions League, or Serie A, there will be tons of double chance betting markets on just about every sportsbook you can find that covers soccer.

Double chance is far from the only betting market you are going to find in your favourite sportsbook. There are a ton of different options available on just about every betting site around. Let’s look at some of the different markets you can expect to see on sportsbooks like Bodog and other major operators.

• Moneyline: A Moneyline bet is a direct bet on a team to win a game outright. If you pick a team on this line, you’ve picked them to win.
• Point Spread: The point spread is a projected score differential that favours a team. Bettors can choose to bet for the spread, meaning the favoured team exceeds that differential, or against it, meaning they don’t.
• Over/Under: The over/under is a line that represents the projected total number of points/goals/runs in a game between both teams combined. Bettors can bet the over, which means they think the teams combine to outscore the line, or the under, meaning they don’t think the teams do.
• Future: A future is a long-term bet within a league on an outcome that isn’t determined right away. It can be something like which team wins the World Cup, who wins the NHL’s Hart Trophy, or which conference wins the Super Bowl.
• Game Props: Game props are outcomes within a game. These are related to a team or teams and might not necessarily determine the score or have anything to do with it. A game prop can be how many corner kicks both teams will combine for, which team scores first, which team wins the opening tip-off, and more.
• Player Props: A player prop is like a game prop, except it is tied to individuals rather than teams. It can be something like which player scores the first goal, how many rebounds does a player get, and so on.

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