Futures (or outright) betting is a special type of market that allows you to wager on the winner of a certain league or tournament winner. For example, it gives you an opportunity to stake on who will lift the English Premier League trophy or claim the Super Bowl before the season even starts.
It is especially tempting if you want to place a bet on underdogs and win big due to high odds or believe there is a clear favorite.
Let’s say it’s September, and the English Premier League is just about to start. Manchester City has been winning the League for the last four seasons and has a strong squad, which makes you feel that they’ll win it again. So, you simply place a bet on them to finish at the top of the standings. Now, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy 38 weeks of Premier League action, knowing the bet is riding on the outcome.
It is important to note that futures wagers can also be placed on individual accolades. For example, you can predict who will win the NBA Most Valuable Player award or who will score the most goals at a World Cup.
The beauty of futures is that it’s a long game, and excitement builds with every match that contributes to the outcome of your slip.
Before the start of a season or a championship, sportsbooks set their futures odds on different events. It could be the winner of the tournament, the leading goal scorer, the MVP, and so on.
Futures odds are set after carefully considering each team or player’s quality, stats, and past performances. You can decide to place a bet before the start of the season or competition or after it has already begun. However, at some point, as the season draws to a close, the futures wagers may no longer be available. This is because the outcome becomes more predictable, and bookmakers stop offering them to manage risk.
Sportsbooks and other betting services usually release futures odds in a list format. Each event is outlined with various options, such as teams or players, ranked from the most likely outcome to the least likely based on their calculated implied probabilities. The term “implied probability” simply means the likelihood that oddsmakers think an outcome has of happening.
The odds for futures aren’t fixed. As the season or tournament progresses, these odds are adjusted based on the ongoing performance of teams and players, game results, volume of wagers, injuries, etc. However, once you place your bet, the original odds are locked in. This means even if the odds shift dramatically as the season progresses, your potential payout remains the same.
As previously mentioned, there are several types of futures bets that you can choose from. Let’s check out the most popular ones.
With team futures, you’re predicting the winners of championships and league titles. Additionally, you can put your money on whether a particular team will have more or fewer wins against a set number. Since these wagers depend on the performance and achievements of the entire team, you need to analyze the team as a whole when placing your bet.
With player futures, you’re leaning on the individual performance of a specific player rather than an entire team. These bets often focus on outcomes: the league’s top scorer, winning the MVP award, etc. In this case, you must consider factors like the player’s form, injury history, consistency, role within the team, etc. You also have to consider the team dynamics, as it will also influence the player’s performance.
A parlay is a combination of multiple wagers in a single slip. Therefore, futures parlays are simply the combination of multiple futures predictions as one bet. For example, you can have the EPL winner, Super Bowl winner, and NBA Championship winner as one parlay.
Combining bets like this will yield higher odds compared to a single pick. This automatically means a higher potential payout. However, it also means higher risk because all three bets must be correct to win.
Gamblers used to be restricted to predicting the winner of a tournament or league alongside a couple of other options. Now, there’s a wide variety of futures markets to explore. Let’s consider some that bookies usually offer for popular sports.
Some common future wagers in American football include:
Popular futures for basketball include:
Popular futures predictions for hockey include:
Common baseball futures bets include:
Some of the best sports futures in soccer include:
Popular horse racing futures wagers include:
Most top sportsbooks offer the option for futures wagers. bet365, BetMGM, Fanduel, Betfred, BetVictor, Unibet, and DraftKings are a few examples of reliable platforms you can check out. For horse racing futures, you might want to consider some of the best horse racing bookies like QuinnBet, Unibet, Betfred, BetVictor, and William Hill.
Below are the advantages and drawbacks of futures:
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Wagerers usually employ different strategies to limit their risk on futures. The most popular is hedging, which involves betting on the opposite side of your original prediction.
Let’s say you’ve put money on Man City to win the EPL. Towards the end of the season, the Citizens are first but with only 1 point in hand. Liverpool, which is sitting in second place, looks to be in better form and could potentially jump over them.
To use the hedging strategy in this scenario, you place a bet on Liverpool to lift the trophy as well. If Manchester City wins, your original prediction pays off. If Liverpool wins, your loss is reduced or even leaves you with a little bit of something.
Futures betting is a viable option for punters who don’t mind waiting for an outcome over an extended period. However, those who prefer quick results should stick to regular short-term stakes. Also, familiarity with the sport you’re gambling on is crucial for these types of predictions. Wagering on a team or a player you know little about in any form is a recipe for disappointment.
Get familiar with the sport you’re interested in and understand how betting works. Also, consider using valuable online resources to boost your knowledge and improve your chances. For instance, you can master betting with BetZillion, a sports betting-focused platform that provides expert tips, compares odds, and offers strategies that can help punters make smarter decisions.
