Scorecast betting is one of the amateur punters favourite markets to bet on. It allows you to create a fun bet that is going to pay out at big odds for a relatively small outlay – but it’s not an easy one to win.
The process of the bet is much simpler than actually winning it though; you just need to select which player will score the first goal and also the correct score at full time. Some may assume this to be an accumulator-type bet, but in fact, it’s a separate bet that is priced up by the bookmaker and we will explain why later in the article.
We stated that it’s popular with amateur punters and that’s mainly because the bet is so tough to call. There are so many variables that could go wrong to scupper your bet very quickly. If you get the final score right but someone else scores first, even if your player goes on to score, your bet loses. If you have opted for 2-0 and the other side bags one in the first 5 minutes your bet is dead before it even got going.
Why Does Scorecast Exist?
For those of you who are new to this bet type, then you may be wondering why the scorecast bet exists at all. You may be thinking that you could just choose a player to score from the first goalscorer market and also a score form the correct score market to form a double.
The reason this bet type exists is that the markets are dependent markets. By this, we mean that one event within the match will have a huge effect on the outcome of the other bet.
A bookmaker would never take a bet that included both the team to win a game and the correct score for that game. Why? Because if the correct score comes in then it automatically means that the team has won that game, so the punter with a bet on both outcomes would essentially be getting inflated odds for the same bet.
It works the same for the first goalscorer bet in that if your player scores the first goal then it removes the chances of the other team winning 1-0.
The scorecast market has been added by most bookmakers to allow punters to bet on these markets as a double, but with reduced odds. If you backed a player to score first at 5.00 and a team to win 2-0 at 8.00, then the double would work out at 40.00. The price that you would actually get from the bookmaker for this scorecast would be much lower, around 25.00, still offering good odds but reduced because of the relation between the two bets.
Scorecast Variations
There are actually several variations of the scorecast bet and we have listed them below. They all fit under the same ‘related contingency’ criteria that we have outlined above, but are separate markets in their own right.
Wincast
The wincast is probably the most popular of the range of markets related to scorecast bets, and this is where you simply need to choose a player that will score at any time in the match and the correct outcome of that match; home/away/draw. It’s a much easier proposition than the scorecast and allows you much more scope for your bet to come off.
The downside is that the odds will be significantly reduced here than if you placed the same two selections for the first goalscorer and correct result, but then the chances of winning are higher.
It’s also thought that this sort of market has been growing in popularity in recent years due to the number of bookmakers who now offer it to their customers on a regular basis, highlighting the importance of the Wincast market for the industry.
Timecast
The Timecast market will require you to make your selections on a player to score in a specific period of the match.
So, for example, this could be Aguero to score within the first 20 minutes of a game and also predict the correct final result for that match.
It’s worth noting that it doesn’t matter if other goals have gone in before yours for this bet, they just need to score within the predicted time frame. It could be the first game of the match or the fifth, it doesn;t matter.
Scorecast Betting Strategy
The best thing to do with the scorecast bet is to treat it as two separate bets. So, we need to breakdown a strategy for finding the first goalscorer and then a strategy for finding the potential correct result.
First goalscorer
The most obvious thing to do here is to simply choose one of the team’s players who is in form or top goalscorer for that season. This may sound glaringly obvious, but in terms of really finding out what to bet for this market, it’s one of the easiest things you can do.
Due to the pricing structure for these bets we don’t need to get too creative here. So, choosing a centre back to score first is going to be a very bold move, but choosing the in form striker is going to give us the best opportunity of starting the bet off in the right manner, even if he is the obvious choice and comes with the least attractive odds.
Correct score
The correct score for the game is going to be tricky. As a general rule of thumb we don’t recommend ever backing a game to nil as this can scupper your bet before you have even started. Whilst there is always going to be a bet that you could place to nil, this isn’t a good market to use it on.
We also want to check head to head scores for previous games. This should give us an idea of recent results and betting trends that we can possibly pick up on. A team with 4 draws in their last 4 meetings will mean that the draw is never going to be a bad option. Alternatively, if one team is dominant over their rivals, try to look at how many goals they have beaten them by previously and factor that in to your potential bet.
Cover your bets
As the odds for the scorecast bet are particularly large, many punters like to cover their bets by placing singles on the first goalscorer, correct score, and the results market.
This means that if just one of those bets comes in you will still have some sort of return, and if two or even all three of them are winners then your returns are going to be even greater.
Don’t be afraid to use a betting exchange for this type of bet as well, especially if your selection grabs the first goal. If they do, the odds will be slashed and you can likely either lay off your bet or simply cash out if using a traditional bookmaker.
Final note
Just before we leave you, it’s worth mentioning that own goals will not count towards the first goalscorer bet, but will count towards the final result.
So if there was an own goal as the first goal then your selection scored the second, they will technically be seen as the first goalscorer for the sake of this market.
The own goal will be part of the final result though, regardless of who or when it was scored, so you will need this to line up with your correct score prediction.