A game of football (or soccer once we cross the Atlantic) is played in two halves. These two halves are classified as the first half and the second half. The defining result of the match comes after the second half comes to an end. As such, what determines if the team has won, drawn or lose is the result at the end of the second half period.
While the result at the end of the second half is the most important as it is the one which demarcates if a team has won, drawn or lost, players or more specifically punters who are interested in football betting at times may be as interested in the first half score as they do the second half score. This necessitated by the fact that there is a betting market which is known as the Half Time-Full Time prediction (HT-FT prediction).
How HT-FT Predictions Work
The Half Time-Full Time prediction is quite a straightforward betting market. Players who are eager to open this market and place a bet on any football match are required to do two things. These pertain to predicting the result of the match at the first half interval as well as predict the result of the match after the second half comes to an end. The nature of the betting market stipulates that one must use either match result or correct scores in making predictions. To better understand this; let’s take a moment to highlight in detail what match result and correct score mean when it comes to football betting:
- Match Result: When talking about match result, we are simply talking about the result of the game in terms of whether the Home/Away team has won, drawn or both teams have tied. The only prediction here therefore comes on three fronts that is, Win, Lose or Draw. These can also sometimes be used to build sure bets.
- Correct Score: When talking about correct score, the punter is required to come up with the exact scores that the match ends up with. If the punter predicts that the Home Team is going to win by 2 goals to 1, then the result has to end that way in order for the player to claim a payout. The Home Team winning the match by any other result besides the 2-1 score predicted by the punter will not pay dividends to the punter.
As we now know the two natures of HT-FT predictions that sportsbooks and bookmakers may opt for, let’s put the whole notion of HT-FT predictions into perspective.
An example of HT-FT
Suppose there is a match between Chelsea and Manchester City taking place in the UEFA Champions Final and there is a HT-FT betting market open using the match result format. The punter has to make a prediction on the team between Chelsea and Manchester City that’s going to win, draw or lose at the end of the first half period as well as at the end of the second half. If the correct score format is in use, then punters are required to input the exact scores at the end of the first half as well as the second half.
Round Up Simply put, the HT-FT market is one of the most popular betting markets. This necessitated by the fact that its one of the most lucrative markets as it enables the player to make two predictions at the same time.