World Cup Betting Lines -- Just For Fun

For what it's worth or not, and how I wish I were still in Las Vegas or that my local bookie took World Cup bets, here are some lines through Thursday 17 June that I'll paper-bet as derived from www.pinnaclesports.com (no I don't bet offshore).

Also I am envious of you all in Canada in being able to bet legally offshore for that matter as far as I know. Here they passed laws against it in 2006 only to try to protect the now quickly declining and self-destructing Vegas racket (i.e. 65% of homes there now are encumbered by more mortgage debt than they are worth).

Fire away with comments if you are also familiar with sports betting. :thup:

$22 USA +1 England +100
$7 USA-England Draw +341

$7 Slovenia-Algeria Draw +226
$10 Serbia Defeats Ghana +116
$11 Germany-Australia Over 2.5 Total Goals +108

$7 Paraguay-Italy Draw +219

$11 Portugal Defeats Ivory Coast +131
$8 Portugal-Ivory Coast Over 2 & 2.5 +110 (if push=loss)

$8 Uruguay Defeats South Africa +151

$14 Nigeria Defeats Greece +139

3-2 so far and up $40.75. No free drinks. :frowning: :stuck_out_tongue:

Biggest surprise yet was the USA-England draw or the win by Ghana - take your pick - with the call of that draw paying more.

That's about it for the "easy money" through Thursday.

I cancel my $8 Uruguay over South Africa +151 bet too now with no other changes.

3-2 so far and up $40.75.
Nice! I don't know much about the the betting systems or I'd get involved. Looks like some easy money to be made from this event. The long shots don't look so long with the crazy ball and altitude they are playing with in S. Africa.

4-4 +$37.08

Very surprised that the Ivory Coast and Portugal game did not result in a lot of goals given that both were playing an offencive (pun intended for that 0-0 draw) formation of 4-3-3 ...lots of action though for a 0-0 draw but way too much flopping beyond just Cristiano Ronaldo.

Update on outstanding paper-bets for first two games in each group:

$14 Nigeria Defeats Greece +139

$21 Brazil-Cote d'Ivoire -1 +100 (that means I bet Brazil will win by 2 or more goals for the bet to pay even money)

$7 Switzerland-Chile Draw +235

Usually I stay away from the third round of games due to too many actual and potential conflicts of interest or weak lines with the oddsmakers catching on better.

For example, right in the middle of a match once teams learn they can qualify with only a draw once a side in the other game already out is ahead of a side in a must-win situation in that game, in go the subs and/or a really defencive formation like a 4-5-1.

FYI -- the lucky and crazy bet of Switzerland to win outright would have paid 12.5 to 1! Congrats to the Swiss they earned it.

Other bets with longer odds for unlikely results that would have paid handsomely ...try your luck with these and you'll lose far more than you'll win usually but often you need only hit one to be ahead.

So sayeth all those playing the lottery though.

Serbia Defeats Germany +438
England-Algeria DRAW +533
Slovakia-New Zealand DRAW +349
Japan Defeats Cameroon +296
Ghana Defeats Serbia +292

For you aspiring punters out there or otherwise, the risk/reward for predicting draws is often highly favourable compared to predicting a win by either side.

England-Algeria DRAW +533
God knows I would've picked this if I was a betting person. I had a big hunch this one would be a low-scoring draw (even predicted this to my brother). That would've been a nice payout for me at the expense of the great chokers!

I don’t know whether I want to start betting around these games or not but do you recommend a site?

http://www.pinnaclesports.com is one I have heard good things about from a friend who gets some of his action there and is often cited by the regulars in Las Vegas as their "offshore" source. That's where I got those lines a few weeks ago and where I will get more this week. You get better lines there than you are likely to get via any bookie or betting venue too.

The site is based out of Curacao and credible as backed ultimately by the laws of The Netherlands.

Of course it’s illegal to play there in the United States but so much the better for you all in Canada. :rockin:

And the only reason it is illegal here is due to the “Las Vegas Lobby” headed by a very powerful Senator who is finally on his lame way out of office.

I used to live in Las Vegas where I got into small-time sports betting because in the worst case you’d just end up paying for the drinks but most of the time I’d come out somewhat ahead.

Also there is nothing stopping you from practising as do I paper-betting to keep my skills sharp, but you have to work to be honest with yourself when you start out. You can’t “would coulda shoulda” yourself to death after the fact and so forth.

Also don’t beat yourself up too much as if you can manage to win only 60% of your bets you’ll be very successful for real. It’s harder than one might think too.

The first thing I learned when betting real money even after paper betting, as is the case with tourists who get their hats handed to them when they visit Las Vegas full of drinks and ego, is that it is very easy to be overly confident and make too many bets.
Also don’t take the contentious games as do too many dudes full of ego – take the money that appears easy. You are betting to win money not for bragging rights or pride or whatever. Of course all the same too many of those “easy” bets don’t hit too. :lol:

As it is far easier to lose money than to win it, eventually you get a feel for cancelling some of your bets on paper or “as you head to the window.” And you’ll figure out your lucky numbers and superstitions and so forth.

And if you don’t bet a lot of money like me, the thrill is in the fun so long as you don’t miss every single one in which case you ought to take some time off or try a different game. :thup:

Record To Date: 5-4 +$44.08

Remaining (Paper) Bets For Round One

$7 Chile-Switzerland DRAW +235
$11 Germany -1 +103
$11 Germany-Ghana Over 2.5 Goals +106

Was looking good until the red card …

Oddly enough-- the over/under on every game is 0.2
That line just screams "Take the under".

:wink:

Easier said than done my friend. :slight_smile: And anyone who has played a bit know when it sounds “too easy” well … :?

Of other longshot interest for games completed:

Italy-New Zealand Draw +657
Uruguay Defeats Mexico +348
(though each needed only a draw to win, this seemed high given that the loser in all likelihood would have to play Argentina next!)

Of longshot interest tomorrow – place (gulp) your bets! :stuck_out_tongue: :

Algeria +304
Slovenia +699
Slovenia-England DRAW +348
Australia +342
Ghana +602
Ghana-Germany DRAW +321

Slovenia-England DRAW +348
I'd take this in a heartbeat (maybe even the Slovenia +699). The English team is known to have made a lot of people money over the years, and not in a good way.

Record To Date: 5-6-1 +$26.08

Germany did not pound Ghana by more goals perhaps only because Australia had gone up 2-0 at one point before winning 2-1. See that's what one gets for betting the third game of the first round sometimes. :frowning:

One more first-round bet:
$12 Paraguay -1 -109

Only a long shot bet today with Australia at +342 would have won.
Another one was (too) close for USA/Algeria for a DRAW at +304 coming up short. GO TEAM USA! :rockin:

All the same in that game Team USA legitimately were robbed earlier of a goal as Dempsey was clearly onside. For all the fuss about that referee from Mali for what the video and audio show was a good call though not the big picture that he did not see and previous bad calls (he is only human after all in real time and cannot see everything), there ought be more outrage now but as is the case still too often our fans just don't understand the game overall it seems. :roll:

Now I wish our media would spotlight as many of the other few though bad offside calls with such scrutiny as well. :x

Other longshots for the rest of the games for the first round:

New Zealand +706
New Zealand DRAW +327
Slovakia +626
Slovakia DRAW +328
Cameroon +375

N Korea +807
N Korea DRAW +392
Honduras +669
Honduras DRAW +334
Chile +661
Chile DRAW +346 (was tempted here as I have them picked to draw anyway, but something tells me no)

GO TEAM USA!

All the same in that game Team USA legitimately were robbed earlier of a goal as Dempsey was clearly onside. For all the fuss about that referee from Mali for what the video and audio show was a good call though not the big picture that he did not see and previous bad calls (he is only human after all in real time and cannot see everything), there ought be more outrage now but as is the case still too often our fans just don’t understand the game overall it seems.


What a game and ending! It showed a lot of people it’s not always the scoreline that makes sports exciting. It should have been 2-0 though with the botched offside call. And, about not making too much fuss about this ref and the disallowed goal I think it has more to do with no major harm being done by it. US still topped the group in the end so a lot of people are just focusing on the celebration. I’ve heard this is their best group finish in 80 years. Congrats!

Final After First Round: 5-7-1 +$14.08

See why it's great in Las Vegas because you get those free drinks too? :slight_smile:

That's it for me unless I see something just begging me to bet for the second round, but by this point the oddsmakers are too good.

Second Round/Stage Two

[url=http://www.pinnaclesports.com/lines.aspx?type=league&sport=soccer&league=world%20cup&periods=7]http://www.pinnaclesports.com/lines.asp ... &periods=7[/url]

Note these will vary slightly by the time you view the link above compared to what I post below.

Note that different odds are posted for regulation time of 90 minutes plus only stoppage time than for "To Advance," with the latter the ultimate result after also any extra time periods or penalty kicks.

Of course for an underdog you would get more of a payoff if you chose the underdog to win in regulation versus after extra time or penalty kicks.

I'll list my paper bets to come in about an hour, as some of these are better than I had thought.

Good luck to any others wanting to paper bet as well.

Here are some lines of long-shot note or other interest as of the time of this post:

South Korea To Win In Regulation +391

USA-Ghana Over 2 Goals Scored -106

Mexico To Win In Regulation +649
Argentina-Mexico Draw In Regulation +318
Mexico To Advance +364

Slovakia To Win In Regulation +788
Netherlands-Slovakia Draw In Regulation +325
Slovakia To Advance +413

Chile Win In Regulation +703
Brazil-Chile Draw In Regulation +311
Chile To Advance +355

Japan To Win In Regulation +298

Portugal To Win In Regulation +323

Brand new pool of funny money here for the Second Round/Stage Two:

$8 Uruguay Win In Regulation -105

$7 USA Win In Regulation +163
$10 USA-Ghana Over 2 Total Goals In Regulation -105

$14 Germany Win In Regulation +192

$7 Netherlands-Slovakia Draw In Regulation +325

$22 Brazil Win In Regulation -1 -104

$11 Japan Win In Regulation +298

3-2-1 +$41.64

Already well in the win column, but still no free drinks. :expressionless:

GO JAPAN! as basically I am riding on winnings again no matter what now. :smiley:

I am still very surprised that Germany was that much an underdog, almost 2:1 mind you at +192, and made out best on that bet. Then again it’s not as if hordes of hooligans driving the line in favour of England are the most rational folk and certainly usually not hardly sober. :lol:

The same sort of stuff happens in betting on some teams in college and NFL football too with certain mobs driving such lines. Perhaps I’ll come across an example for CFL ball this season, but I am new to betting on that.

3-3-1 +$30.64 Final After Second Round
8-10-1 +44.72 Overall

After the Paraguay-Japan snoozer I ought to have just taken the draw instead at a decent +220 :roll:

Here are how the lines look now for the quarterfinals:

[url=http://www.pinnaclesports.com/League/Soccer/World+Cup/7/Lines.aspx]http://www.pinnaclesports.com/League/So ... Lines.aspx[/url]