1X2 Betting Sites in Canada [ 2024 ]
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By Doug Hirdle
- — Updated
If you’re new to sports betting or are familiar with the names of betting markets, then the “1×2” market could come across as confusing, but realistically, it’s very simple.
1×2 betting is one of the most popular types of sports betting, perhaps even the most popular. It’s easy to understand and is readily available across a wide range of sports.
Table of Contents
What is 1×2 Betting?
1×2 betting allows bettors to bet on the outcome of a sports fixture that has three possible outcomes. For example, 1×2 betting is hugely popular amongst soccer bettors, as it allows them to bet on the home win, the away win, or the draw/tie.
“1×2” is a way of easily expressing the possible outcomes. The “1” represents the home win, the “x” represents the draw or the tie, while the “2” represents the away win. So, if you bet on “1”, you’re betting on the home team to win the game. If the home team emerges victorious, you will win your bet. However, if the game ends in a tie or the away team wins, your bet will be losing one.
1×2 betting example
Let’s look at a real life example. Recently at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Canada played Morocco. Before the game, the 1×2 betting looked like this:
- 1 = 5.00
- X = 3.40
- 2 = 1.85
Although the game was played on neutral ground, Canada were drawn as the “home” team, so they are represented by the “1” in the betting. The draw is signalled by the “x,” and if you wanted to bet on Morocco to win, you’d select the “2” option.
Now, this game was won by Morocco, who came out on top by two goals to one. This means that if you would have selected either 1 or x in the betting, you would have lost. However, if you’d taken 2, you would’ve won.
Best 1X2 Betting Sites in Canada
- Canadian players accepted
- Canadian players accepted
- Canadian players accepted
- Canadian players accepted
- Canadian players accepted
Calculating potential “1×2” winnings
It can be a good idea to calculate your potential winnings before placing a 1×2 bet, simply because this will tell you whether the risk/reward situation is worth it.
To calculate your winnings, you simply multiply the odds by your chosen stake. Doing so will give you the expected return in the event of a win.
Right, let’s say that you placed $100 on Manchester City to beat Arsenal in an English Premier League fixture.
The odds for Manchester City to Win are 2.25. So, you simply multiply 2.25 by 100, which comes out at 225. Therefore, the return should this bet win will be $225.
Now, let’s imagine that you fancied the reverse and wanted to bet on Arsenal to upset the odds and win the game at a sizable 5.00. Again, all you do is multiply 5.00 by 100, leaving you with 500. If you bet on Arsenal to beat Manchester City at 5.00 for a $100 stake, you’ll be rewarded with $500 if the bet wins.
If you place a 1×2 bet using a betting exchange like Betfair Canada, you’ll have to pay a commission. So there’s more to it, as betting exchanges profit from winning players paying a small commission fee.
To calculate your potential winnings, you’ll need to calculate the commission. If the exchange commission is 4%, then you’ll need to factor this into your potential winnings.
To do this, you simply multiply the stake by the odds minus one and then multiply by the commission rate.
In the above case of Man City winning at 2.50, it will be 100 * (2.50-1) * 4% = 240. The profit, in this case, goes from $150 to $140 after the commission has been deducted.
Laying the 1×2
Nowadays, bettors are no longer restricted to simply taking the odds on offer at online sportsbooks. Thanks to the invention of betting exchanges, they can almost adopt the role of the bookmaker and lay bets.
As a result, many people choose to lay bets on the 1×2 market. This means offering other bettors the odds on one or more of the outcomes of a fixture. For example, if you thought that the favourites ahead of a game looked weak and thought they would come unstuck, you could lay them on a betting exchange, which basically means to bet against them. You’re betting on that team to lose by allowing another punter to bet on them to win. If the team loses or the game ends in a tie, you win the bettor’s stake. If you’re wrong and the team you bet against wins, you pay out at the odds given.
Here’s how to calculate the payout for a lay bet on the 1×2 market:
The calculation for a winning lay bet is even simpler. When you use a betting exchange to lay a bet, you simply enter how much you want to lay the bet for. So if you want to lay the bet for $100, simply enter $100, and that’s how much you stand to win from the bet.
However, you’ll also want to calculate your potential loss should the bettor backing your lay selection win their bet. You do this by following the below.
To calculate the potential loss from a lay bet, you multiply the stake by the odds. Unfortunately, in this scenario, the answer is how much you will lose rather than win.
So if you lay a $100 bet at odds of 2.50, just multiply $100 by 2.50 to get the payout, which will be $250. In this scenario, you will only lose $150, as the $100 is the stake from the other bettor.
The lay bet potential loss formula is:
Stake * odds = payout – stake.
To calculate your potential lay bet winnings with commission factored in, you simply multiply the stake by a figure of 1.00 minus the commission percentage.
For example, if the commission rate is 4%, and the stake is $100, it would be $100 * 0.96, meaning that you’d receive $96 profit from your winning lay bet.
Variations of the 1×2 betting market
There are several variations of the 1×2 betting market. These are shown below.
1×2 First Half
This is the same as the 1×2 market, but it applies to the first half of a game only. For example, if we’re looking at a football/soccer match, you have a choice between betting on the home team to win the first half, the away team to win the first half, or the match to be a tie/draw at half time.
As is the case with the standard 1×2 market, the “1” represents the home victory, the “x” stands for the draw/tie, while the “2” represents the away win.
1×2 Second Half
Just as you can bet on the 1×2 market in the first half, you can do so in the second half too. This means you can bet on either team to win the second half of a game, or you can bet on the second half to end in a tie. It’s important to note that when placing 1×2 Second Half wagers, you’re betting on the result of the second half only, not the result of the match from halftime onwards.
Let’s imagine that you bet on the Vancouver Whitecaps to beat Toronto FC in the second half using the “1×2 Second Half” market, as long as Vancouver scores more second-half goals than Toronto, you’ll win the bet, even if Vancouver loses the match overall. You’re only betting on the result of the second half, not the result of the match.
1×2 Sports
Commonly, the 1×2 market is the preserve of the soccer/football bettor, but it is also popular amongst bettors who enjoy betting on other sports too.
Ice Hockey is hugely popular in Canada, so it’s no surprise that many Canadian bettors like to place wagers ahead of clashes on the ice. The 1×2 market offers bettors the opportunity to bet on either the home team to win, the away team to win, or the game to end in a tie.
Here is a list of sports where 1×2 betting is popular:
Why is 1×2 betting so popular?
As mentioned above, 1×2 betting is hugely popular. In fact, it is arguably the most well-known and most popular betting market out there, especially when it comes to a sport such as football/soccer.
Why is 1×2 so popular? The first reason is because it’s simple. It doesn’t require bettors to do anything fancy, all they need to do is decide whether to bet on a home win, an away win or a tie/draw.
The other reason why so many bettors like to place 1×2 bets is that it resonates with them. After all, many fans spend time predicting the outcomes of events. Sports fans talk amongst each other at length about what they think the outcome of their team’s next game will be or what the outcome of a whole host of upcoming fixtures will be, and this is one reason why 1×2 betting is so popular. Many people like to predict the outcome of the game, and many of those people like to turn those predictions into bets.
1×2 betting is also great because it can be done by both beginners and experts. You don’t need to know much about betting or the sport you’re betting on to place a few simplistic 1×2 bets, but at the same time, the market is still great for those who consider themselves to be highly knowledgeable about both betting and the sport that they’re betting on.
Tips for placing 1×2 bets
So, how can you improve your 1×2 betting and become more successful? Firstly, you need to ask yourself what you want from 1×2 betting. If you’re just looking for some fun and like predicting the results of a few games, then don’t worry too much about it. Make your predictions, bet with a few dollars and have some fun.
However, if you want to place 1×2 bets seriously, and are interested in trying to make a profit, then there are a few things that you can do.
Specialize
Any successful gambler will tell you that you need to specialize. Why because there is simply too much action to focus on. Quite simply, if you focus on multiple areas, you will become a master of none.
Narrow it down. Choose one sport, and focus your attention on identifying only 1×2 bets within that sport.
Do your research
Make sure you’re in the know. Learn about the teams that you’re going to bet on. Understand how they play and understand how they operate in certain situations. Stay on top of all the important stats and use them to make more informed betting decisions.
Look for value
When it comes to 1×2 betting, the ability to simply predict the outcome of events is quite overrated. What is more valuable to a 1×2 bettor is the ability to identify value.
What is meant by this is the ability to look at the odds of an outcome and conclude that they should be shorter than they currently are. This is akin to buying an item for less than the current market value.
You should use your knowledge of the sport and teams and harness the stats/data to form your own odds. Then, for example, if you believe that the price of the home win should be lower than what it is, you’d place a bet. By betting at value odds, you’ve obtained value for money.
Those who identify value consistently stand more chance of achieving long-term 1×2 betting success than those who simply predict the outcome and bet accordingly, no matter the odds.
