Both Teams to Score Guide
Both Teams To Score is a bet type that you may have heard plenty about. The BTTS markets are always popular with football fans in particular because it encourages the support of goals – and that, after all, is what football’s all about!
But if you’re new to sports betting or aren’t sure whether to place a BTTS bet, this particular market can feel a bit confusing.
Well, Bet UK is here to help with the ultimate Both Teams To Score Guide.
This guide will take you through the basics of a BTTS bet, how it works and how to place a sports bet. You’ll also discover which sports are more applicable to Both Teams To Score than others, and how you can use stats to maximise your chances of winning big profits.
By the end of it you’ll have a good knowledge of what is a BTTS bet, and why it’s so popular!
What does BTTS mean in betting
Both Teams To Score (BTTS) is a bet type where you back both teams competing in the same game to score at least one goal or point each. It is most commonly used in football games, where punters wager on both the home and away team scoring.
A BTTS bet will look something like this:
As the odds here indicate, there is more likelihood of this game featuring goals for both teams than not.
How profitable BTTS bets are is up for debate. Between the 2016/17 and 2020/21 seasons, both teams scored in just over 50% of all Premier League matches. In the EFL Championship that figure was >51%.
This means that the BTTS bet on high-level English games usually has a 50/50 chance of winning, and that’s often reflected in the odds.
How BTTS works
BTTS is a straightforward wager. You can either bet Yes on both teams to score in a chosen game, or No. The fact that only two options are available makes it an attractive bet for punters who want to avoid the Match Odds market, where there are three possible results (home win, draw, away win).
Usually the BTTS odds reflect the disparity in quality between the two teams in question. If Yes is priced at 7/1 and No at 1/3, it’s probably because the bookmakers believe one team will definitely not concede.
The reason BTTS bets are so popular is because they last an entire game. This is unlike other bets that can abruptly end midway through a game, such as First Team To Score or First Touchdown betting.
The BTTS market runs until full time, which means even if a football team is winning 4-0, there’s always a chance of the opposition scoring and you nailing your bet.
Contrast this to betting on a team to win. Should they fall 3-0 down by halftime, your bet is effectively ruined before the game has even finished. With BTTS, the chance to turn a profit lasts from the first until the last whistle.
How BTTS varies in different sports
BTTS is a common market for low-scoring sports such as football and hockey. However, this bet type can vary with other, high-scoring sports. In this instance often the BTTS market is focused on a specific period of the game – for example, the first quarter of an American football game.
Here are three sports where Both Teams To Score apply to different timeframes…
Football – In football the BTTS market is almost as popular as the win and correct score markets. This is partially because football fans are accustomed to watching games even when they’re not supporting a particular team. Because of this, they prefer to wager on an event that will last the full 90 minutes – and BTTS does just that. BTTS betting is a mainstay of football betting and is a great way to build up funds with smaller odds.
Ice hockey – There are, on average, more goals scored in ice hockey games than football games. So the BBTS market splits into periods 1, 2 and 3. You can therefore wager on both teams scoring over a specific period, rather than the entire game (which most bookmakers wouldn’t offer as the odds would be miniscule). BTTS may be less popular in Ice Hockey Betting but it certain represents a good option!
NFL – Like in ice hockey, the BTTS markets in the NFL are split into periods. There are four quarters in American football and quite often the odds for BTTS in the first period are wider than against. It therefore becomes a popular wager to bank on both teams getting points on the board early on. BTTS betting in NFL tends to turn into more of an over/under betting situation but with two low-scoring teams anything can happen.
It’s worth noting too that many individual sports such as tennis, darts and snooker don’t feature BTTS. This is because the scoring mechanisms used in these sports makes it practically impossible to avoid points being awarded to both sides.
Why BTTS bets are popular
The popularity of Both Teams To Score bets comes down to the attitude of your average sports bettor. Most of us follow specific teams but also love watching sport, whether it be football, NFL, hockey or whatever happens to be on TV!
BTTS is a great way of betting on the game without needing to back a specific team, and instead, bank on a fun viewing experience. After all, scoring is what sport is all about.
Some bettors will also bet against the BTTS on specific games. This is popular because there are more chances to win than backing a particular team to win to nil, over another.
Both Teams to Score Tips
When it comes to BTTS tips look no further than a sport you know well. There’s no point wagering on NFL games if you don’t follow American football, for example, as this will prevent you from making the smartest choice possible.
In this instance let’s stick with football (soccer) and explore some betting tips that work for experienced players.
When considering a BTTS bet, players will often look at:
- Head to head record
- Evenness of the teams
- Form guides
- Injury lists and suspensions
Let’s now take a look at these tips to place a BTTS bet in detail…
Head-to-head record
Checking out the recent head-to-head record between two teams is an ideal place to start, especially when these teams have had managers and systems in place over a number of years.
Take, for example, Liverpool and Manchester City. In a seven-game period between 2019 and 2021, both teams scored in six of their meetings. That suggests their next encounter will witness goals at both ends.
Evenness of the teams
This metric can be used when considering whether to back against BTTS. If the teams are hugely uneven – say City are playing Lincoln at home in the FA Cup – then it’s likely the hosts will keep a clean sheet. Many punters wager against BTTS in these sorts of games.
Form guides
This can be a great resource for determining if a team will score or concede. Teams can hit purple patches as well as go through miserable periods, and the form guide will give you a good idea of how lethal a team is going forward, and how stable they are at the back.
Injury lists and suspensions
This is a less-used resource but incredibly important. Injuries and suspensions to key players can dramatically impact on a team’s performance, especially in the lower divisions. If a team’s top scorer is out injured and their No 1 goalkeeper suspended, betting against BTTS in their next game could prove profitable.
BTTS accas
One of the other top tips to place a BTTS bet is to add it onto other wagers. Creating accumulator bets is easy to do and can greatly boost your potential winnings by increasing your odds.
All you have to do is select a number of wagers in the sportsbook and your bet slip will add them to a wider ‘acca’. If all these individual bets win, you win the wider wager and bigger profits.
Many players will often stick money on a first goalscorer or the yellow cards markets in football, and then attach a BTTS wager. This is because the BTTS carries less risk than many other bet types, and can plump up mundane odds from other markets into something more worthwhile.
Other players will conduct an accumulator based purely on Both Teams To Score wagers. This is often a popular bet to stake a few pence on, with the chance of winning hundreds of pounds off the back of a tiny stake.
Try BTTS betting today
Now you know more about the BTTS meaning and how it works, it’s time to put your newfound knowledge into action. Here at BetUK, all our football games feature Both Teams To Score markets, as to our NFL and ice hockey fixtures.
Most people that look to place a BTTS bet, look to do so by using an accumulator. If you're looking to place one, check out the BetUK Acca club where you can get profit boosts on your accumulators.
But before jumping straight into a wager, first take a look at the odds and do your research by looking at form guides, injury lists, etc. From here you’ll be able to make a smart choice as to whether your chosen fixture will feature goals or points for both teams.
If you're looking for betting tips for BTTS check out our blog!