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Alternative Goal Line | Guide to Alternative Goal Line Betting

If you want higher odds and more options than over/under bets can offer (read the article about the significance of under 5.5 goals), alternative goal line bets might be what you are looking for. With alternative goal line betting, you can win higher than ever before and choose from multiple outcomes: Some of these allow you to receive a refund even if you lose.

However, compared to traditional under/over 2.5 goals betting, alternative goal line bets are a bit more complicated and require assistance if you are just starting out.

That’s why we’ve prepared this alternative goal line betting explained guide: Below, you can find answers to every question you wonder about this exciting exotic betting option.

What does alternative goal line mean?

So, what is alternative goal line bet? In order to answer this question, we need to talk about the types of sports betting and explain how goal line bets work. Goal-line betting requires you to correctly guess the total number of goals scored in a match. However, based on how you make this correct score betting guess it has many variants. In total, we can say that there are three main types of goal line bets. These are:

  • Win to nil betting: You are placing two bets: The first one says one of the teams will score at least one goal and win the match (the number of goals is not important). The second one says the other team won’t score even a single goal. So if the match ends with a score like XX – 0, you win this bet. 
  • Over/under betting: You bet that the total number of goals will be above or below a certain number. For example, “over goal line 2” means you bet that more than 2 goals will be scored in that match. You can also place a bet for “over 0.5 goals” or even “over 6.5 goals”, a single-digit number is not mandatory. 
  • Alternative goal line betting: And here is the most important part, alternative goal line meaning. This is similar to over/under bets but it has half and quarter goals too. For example, you can place a bet for “over 1.5” or “under 1 – 1.5” (1.25). Now, as we all know, there are no “half” or “quarter” goals in football or any other goal-based sport: So what do they mean?

We have prepared a list of betting sites for international and UK players, offering alternative goal line bets. It includes some of the biggest bookmakers in UK and the best football betting sites for UK players.

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Alternative goal line outcomes

When you place an alternative goal line bet, you are actually betting for one of these three outcomes:

Exact goal number

👉 Very similar to over/under bets: You try to guess the exact goal count and bet that this number will be above or below another certain number.
👉 It doesn’t matter which team scores the goals or what the outcome of the match is.
👉 Unlike traditional goal line bets, however, if your number is equal to the total number of goals, you get a refund. 

Here is a simple example:

  • In order to win an alternative goal line over 2.0 bet, at least 3 goals must be scored in that match.
  • If 1 goal is scored you will lose.
  • If 2 goals are scored, your bet will be refunded: This is what alternative goal line 2.0 means.
  • This bet can be placed on different phases of the match.
  • For example, you can also place an alternative 1st half goal line bet, and try to predict the total number of goals in the first half of the match.

Half goal number

👉 This is the most common type of alternative goal line bets.
👉 This option eliminates the “tie/push in betting” possibility, because no match ends with a half goal.
👉 You can either win or lose, there is no other option. In other words, there are no refunds.

For example, if you place an alternative goal line over 1.5 bet, there must be at least 2 goals scored in that match to win: You will lose with any other score less than this number.

Quarter goal number

This one is actually two bets in one. For example, with an alternative goal line 1.0 1.5 bet (1.25), you are actually betting for an exact goal (1.0) and a half goal (1.5).

👉 When you understand the alternative goal line over 1.0 1.5 meaning, you will also understand what this means: You are dividing your budget into two parts
👉 Place an exact goal bet with the first half.
👉 With the second half, you are placing a half goal bet.

In this example, let’s say you have a budget of 100 EUR. This means: 

  • You are placing an “over 1.0” exact goal bet for 50 EUR. If more than a single goal is scored in that match, you will win the bet. If only one goal is scored, you will get a refund. If no goals are scored, you will lose this part of the bet. 
  • You are also placing an “over 1.5” half goal bet for 50 EUR. If more than a single goal is scored in that match, you will win the bet. With any other score, you will lose this part of the bet. 

So even if you lose the “over 1.5” part, for example, you can still win the “over 1.0” part: These bets cover multiple outcomes at the same time. Please note that some bookies (including Asian bookies) also offer a variant called “Asian goal line”. This variant of the alternative goal line bets, may include only half and quarter bet options or exact goal bet option too. It depends on how bookies display them. 

Alternative goal line betting examples

In an alternative goal line over 2 bet:

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

1 (or less)
BET RESULT
LOSE
2
BET RESULT
REFUND
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
WIN

In an alternative goal line over 2.5 bet:

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

2 (or less)
BET RESULT
LOSE
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
WIN

In an alternative goal line over 2 – 2.5 bet (2.25)

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

1 (or less)
BET RESULT
LOSE
2
BET RESULT
REFUND FOR THE FIRST PART
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
WIN

In an alternative goal line under 2 bet:

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

1 (or less)
BET RESULT
WIN
2
BET RESULT
REFUND
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
LOSE

In an alternative goal line under 2.5 bet:

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

2 (or less)
BET RESULT
WIN
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
LOSE

In an alternative goal line under 2 – 2.5 bet (2.25)

TOTAL NUMBER OF GOALS

BET RESULT

1 (or less)
BET RESULT
WIN
2
BET RESULT
REFUND FOR THE FIRST PART
3 (or more)
BET RESULT
LOSE

Tips & tricks for alternative goal line market

We explained how does alternative goal line work above, so it is time for some tips & tricks. While there is no guaranteed way to make money betting on football, we can recommend the following for alternative goal line bets:

Tip

  1. Do your research. The best football betting strategy is to learn everything possible about both teams. Keep track of the season and create a table for the average number of goals for the teams. This way, you can make a more consistent prediction for the total number of goals that can be scored in a given match.
  2. Consider special conditions. Whether a team is home or away affects both their performance and the number of goals. This is especially important for the over 1.5 goals strategy: Away teams score fewer goals. However, in general, it is possible to say that most matches result in a score higher than 1.5 goals, so over 1.5 bets are ideal for beginners.

What to expect from alternative goal line bets

PROS

  • Some options offer a refund
  • Higher odds than over/under bets
  • Betting on multiple outcomes is possible
  • A big bankroll is not required

CONS

  • It may be too complex for beginners
  • Requires extensive knowledge about football + betting

FAQ about alternative goal line betting

Certainly, but if you have no idea how football works and/or how to bet on football, start with simpler options first: alternative goal line bets may be a little complex for you.

Alternative goal line betting can be used in any sports that have a goal-based score system, so you can use it for handball, ice hockey, bandy, and lacrosse too.

In alternative goal line betting, you can place a bet for the exact goal count, half and quarter goals, as explained above. In Asian goal line bets, only half and quarter bet options are available. However, some bookies display alternative goal line bets only as “Asian”: It depends on how the bookmaker displays its odds.

Alternative match goals are one of the outcomes of alternative goal line betting. You are trying to guess the exact number of goals and whether they will be above or below a certain number. There can be a tie, unlike the other outcomes (half/quarter).

Place your alternative goal line bet today

You can place an alternative goal line bet right now: We have lots of online bookmakers to recommend and each one offers a useful bonus. Alternative goal line betting can be very profitable if you pick the right options and do your research: Make sure to try it. Also, remember that we have a couple of guides for football betting strategies, including handicap betting systems like European handicap systems, so we recommend taking a look at them too. In any case, we wish you good luck: May you always guess the goal numbers correctly!

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