Pool Betting
Pool betting is a popular form of gambling throughout the world. Unlike fixed-odds betting the potential payout for your pool bet, should it win, is not known until the pool closes and the number of winners are determined.
Usually a pool bet involves paying a fixed price for a ticket and making a selection or selections on an outcome related to sport. The pool betting operator takes a percentage of the final pool as a commission. The remainder of the betting pool or 'prize pool' is then divided amongst the winners - those who have made the correct selection or selections.
The amount a winning ticket is paid depends on the number of entries to the pool, the number of winners, and of course, the percentage commission charged by the operator.
Finding good value bets with pool betting has traditionally relied on a bit of guesswork as you don't know who has bet on what, and in how great a number, until after the pool closes. This is now changing with online pool betting.
Pool Bet Value
A good value bet is where the gambler gets near to or better odds on their bet than the 'real' odds associated with the outcome they want. The real odds are of course almost impossible to determine with total accuracy and that is where gamblers spend time making judgements (and having arguments) about a particular outcome's real chances.
Looking for value bets has traditionally been the preserve of fixed-odds betting. It is difficult to make a judgement on value unless there is indication of the expected profit from a winning bet.
Pool betting can provide opportunities for value bets but historically haven't. Online betting now allows immediate feedback on the distribution of selections for particular betting pools. In other words gamblers can look at an open pool and see who or what people have bet on. This provides the opportunity for gamblers to find value in their pool bets.
Football Pools Result
The football pools started in 1923 and for a long period it was the most popular form of gambling in the UK.
In 1994, for example, 10 million people played the football result prediction coupons on a weekly basis.
Today that's fallen to something under half a million. The decline has been down largely to the success of the National Lottery.
Added to this however, the football pools have failed to attract the new generation of online betting punters. The 'Betfair generation' are much more bet value conscious than previous generations and they have, for the most part, avoided the football pools who take about half of the pool as their commission. In other words only 50p of every pound spent goes back into the prize pool to be paid to the winners, which does not represent good value. As a result the football pools has failed to regain its popularity.
