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⚽ Stockport vs Tranmere
With football and the gambling markets constantly evolving the traditional match result market remains ever-popular with punters. Sometimes though bookies just offer prices that don’t represent value for money in a straight win-draw-win scenario.
Thankfully, more complex markets exist and present us punters with opportunities to maximise our potential returns. Familiarising yourself with the HT-FT market and understanding the true HT-FT meaning is one of the best ways to do this; we have you covered with everything you need to know about HT-FT betting.
Latest HT-FT predictions
Stockport vs Tranmere: Draw/Stockport
- Stockport have only lost one of their last five home matches but they’ve also only led at the break in two of those games
- Tranmere, who play a league lower than their hosts, have won just one of their last five away games but have only trailed at the interval once in that period
- Stockport have only been in front of Tranmere at half-time in two of their last five meetings
Celtic vs Chelsea (W): Chelsea/Chelsea
- Celtic’s last two Champions League games have seen them lose whilst also trailing after 45 minutes
- Chelsea have played two, won two in this competition so far this season notably leading at half-time in both games
- In pure quality terms, Chelsea should have far too much for their hosts
Greece vs England: Greece/Greece
- The last meeting between these nations saw Greece run out 2-1 winners with all three goals coming in the second half, however, Greece could and should have buried England much earlier and much more severely
- England have given up plenty of opportunities under Lee Carsley and with eight players having dropped out of his squad there is every chance those deficiencies are on show again here
- Greece have won each of their last four home matches and have led at the break in three of those
HT-FT Meaning: What is it?
Without prior knowledge the HT-FT meaning isn’t that obvious. Thankfully, it’s really easy to explain.
Most commonly, you are predicting what the result of a match will be at half-time (HT) and at full-time (FT) with the term ‘result’ meaning what the outcome will be i.e. home team winning, draw, or away team winning, rather than backing a specific scoreline.
In order for your bet to be successful you have to get both parts of the bet correct.
Potential HT-FT selections
- Home-Home = Home team winning at half-time and full-time
- Draw-Home = Drawing at half-time and home team winning at full-time
- Home-Draw = Home team winning at half-time and drawing at full-time
- Home-Away = Home team winning at half-time and away team winning at full-time
- Draw-Draw = Drawing at half-time and full-time
- Away-Away = Away team winning at half-time and full-time
- Draw-Away = Drawing at half-time and away team winning at full-time
- Away-Draw = Away team winning at half-time and drawing at full-time
- Away-Home = Away team winning at half-time and home team winning at full-time
How to win a HT-FT betting pick
We’ve covered the bulk of the HT-FT meaning but just have a couple of points to clarify.
Firstly, we cannot stress enough that HT-FT bets are different from the ‘both halves’ markets you see. For example, in a ‘home-home’ bet in the HT-FT market a home team that takes a 3-0 lead into the interval but then loses the second half 2-0 would still be a winning bet because the home team won the game at full time. In a ‘both halves’ bet the same home-home selection would lose because the away team won the second period.
It is also worth noting that the HT-FT market can also be extended to focus on correct score, total goals and both teams to score bets but these are not commonly used.
Important: 90-Minute rules apply
The final piece to specify on the HT-FT meaning is that bets are settled at the full-time whistle; this means all injury time counts towards your picks in both the first and second half and there will be no rollover of your bet into extra time.
How to place a HT-FT bet
So, you’ve now got an understanding of the HT-FT meaning but you might still need a bit of guidance on actually placing the bet.
The first thing you need to understand is that any bookmaker worth their salt will offer a HT-FT market particularly the bigger players in the world of online sports betting such as:
Your process for placing a HT-FT bet is as follows:
- Sign up with your preferred bookmaker (we’d recommend using one of our links above for the option of a new customer bonus)
- Navigate to the football/soccer market using the quick pick options or menu tiles
- Click into a fixture of your choosing
- Find the HT-FT option (this might display as “half-time/full-time”)
- Pick the combination you wish to bet on
- Set your stake & place your bet
Advantages of the HT-FT market
The HT-FT market is more complex to understand and bet on than other markets but there are significant upsides to it.
You’ll get bigger odds vs traditional markets
A HT-FT bet will always carry stronger odds than that of the traditional match result market. In effect, you’ve got to get two predictions correct to win a HT-FT bet as opposed to one in the win draw win market and, as such, you get rewarded with a longer price.
You can back heavy favourites
If you’ve ever found yourself looking through a match result market you’ve probably been frustrated by the better teams having pathetic odds offered against them. Well, the HT-FT bet allows you to bet on favourites whilst getting reasonable odds. This is because you can incorporate differing views of how you think the game will unfold rather than just the result itself.
Cash out when you want
Yes, despite the HT-FT market being more advanced than that of simple match result bets you are still able to cash out of your bets with most bookies. This means you can look to secure an element of your potential returns before the final whistle goes, which might be particularly useful if you’ve already nailed your first half pick, for example.
Disadvantages of the HT-FT market
Unfortunately, gambling is called gambling for a reason and HT-FT bets carry a risk with them – as do all markets.
Research is paramount
If you want to exploit proper value out of the HT-FT predictions you make then conducting research is critical. With the added complexity of knowing how teams perform at different points in the match imperative to these bets you will need to spend more time digging into the stats. You could, of course, also come back to this page for your well researched picks!
You’ll only receive a full pay out at the final whistle
Any match result bet you place will need the game to finish before you can claim your winnings; the same is true in HT-FT betting. This isn’t the end of the world but is a downside to consider when comparing to markets that settle more quickly – such as both teams to score and “over” goals picks.
HT-FT meaning: FAQ
What is the meaning of HT-FT in football betting?
HT-FT betting is where you predict what the result of a game will be at half-time and full-time.
Is HT-FT betting only for the match result?
No, the HT-FT market can be utilised for other types of bets but the most common, by some distance, is result betting.
Can HT-FT bets be placed ‘in-play’?
Yes, HT-FT bets can be wagered after a game has begun – providing the action is still in the first half.