Sportsbook operators do their best to make every game listed on the sports calendar something customers can wager on. Even if the two teams playing each other are far apart in talent or records during a season, there is always a certain odds number or market that can create wagering chances. A common betting strategy when two talent diverse teams faceoff is using the 'To Win To Nil' market, which is most often used in soccer but has some applications in other sports.
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What Is Win To Nil Betting?
The Win To Nil market is a two-part wager where a customer first selects a team to win, but with the caveat being the team selected has to win without conceding any goals, runs, points or whatever the scoring system is called for a respective sport.
Examples Of Win To Nil Markets
Manchester United is squaring off against Real Betis in a Europe League contest. The 90 Minutes market for the match is below:
Manchester United | Draw | Real Betis |
-270 | +370 | +650 |
Manchester United is a pretty heavy favorite against their counterpart, and the customer does not want to lay -270 odds in the match, so they check out the Win To Nil market:
Manchester United | Real Betis |
+123 | +1100 |
Manchester United's odds to win the match go from -270 to +123, but Real Betis cannot score for the customer to win their wager, which creates riskier odds.
Why Use Win To Nil Betting
There are a few scenarios where the Win To Nil market makes sense, instead of just hoping that a team has a poor offensive outing. There is some strategy to be used, including backing a strong defensive team in their home stadium. If a quality team rarely gives up goals to begin with and is considered a top-tier defense, choosing Win To Nil odds compared to regular money line odds is a good time to test that market.
Another time to use the Win To Nil market is when the talent difference between the two sides is drastic, more than the example above. This is usually seen in international tournaments where powerhouses are matched up against some smaller countries without worldwide recognition. Thirdly, teams with history against one another in a season can also be looked at. If two times played each other two times earlier in the season and the match results were both 1-0, a customer can have substance behind a belief that the third game will be a low-scoring, tightly contested contest. Win To Nil odds in this scenario would boost their regular money line odds.
Win To Nil Vs Clean Sheet
A clean sheet is a market in which a customer is must select that the outcome of a game would be a draw and not necessarily that a team must win as compared to Win To Nil. This means that if a customer chooses the clean sheet market and the outcome is 0-0, it is still graded as a winner compared to Win To Nil. Below is the 'To Keep A Clean Sheet' market:
Manchester United | Real Betis |
+104 | +650 |
Notice how the odds differ from a Win To Nil market above.
Other Sports To Bet Win To Nil
With soccer being a generally low-scoring sport, it is easy to see how this is where it is most used. Clean sheets happen all throughout a season and have their own market for soccer matches daily. This market certainly will never exist for basketball, but baseball, hockey, and tennis will also create opportunities to bet Win To Nil markets.
Tennis Win to Nil Betting
In tennis, the player selected would have to defeat their opponent 6-0 in each of the sets during the match without conceding a game. The selected tennis player can concede points within the game of course, but not giveaway any games. As one would imagine, this can be used when stars like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal face lesser opponents in smaller tournaments or perhaps the early rounds of a major tournament. It is less and less likely the Win To Nil markets come into play the longer it gets into a tournament.
Hockey Win to Nil Betting
Not saying soccer is like hockey in terms of scoring, as hockey is more of a high-octane sport at times, but there are spots where a goalie is locked in and throws up a 45-save shutout. The reward is usually high when checking out these markets as it is unlikely to keep a team out of the net for an entire night.
Baseball Win to Nil Betting
Have an ace pitcher on the mound against the worse team in the league? This is one way to spice up a game that should have a dominant performer on one side going against a weak lineup. Instead of a pitcher having -350 odds to start a game, taking a baseball shutout can be closer to even money even with the talent disparity between the two teams.
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