Sports betting is just as much of luck as it is skills. When it comes to betting on football there are many different ways to win. You can place a bet on which team will be scoring next, on the result of a game or even on which player who will score and from where. A common factor is usually that if you want to win big you have to bet specific, the more specific the higher the chances of you losing and therefor also the higher the pay-out. With the establishment of online casinos on the gambling market, betting has become even more accessible as it can now be done from the comfort of one’s home. Navigating through the jungle of online casinos can be hard, here are some tips if you are interested in finding an online casino where you can place bets and hopefully someday make it onto another list of the most unbelievable bets ever made.
Historic Leicester Premier League Win 2015/16
When the Premier League kicked off in 2015 not a lot of people would’ve guessed that it would end the way it did. Just one season earlier the foxes came back to the best league in the world, a league they had never won. The pre-season had been strong with four wins and one draw and many fans felt that there was something in the air, something that made them place their bets on Leicester City FC despite the high odds set by the bookmakers (the odds were 5000-1).
Carpenter and Leicester fan Leigh Herbert put £5 pounds on Leicester taking home the league and saw as many other of his friends and fellow fans started to cash-out, but he stuck it through. The cash-out option increased all the way up to £14.500 which had Herbert questioning his sanity and wobbling on whether or not he should stick with his original gut bet and the potential of bringing in £50.000 or cash-out the huge cash-out number. “I couldn’t stop looking at my cash out and then… £14.500! Wow! FOURTEEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED ENGLISH POUNDS/…/I could have that in my bank right now”.
In the end, Herbert cashed out half of his bet before the season ended giving him an impressive £5.680 and an additional cash-out at the end of season. A happy end to this nail-biting and historic Premier League win.
The Underdog wins – Greece takes home the European Championship 2004
The summer of 2004 saw the European Championship, or the UEFA Euro 2004 come to Portugal. Eight host cities would see 16 of the best European national teams face each other in a gruelling tournament over 23 days. The tournament was filled with surprises as it saw the top-ranking teams Germany, Spain, and Italy, being knocked-out in the group stages as well as the defending champions France fall out at the quarterfinals.
This was the second time Greece had ever qualified for the tournament and the bookmakers had set the odds at 150-1 for the Greeks to bring home the glory. After winning, loosing and drawing in the group stages no one thought that the Greeks would be so close to the victory as they were, but they managed to kick out the Spaniards due to a better goal difference. In the quarter final they faced the defending champions France but with strong defending and optimistic counter attacks they managed to score a goal in the 65’ minute and surprisingly advanced to the semi-finals where they would face the Czech Republic.
In the semi-final the game went to extra time and was looking to go into penalties leaving all those who had bet on Greece to take home the final in trembles. In the 105+1 minute of Extra Time Dellas managed to score a header and take the team to a dream final against the host nation Portugal.
Greece had met Portugal in the group stages, winning 2-1, but where in no way over confident when they stepped onto the stage. A tough game with a single goal scored in the minute 57’ by Charisteas saw the Greece take home the gold and a few lucky betters multiply the money they betted 150x! The Greek national team gave Greeks everywhere a magical summer and ignited a hope in all small nations that one day, they can do the same, be the underdogs and win.
African Cup of Nations – A big betting mistake
Sometimes the best betting stories are the ones that teach us what not to do. This story is definitely one of those. In 2010 Angola was set to meet Mali in the first game of Group A in the African Cup of Nations. Before the game started Angola where the slight favourites as the home team and hosts of the tournament.
The game started with Angola taking the lead dominating on the field with help from the crowd. In the 37th minute Flavio scored the first and before the half-time whistle he managed to also score the second, giving Angola a comfortable head start heading into the second half of the game. In minute 65 Angola got a penalty which they took advantage off. After a little while Angola received another penalty which they once again scored on leaving the scoreboard 4-0 for the Angolans. At this point a student placed his student loan, £4.400 on Angola winning the game. Not the best of bets for two reasons; 1. He read the odds wrong and at the moment he placed the bet his profit could only amount to £44 and 2. He didn’t know what would happen next…
In minute 78, only five minutes after the last penalty Keita manages to get in the first ball for Mali. Another, 10 minutes pass and this time it is Kanoute who zings in the ball behind the Angolan keeper. The score is now 4-2 but there is still no real belief in that the Angolans are about to draw this game. The game continues and 4 minutes are added on the clock. Min 93 and Keita is once again there, the score is now 4-3. Minute 94 Yattabare finishes a sensational comeback for Mali 4-4 in a comeback that leaves the poor better we previously mentioned without his student loan. The lesson here, know what you are betting on and don’t bet your entire student loan!
The luckiest woman alive
Every once and a while we hear about people who have no clue about betting accomplishing something that a lot of people who gamble regularly never ever accomplish. This is one of those stories. In 2017 an unnamed woman decided that she wanted in on the fun that her husband and son were having every weekend. They were both watching and betting on English football and she thought… how hard can it be.
Her husband had been doing the £1 weekend accumulation game since he was 18, betting £1 on the outcome of 12 games, and he had never come close to getting the 12 games correct so he thought his wife had no chance. The wife would have the ultimate laugh when on Sunday evening the games where all over and she had managed to bet right on 12 out of 12 games. Cashing out a fantastic £574278,41. You may ask how did she make her bets? She just chose the ones “…she liked the sound of…”. Now that if anything, is luck!
The most skilled gambler in the world
As previously mentioned, it is not only luck that brings home the bacon, often it is also skill, analytics, knowing the game. For Mick Gibbs this is the case. In 1999 he correctly predicted the outcome of nine European football games earning him £157000 but it wouldn’t stop there.
In 2001 Gibbs decided to try his luck and skill on 15 football games across Europe with the odds of 1666666-1 he bet 30 pence. He then anxiously awaited the outcome. By the end of game 14 he could feel the nerves building, he was just one game away from an impressive win. It now all depended on the outcome of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Valencia. Gibbs had bet on the German side to win.
The final was taking place in the epic stadium San Siro in Milan. Already in the third minute Valencia were rewarded a penalty after a mistaken handball. Mendieta took the penalty and scored. A few minutes later Bayern were rewarded a penalty but missed. It isn’t until the 50th minute when after a clear handball Bayern are given a second penalty which the German side manage to capitalise on and equalise the game.
At full-time the score is still 1-1 taking the final into extra time and then later penalties. It is during this penalty shoot-out that the foundation for the myth and legend surrounding Oliver Kahn is born. At the last penalty its 4-4 if Kahn manages to save it, it will be Bayern’s third title. Pellegrino steps up, shoots and Kahn catches… the moment he grabs the ball Gibbs cashes out a £500 000 win. Now if that is not skills, I don’t know what is…