Betting markets explained, one by one
What each market means, how it settles, and when it suits your opinion — with worked numbers throughout.
Updated October 4, 2026
A betting market is a question with a fixed set of answers: who wins, how many goals, will both teams score. Knowing exactly how each one settles saves you from the most frustrating losses — the ones where you were right about the game but wrong about the market. Here are the betting markets you'll meet most often, explained with examples. The same markets appear on Nocturn Sport wherever they fit the sport.
Result markets
1X2 (match result)
Home win (1), draw (X) or away win (2). Used where draws are possible: football, rugby, ice hockey over 60 minutes. Settled on normal time only in football.
Moneyline / winner
Two outcomes, no draw — tennis, basketball, MMA, baseball. Overtime or extra innings usually count.
Double chance
Covers two of the three 1X2 outcomes: 1X (home or draw), X2 (away or draw) or 12 (either team wins). If the away side is 3.20 and the draw 3.40, X2 might be around 1.65.
Draw no bet (DNB)
Back a team; if the match is drawn you get your stake back. It's a handicap of 0 in disguise. A team at 2.00 in 1X2 might be 1.45 draw no bet.
Handicap markets
A handicap adds or removes goals or points before settling, to balance a lopsided contest.
- European (three-way) handicap: whole numbers with a draw option. Home −1 means you add −1 to the home score: a 2-1 home win becomes a handicap draw.
- Asian handicap: half and quarter lines with no draw option, so stakes can be refunded or split. Detailed in our Asian handicap guide.
- Spreads, puck line, run line: the US names for points, goals and runs handicaps, such as −6.5 in basketball or −1.5 in hockey and baseball.
- Map and set handicaps: ±1.5 maps in esports or sets in tennis. In a Bo3, −1.5 maps means winning 2-0.
Totals (over/under)
You bet on the combined score against a line. Over 2.5 goals wins with 3 or more; under 2.5 wins with 0, 1 or 2. Half-point lines can't push; whole lines (like 3.0) refund the stake if the total lands exactly on it. Totals exist in every sport: points in basketball, runs in baseball, maps in esports, sets in tennis.
Example: a match total of 2.5 at 1.95 over / 1.85 under suggests the bookmaker sees the under as slightly more likely.
Both teams to score (BTTS)
Yes wins if each side scores at least once; no wins otherwise. It ignores the result: 1-1 and 3-2 are both yes; 2-0 is no. BTTS suits games between two attacking sides with leaky defences.
Correct score
Predict the exact final score. Long odds reflect the difficulty: 1-1 might be 6.50, 2-1 to the home side 8.50, 0-0 around 10.00 in a tight game. In esports and tennis, correct score refers to the series or sets: 2-1, 3-1 and so on.
Outrights
Bets on a whole competition: league winner, top scorer, tournament champion. They settle at the end of a season or event, and prices can be long because you need many results to go your way. The bookmaker margin on outrights is usually larger in total, because there are many outcomes.
Picking the right market
Start from your opinion, then choose the market that expresses it best. If you think a favourite wins but might struggle, draw no bet or double chance fit. If you think they'll dominate, the handicap pays more. If you have no view on the winner but expect goals, look at totals or BTTS. On our sportsbook, every market for a match is derived from the same model, so they agree with each other — see how we price odds. For combining markets across different games, see accumulator bets.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 1X2 and moneyline?
1X2 has three outcomes including the draw; a moneyline has two, because the sport has no draw or overtime decides it.
What happens to an over/under 3.0 bet if exactly 3 goals are scored?
The stake is refunded, because the result lands exactly on the line.