Snooker has boomed in recent years with more and more tournaments being added to the calendar from places all over the world.
That means there are plenty of betting opportunities for punters to take advantage of.
Tournament Betting
Tournaments can be divided into two groups: ranking and non-ranking events. Every pound of prize money won by a snooker player translates into a ranking point and the more you win, the higher you climb.
The most prestigious competitions in this category are the World Championship and UK Championship and these are enjoyable events to bet on as markets such as quarter-betting and the highest breakmaker of the tournament are often offered alongside the outright winner.
The majority of graded competitions are fixed-draw, meaning a player’s potential progression through a tournament can be mapped out. Betting on the winner of an event can be a good opportunity to find winners at big prices.
There are also non-ranking invitational tournaments such as the Masters, which a high ranking gains qualification for, and in terms of betting these work in the same way as a conventional competitions.
There are often 128 players competing in ranking events and some of the cuemen can start at prices of 100/1, 200/1, 500/1 and even bigger. Clearly, the short-priced players are perceived to have a better chance of winning but there’s often potters who are underrated by their price.
There were 17 ranking events scheduled this season so there’s a lot of snooker to be played.
From a punting perspective, it can often pay to evaluate a players performance over a 12-month or longer period rather than in the previous one or two tournaments. There are bound to be peaks and troughs in the competitor’s results, given the amount of tournaments they compete in, and ignoring recency bias can lead to big-priced winners.
Match Betting
There’s generally a mix of punting opportunities when it comes to match betting. First and second-round games can often be less well balanced contests. That means short-priced favourites but you will be well rewarded if you can find some upsets.
There’s the potential to place accumulator bets and that can include doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds and upwards. Combining multiple selections in the same bet can give a bigger return, while keeping stakes to a manageable level, and snooker tournaments usually provide a good opportunity to place these types of bets.
Of course, there will be competitive matches too and that will be reflected in the betting. That’s usually the case as a tournament progresses and the ability levels become less wide ranging.
Handicap and Other Bets
When a match looks likely to be an uncompetitive contest, or the prices look an accurate reflection of how the game will go, there are other avenues you can take. Handicap betting gives a start to a lesser rated player and forces their more fancied rival to give up frames.
This is an interesting way to punt because, essentially, the bookmaker has already done the hard work for you by setting the handicap line, you just have to decide which side to play.
Other popular bets include the player to make the highest break, total frames played, total century breaks and naming the correct score.