How to Find Value in Football Betting – Real Tips from a Professional Tipster

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Ben Beard

Co-founder of Tipman and a well-known tipster with over a decade of profitable tracked results. Featured on the Racing Post NAPs table, Ben brings proven expertise and sharp racing insight.

Published Date: June 19, 2025 6:46 AM

Value Football Betting Intro

If you want to win consistently in football betting, value is the only thing that matters.

It is not about who is most likely to win. It is about whether the odds you are getting are bigger than they should be.

That is what we do at Tipman every single day. We do not just look for winners. We look for overpriced bets.

This guide walks you through what value betting is, how we find it, and how you can use the same methods to improve your own results and stop losing money to the bookies.

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What Does ‘Value’ Mean in Football Betting?

A value bet is when the odds on offer are bigger than the true chance of the outcome happening.

Let’s say you think a team has a 50 percent chance of winning. Fair odds would be 2.00. If the bookie is offering 2.20, that is a value bet. If they are offering 1.80, it is not.

Value is not about guessing what will win. It is about finding bets where the odds are too big. That is what creates long term profit.

Most Punters Bet With Emotion. Value Bettors Bet With Logic.

The average punter backs their favourite teams, big names or what they think is a sure thing. That is how bookies make money.

Value bettors ignore all that. They look at numbers. They back outcomes where the price is wrong. They know they will not win every time, but over time, value wins. Every serious tipster knows that.

How We Find Value in Football Every Day

Here’s how we do it at Tipman. It is not guesswork. It is a system.

1. We Estimate the True Odds

We take everything into account. Form, injuries, data, matchups, xG, motivation, even weather and officials if needed.

We turn that into a percentage chance of an outcome, then convert that to odds. If the bookie is offering more than that number, we have found value.

2. We Scan Every Bookie for Price Gaps

Not every bookie updates prices at the same time. Sometimes one is slower than the rest, and we find a good price sitting there while everyone else has moved.

That is where most sharp punters make money. It only lasts a few minutes but it adds up fast.

3. We Focus on Smaller Markets

The big games are hard to beat. Everyone is betting on them. Prices are tight.

The value is often in the lower leagues, in card bets, corner markets, or less popular leagues where the bookies do not have as much data or attention on them. That is where we work.

4. We Track Closing Line Value

We track every bet we send. Not just whether it wins or loses, but whether the odds we gave were better than the closing price.

If we tip something at 2.10 and it closes at 1.85, we have beaten the market. That is proof we are finding value.

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Simple Way to Check if a Bet Has Value

You do not need a maths degree. Just ask yourself:

  • Are these odds higher than you expected

  • Is this price out of line with other bookies

  • Is this a market that might be overlooked or mispriced

  • Has something changed that the price has not reacted to yet

It is not about guessing the result. It is about judging the price.

What Value Betting Is Not

  • It is not just betting on long shots

  • It is not backing favourites blindly

  • It is not guessing based on instinct

  • It is not winning a lucky treble and thinking you have cracked it

Real value betting is about repetition and patience. You make your edge over hundreds of bets, not just one.

Quick Summary: What to Look for in a Value Football Bet

If you’re trying to spot value in football betting, here’s what to focus on:

  • Overpriced odds – Where the price is higher than the real chance of it landing

  • Tactical edges – One team’s style or setup suits the match more than the market suggests

  • Team news impact – Key players missing or returning, not yet factored into the odds

  • Situational motivation – One side is playing for survival, the other has nothing to play for

  • Market overreaction – Price has moved based on hype or one poor performance

  • Underestimated stats – High xG or recent form hidden by final results

You’re not just picking winners. You’re backing bets where the price is wrong — that’s the edge.

Why Tipman Focuses on Value Above Everything

From day one, our entire system has been based on finding value. Our Premium service covers football, racing, accas and more. Elite Value takes it a step further, focusing purely on bets that we know are mispriced.

Here is a real example:

  • Tip: Over 2.5 goals in Ipswich v Millwall

  • Odds at time of tip: 2.05

  • Closing odds: 1.83

  • Final result: 3–1

Even if that had ended 1–1, it was still a good bet. The price we got was better than the true odds. That is what matters.

Want to Start Betting Smarter

You can learn to find value yourself. It takes time, discipline, and the right habits. Or you can follow people who are already doing it and showing their results openly.

Tipman sends daily football tips backed by data, form, price tracking and proper reasoning. No hype. No guesswork. Just solid value bets.

Fraser Bricknell, founder of Tipman Tips, explains:
“Value betting is about flipping the edge back in your favour. Bookies often price outcomes slightly worse than the real chance of them winning. Value betting is about spotting when odds are actually better than the true probability. A good example is roulette — you get 36/1 on a single number, but with zero on the wheel, the real odds are 37/1. The edge is with the house. Value betting would be getting 40/1 on that same spin.”

👉 Join the Tipman Elite Value Betting team here

Betting is not about luck. It is about getting the price right.

Learn More About Value Betting

If you’re serious about betting with an edge, we’ve covered value betting in more detail across a few focused guides:

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is a value bet in football?
A value bet is when the odds on a football outcome are higher than the true probability of it happening. You’re not just betting on who is most likely to win, you’re betting where the price is wrong.
Learn more about what value betting really means

How do you spot value in football odds?
Look for prices that don’t reflect form, team news, tactics or situational factors like motivation. Value comes from finding edges the market hasn’t fully priced in.
See real examples in our bet builder value guide

Can underdogs be value bets?
Yes. Value is not about who is likely to win. It’s about whether the odds are too big. An underdog at 8/1 might be value if they should be 4/1 based on the data.

Is value betting profitable long term?
Yes — if done correctly. You won’t win every bet, but over time, backing edges where the price is in your favour is the only proven way to beat the bookies.
Find out how Tipman builds value into every tip

What tools can help find value bets in football?
Use sites like WhoScored, FBref and Sofascore for stats, plus odds comparison sites to spot pricing errors. Tracking team news, formations and ref data also helps. You can do all of this using our football stats centre here.

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