Snooker betting tips
Snooker betting: major tournaments, analysis features and bookmaker offers
Snooker is the form of billiards that attracts the most betting volumes these days. It is considered to be the most difficult type of billiard game, but due to complex rules and interesting tactical features, it has thousands of professional players all over the world.
Major snooker betting tournaments
Until recently, the snooker calendar was not full of events, but after 2010, with the arrival of functionary Barry Hearn, the situation began to change. The total number of tournaments, as well as the number of media mentions and broadcasts, is growing by leaps and bounds.
The most striking events are still the three majors that attract the most attention of billiard lovers. In December, the British Championship takes place, the second most important tournament in the world rankings. In January, the top 16 snooker players gather for another big tournament – the Masters.
And finally, in May, the climax of the season takes place – the World Snooker Championship. It is an incredibly prestigious yet grueling and tough tournament for the best players – the competition lasts 17 days at the famous Crucible Theater in Sheffield, and in the final match it takes several days and 35 frames to determine the winner.
Top snooker players try not to be scattered and show the best game in these three majors, but with the development of the calendar, tournaments outside of Britain have gained considerable importance.
The greatest growth was received by local Chinese “masters”, for example, “Shanghai Masters” or China Open in Beijing, where many snooker stars usually come not only for credit points, but also for fat prize money – in 2018, the winner of China Open received 225 thousand pounds. In addition to the Shanghai and the China Open, there are three other tournaments of the “big calendar” in China, three more in Germany, Wales and Australia.
Lines for big events in the world of snooker are offered by bookmakers around the world, receiving huge betting volumes. But snooker lives not only with high-profile events – there are many tournaments with experimental formats all year round, in which star players often participate.
One of these is the 6-red World Championship, which is regularly presented in the lines of bookmakers. Instead of 15 red balls, there are only 6 on the table, which shortens the chronometers of the games and makes them more dynamic.
Types of bets on snooker
For the winner. In every sport you will find a bet on the winner of a match or competition. Snooker does not stand out here, the market for the winner is the most popular among players. There are no draws in snooker, so you simply bet on which of the two snooker players will be the first to win a given number of frames to win the match.
On total frames. The number of frames in a match depends on the level of struggle. In a best-of-13 format, for example, a maximum of 13 frames can be played in a 7-6 score and a minimum of 7 frames in a 7-0 rout.
You bet on the number of frames over / under a certain mark, in the case of equal opponents and a game up to 7, you can meet totals of 11.5 or 12.5. Also, for some events, bookmakers can offer a bet on the exact number of frames in a match – the odds are high, but it’s also hard to guess.
On the winner of the frame. In the line before the match, as a rule, you can find odds on the winner of the first frame. The possibility of randomness is higher than the results of the entire match, and the difference in quotes between players of different levels is not so big. In live, bookmakers offer to bet on the winner of each subsequent frame during the match.
For a head start. If Mark Selby faces an obscure Thai player in the first round, you’re unlikely to bet either one or the other to win. And you can make good money on the handicap – for example, by placing a -1.5 handicap on Selby for 1.85, you are betting on the fact that the Englishman will win at least with a difference of 2 frames. There may be a reverse situation, when you are confident in the underdog and insure with a +1.5 handicap.
For the maximum break. A bet that one of the players will score the maximum 147 points per frame at least once in a match. Also, predictions are usually accepted simply for the best break – which of the two participants will have the most successful frame in the match.
Race to frames. A popular bet in protracted matches of decisive stages of tournaments. In a 35-frame match lasting several days, you can predict which of the participants will be the first to win, for example, 4 frames. You will see the result much faster than in the case of a match bet.
For the winner of the tournament. It is quite difficult to determine in advance the winner of a big tournament in snooker. The competition is high, and sometimes there can be more than 10 real applicants.
More chances to win, but lower odds you will find in the quotes for the various tops of the tournament – that a certain snooker player will at least reach the final or get into the top 4.
Choosing a game strategy: what to look for
When making a prediction for a major tournament, you have to keep in mind that in snooker a lot can be decided… by luck. Accordingly, this also affects snooker bets: events can unfold very unexpectedly. Even the most venerable snooker players in the early stages sometimes bring things to the decisive frame, where the outcome of the game can be decided by luck or a random mistake.
Some bettors wisely choose several players at once to bet on winning a tournament. In this case, the analysis of the competition grid will provide all possible assistance, because the bet will not make sense if the favorites are in one of its half.
When choosing a snooker player for a bet, it is necessary to evaluate his past form and results. You need to understand that some big name pros are overrated in the line and you have to be on the lookout if a famous snooker player is not in the best mood. The public often “presses” the line with bets on their favorites and thus makes the odds unprofitable.
It may be a good tactic to keep track of relatively young and developing snooker players. The odds on them are more valuable, but finding the future opening of the tournament is not so easy. Some obscure snooker players sometimes break into the world rankings by winning second-rate tournaments, which should not put you off. The competition is lower there, and experienced professionals, as a rule, focus their preparation on majors.
Therefore, in order to find a future star, you need to watch the matches themselves more, note the nuances of the game and the tactical development of the player, and also monitor how he manifests himself over time in matches against really strong opponents.
Pay attention to the format of the tournament. Apart from modern exotic and experimental blitz formats, decisive matches in traditional snooker can be played with a limit of, say, 9 frames or 35, as in the World Championship. In the second case, it will be more difficult for older snooker players to keep in shape throughout the tournament, and even more so to confront an opponent in the final for several days in a row. For 9-frame matches of patience and endurance, mental and physical, less is needed, technical skill comes to the fore.
The host country of the tournament can also be important, and here it is worth highlighting the emerging powers in snooker. China and Hong Kong each year have an increasing representation at the highest level. Their snooker players gain experience and compete with English-speaking players at the world championships, and at home, at their Masters, they are able to show particularly unexpected results.
Snooker is an individual sport, so sometimes due to cockroaches in the head, participants do not perform at the expected level. In this case, it is advisable to read more news and interviews of snooker players, follow their blogs and social networks.
It is not uncommon, especially for the British, when a good player serially does not show his level due to problems with depression, alcohol, and family troubles. Motivation is a fickle thing, you have to understand that snooker players are ordinary people with their own problems.
In-match bets are widespread in snooker. Professional bettors have their own strategies and developments, noting the peculiarities in the game of snooker players.
For example, odds for winning a frame are very popular – a player can track when one of the snooker players scored a good series, but not enough to win, and the situation on the table (or the skill of the athlete) does not favor the development of an advantage. Then a significantly increased coefficient on the participant who is inferior in the frame can be beneficial.
Bookmakers for betting on snooker
Almost all legal bookmakers accept bets on snooker – 1xBet, Pinnacle, 10bet, BetSafe, 888sport, GtBets and others will bet with you on the biggest snooker events, usually with high limits and profitable odds.
