What Does Half-Time/Full-Time Mean in Betting? HT/FT Explained

The half-time/full-time betting market is available for a variety of sports and is one of the most popular markets for football betting.

With this market, betting sites allow punters to place a bet on the outcome of a match at half-time and then the outcome at full-time, as part of a combined wager.

When examining the half-time/full-time betting market ahead of a football match, the draw is obviously a key consideration and that means there are a total of nine possible outcomes at varying odds.

A bettor might have a strong view that a team will win a match, while also expecting them to be leading the game at the interval.

By backing them on the half-time/full-time market, you are able to get a bigger price than you would find from simply 1x2 betting, although you need them to be leading at the break and the final whistle.

What Does HT/FT Betting Mean?

When a betting market is denoted as HT/FT, this basically refers to the half-time/full-time market highlighted above.

For example, consider a clash between Liverpool and Leicester City. You might fancy Liverpool to win the game but football betting sites have priced them as odds-on favourites at 4/11.

A customer might regard these odds as too short to bet as a single, although the HT/FT betting market can offer a bigger-priced alternative.

Liverpool to lead at half-time and full-time can be bet on at evens, should you think the Reds will be ahead at the interval before winning the game.

Alternatively, you could potentially secure an even bigger 3/1 if you bet on draw half/time, Liverpool full-time, before they go on to win the clash.

Here's a quick look at how online bookmakers usually display the half-time/full-time betting market and what the wording means, again using Liverpool v Leicester City as an example:

• Liverpool/Liverpool 1/1 - With this bet, you are backing Liverpool to be winning at half-time and at full-time.
• Liverpool/Draw 13/1 - Liverpool to be winning at half-time and the game to end as a draw.
• Liverpool/Leicester 40/1 - Liverpool to be winning at half-time and Leicester to win the match.
• Draw/Liverpool 3/1 - The scores are level at half-time and Liverpool go on to win the match.
• Draw/Draw 11/2 - The scores are level at half-time and the match ends as a draw at full-time.
• Draw/Leicester 13/1 - The scores are level at half-time and Leicester go on to win the match.
• Leicester/Liverpool 18/1 - Leicester to be winning at half-time and Liverpool to come back and win the match.
• Leicester/Draw 16/1 - Leicester to be winning at half-time and the match to end as a draw.
• Leicester/Leicester 14/1 - Leicester to be winning at half-time and to win the match.

Half-Time/Full-Time Bet Rules

When you place a half-time/full-time bet, this always applies to normal time in a match. Therefore, if you are betting on a cup clash that goes into extra-time, the extra period of play has no bearing on the original bet that you placed.

You might find that a half-time/full-time bet is sometimes available in-play and can factor this market into your in-play football strategies.

There’s also nothing to stop you placing an accumulator that includes half-time/full-time bets.

Combining a few ht/ft selections can mean a juicy return from a small stake if your predictions are correct.

Half-Time/Full-Time Betting Strategy

The first point to make is that there are nine potential outcomes when it comes to the half-time/full-time betting market.

You will notice that the shortest-priced selection is generally the favourite to be leading at half-time and full-time - although it’s always a bigger price than backing the favourite to simply win.

So if you expect a favourite to dominate a game from start to finish, the ht/ft betting market can be looked at as a way to boost your odds.

Ht/ft betting is also worth considering if you like to back the draw.

Let’s say that a draw between two evenly-matched teams is trading at odds of 7/2.

The scoreline often isn’t level at the break and you might get a price like 10/1 for one team to be leading at half-time before the game ends all-square - as you originally predicted it would. Again, half-time/ful-time betting is a way to boost your odds in scenarios like this.

Win Both Halves Meaning in Football Betting

You might want to consider the win both halves betting market as an alternative to the half-time/full-time market.

When it comes to the latter, you can back Manchester United HT/FT, for example, and the bet will win if they lead 1-0 at half-time and the scoreline remains the same at full-time.

However, if you backed United to win both halves in this match, that bet would be a loser. When backing a team to win both halves, you need them to outscore their opponents either side of half-time.

Where to Bet on Football Half Markets

The leading football betting sites provide customers with an opportunity to bet on an array of football half markets.

We would recommend that you sign up with licensed bookmakers like the ones showcased below in order to get the best football betting market coverage.