Scorecast betting explained

A scorecast is two bets welded into one. You pick the first goalscorer and the final score, and both must be right for the bet to win. Pick a striker to score first and the match to end 2–1, and a 2–1 win where someone else opens the scoring loses. So does a 3–1 where your striker scores first. Bookmakers price it as a single market, not as a double of the two parts.

How it settles

Say you back Player A to score first and the match to finish 2–1 to his side.

What happens	Settles as
A scores first, final score 2–1	Wins
A scores first, final score 3–1	Loses
Someone else scores first, 2–1	Loses
First goal is an own goal, A scores next, 2–1	Wins at Paddy Power
A does not take part, 2–1	Correct score single at Paddy Power
A comes on after the first goal	Correct score single at Paddy Power

The last two rows matter. Paddy Power's rules say a scorecast is not fully voided when the player does not play: it becomes a bet on the correct score alone. Own goals do not count for the goalscorer part, and the next goal decides it, but they do count for the score. Other books can differ, so read the rules before you bet.

Wincast is the cousin

At Paddy Power a wincast is a bet on a player to score at any time and his team to win. It is fully voided if the player does not take part, unlike a scorecast. Because it needs an anytime goal rather than the first, and a win rather than an exact score, it is much more likely than a scorecast and priced much shorter.

Why the price is long, and why the maths is hard

A scorecast needs two long shots at once. If a player is 6.00 to score first and the score is 9.00, the two implied chances are 16.7% and 11.1%. Multiplying them gives about 1.9%, or 54.0, but that is only right if the two are independent, and they are not. A player who scores first makes his side more likely to be ahead, so the scores where his team wins become more likely. A fair scorecast price has to reflect that link, and the book's price also carries a margin, which can be larger than on the separate markets. The two parts are covered on their own in first goalscorer betting and correct score betting. These are example prices, not quotes from a book.

Where BAI8 stands

The Desk prices the match result only. Today's card for Crystal Palace v Hoffenheim has Hoffenheim at 36.8%, the draw 26.9% and Palace 36.3%. That 36.8% is the ceiling for any scorecast with a Hoffenheim win, because every one of those scores is a Hoffenheim win, but the card cannot say which player scores first or which score is likeliest. Read the full card in the Crystal Palace v Hoffenheim prediction.

What this does not tell you

It does not tell you any scorecast is value. You would need your own chances for the player and the score, and for how the two move together, which is where most estimates go wrong. Rules on own goals, late substitutes and non-starters differ between books. And BAI8 does not publish scorecast numbers, so treat the arithmetic above as an example, not a call.

18+. Bet only what you can afford to lose.