To win either half betting explained
To win either half pays if your team outscores the other side in either half. How it settles, why it is shorter than the win, and a worked example.
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A to win either half bet pays if your team scores more goals than the other side in the first half, the second half, or both. The final score does not matter. A team can draw the match, or even lose it, and the bet still wins as long as one half went its way. If both halves end level, or the other side wins both, it loses. Extra time and penalties do not count; stoppage time in each half does, per Sky Bet's and Smarkets' football rules.
How it settles: five scorelines
Take a team, call it Home, and look at each half on its own.
| First half | Second half | Full time | Home wins match? | Home wins either half? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | Yes | Yes |
| 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | Yes | Yes |
| 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | No, a draw | Yes |
| 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 | No, a loss | Yes |
| 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | No, a draw | No |
The third and fourth rows are the whole point of the market. Home drew one match and lost another, and both bets still won. The fifth row is how it usually loses: two level halves.
Each half is scored from zero. A 1–0 first half followed by a 1–1 second half is a won first half and a level second half, not a 2–1 "second half".
Why it is always shorter than the match win
Every match a team wins is also a won half. If Home score more over 90 minutes, they must have scored more in at least one of the two halves; there is no way to add two level-or-lost halves into a win. So the to win either half market contains every match win and then adds some draws and some defeats.
That means its chance is always higher than the chance of winning the match, and its price is always shorter. For a strong favourite the gap can be small, because most of its won halves come in games it wins anyway. For an outsider the gap is larger: an underdog often nicks one half and still fails to win the game.
A worked example
These numbers are made up to show the maths, not a quote or a BAI8 call. Suppose your own estimate for a match is:
- Home win the first half: 35%
- Home win the second half: 40%
- Home win both halves: 15%
The chance Home win at least one half is the first plus the second, minus the overlap you counted twice:
35% + 40% − 15% = 60%
A fair price for 60% is 1 / 0.60, about 1.67. If a bookmaker offers 1.80, that implies 55.6%, and on your numbers the bet has a positive edge of about 4.4 points. If the price is 1.57, it implies 63.7%, and it does not.
The overlap is the step people skip. Add 35% and 40% and you get 75%, which would make 1.80 look like a large edge. It is not, because the games where Home win both halves were counted twice.
Why level halves decide it
A half is shorter than a match, so it has fewer goals in it, and a level half is far more common than a drawn match. That is why the draw is the favourite in many first-half result markets, as first-half result betting: why the draw leads shows. For this bet, a level first half is the commonest start to a losing ticket: it puts everything on the second half.
How the goals split between the two halves varies by league and by team, so check the data for the competition you bet on rather than assume the second half is livelier. How much that split moves a half market is worked through in highest scoring half betting explained.
Win either half, win both halves and the match result
| Market | What has to happen | Price, compared with the win |
|---|---|---|
| Match result (win) | More goals over 90 minutes | Baseline |
| To win either half | Win at least one half | Always shorter |
| To win both halves | Win the first half and the second | Much longer |
Win both halves is a hard bet: one goalless half, or one equalised half, loses it. It suits a heavy favourite against a weak side and almost nobody else.
When the market is worth a look
Win either half is a way to back a team you think will have a good spell without needing them to hold on for 90 minutes. It suits sides that start fast and fade, or chase games late. It does not suit tight, low-scoring matches, where two level halves are likely. For the related idea of backing a side without the draw, see draw no bet explained with a real price.
18+. Bet only what you can afford to lose.
What this does not tell you
BAI8 prices the match result, not half markets, so there is no Desk number for a to win either half bet. The example numbers above are illustrations. Bookmaker rules differ in the detail, so check how your bookmaker settles abandoned matches and extra time before you bet.
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Common questions
What does to win either half mean in betting?
Your team has to score more goals than the opponent in at least one of the two halves. The full-time result does not matter, and winning both halves also counts.
Can a to win either half bet win if the team loses the match?
Yes. A team that wins the first half 1–0 and loses the second 0–3 loses the match 1–3, but the bet still wins because the first half was won.
Does extra time count in to win either half?
No. The market is settled on the two regulation halves, including stoppage time. Extra time and penalties do not count.
Why are to win either half odds shorter than the match odds?
Because every match win is also a won half. If a team scores more over 90 minutes, it must have outscored the opponent in at least one half, so the market always includes the win and adds some draws and losses on top.
What is the difference between win either half and win both halves?
Win either half needs one won half; win both halves needs both. Win both halves is much longer because a level half in either period loses it.