What does PK mean in betting?
In the soccer betting universe, the letters PK refer to pick’em (or pick), a type of two-way wager. How it works is that you get to bet on one of the two possible outcomes – Team A or Team B.
If your team wins, you win the money (stake + winnings). If it loses, you lose everything. But what happens if the game ends in a tie? Your bet gets pushed; the sportsbook gives you back your stake.
Because the draw is out of the picture, PK betting is more straightforward to win than a standard Moneyline bet with three possible outcomes. It’s easier to win, but this type of wager has lower odds than ML wagers. This is why figuring out when and how to use the pick’em bets is essential.
When to Make A PK Soccer Bet?
PK bets are ideal for matchups where the teams are almost equal in terms of player quality. We’re talking about big games like the FIFA World Cup Final or the MLS Cup Game. In such cases, a team’s chance of winning is roughly 50%, with the odds in the ballpark of -110.
If instead of going with a PK bet, you go with a Moneyline bet (a.k.a. 1×2 or match-winner), the chance that one of the three possible outcomes will win is just 33.33%.
Another scenario in which it’s wise to use a PK bet is when you’re sure that a team will win, but the odds suggest otherwise. Let’s say you’re almost 100% sure Manchester City will beat Leeds United, but for some reason, the odds are surprisingly long (e.g., +150).
Maybe bookies know something that you don’t? Perhaps one of Man City’s key men has suffered an injury, or something else has happened that will make this team’s job much harder. In this case, a PK bet can save the day for you. For slightly shorter odds, you’ll get the insurance that your bet won’t lose if the Citizens play a draw.
Other Names for Pick’em Soccer Betting
If you’re reading this post, the chances are that you didn’t know what PK means in soccer betting. A possible reason you hadn’t come across this bet before is that it also goes under other names.
Some soccer betting sites (especially those focused on the American market) show this bet as -0 or +0. That said, you can think of it as a spread bet in which neither team is seen as the favorite.
The pick’em bet is also sometimes used interchangeably with Draw No Bet (DNB). These wagers are commonly found at European/Asian sports betting sites for most soccer events.
Strictly speaking, every PK bet is also a DNB bet. However, it doesn’t go the other way around. PK bets are those in which the odds on each outcome are the same (or very close). In the case of DNBs, the odds can vary drastically.
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