Top 10 spread betting moments of the 2014 Super League season

It’s the Super League Grand Final on Saturday as Wigan take on St Helens at Old Trafford. To build up to the big occasion we highlight the top 10 spread betting moments of the 2014 Super League season to relive some of the highs and lows of an action-packed campaign.

Remember that with spread betting, although profits can be great when you call a bet correctly, you can lose more than your stake should your bet go against you so always choose your stake size accordingly.

10.
Market: Total Points
Match: Bradford Bulls 16 Wigan Warriors 8, 27/7/14
Spread betting profit: 36 x stake
A great way to get involved in spread betting on rugby league matches is to try and predict the total number of points that will be scored by both sides in a match.
Spreadex’s Total Points quote ahead of Wigan’s trip to relegated Bradford in July was 60 - 64.
But the expected deluge of tries from Wigan never materialised and Bradford ended up springing a surprise, low-scoring win.
Those who sold on the spread at 60 made 36 times their stake when the combined team points only came to 24 (60 – 24).
Buyers at 64 ended up losing 40 times their stake (24 – 64).

9.
Market: Points Supremacy
Match: Wigan Warriors 84 Bradford Bulls 6, 21/4/14
Spread betting profit: 40 x stake
One of the most popular markets for those spread betting on rugby league is the Points Supremacy market.
This is where the spread betting firms put out a prediction of how many points they expect one to beat another by.
When Wigan took on bottom side Bradford in April, Spreadex’s predicted Points Supremacy quote was 34 – 38.
The eventual 84 – 6 spanking was a 78 points difference in Wigan’s favour meaning spread betters who bought at 38 on the Points Supremacy quote ended up making 40 times their stake (78 – 38).
Those who sold at 34 would have lost 44 times their stake (34 – 78).

8.
Market: Team Performance
Match: Hull KR 38 Hull FC 24, 17/5/14
Spread betting profit: 53 x stake
As well as betting on the match outcome or total number of points, spread betting on rugby league allows you to bet on how well, or badly, you think a team may play in a given match.
Spreadex’s Team Performance market is based on points being awarded to each team as follows; 25 for winning the game, 10 for drawing, 10 per try scored, 5 per successful kick, 10 for scoring the last try of the game, -5 for a missed penalty or drop goal, -5 for a yellow card and -10 for a red card.
On a huge day for the City of Hull, Hull KR played Hull FC on the same date that Hull’s football team played Arsenal in the FA Cup final. Hull KR’s impressive display in a 38 – 24 win saw their Team Performance market make-up at 130 meaning buyers at 77 on the spread made 53 times their stake (130 – 77).
Sellers at 73 would have lost 57 times their stake (73 – 130).

7.
Market: Performance Supremacy
Match: St Helens 41 Castleford 0, 19/9/14
Spread betting profit: 118 times stake
As well as being able to bet on a team’s performance you can also bet on the match performance (10 points per try scored, five per successful kick, 10 per red card and five points per yellow card).
Or you can bet on Spreadex’s Performance Supremacy market, basically a prediction of how much better – or worse – one team’s performance will be compared to their opponent.
Points are awarded to each team based on the same criteria as Team Performance above.
In St Helens’ dominant 41 – 0 win over Castleford in September, this market ended up at 145 in St Helens’ favour meaning buyers at 27 made 118 times their stake (145 – 27).
However any sellers at 23 would have lost 122 times their stake (23 – 145).

6.
Market: Team Hotshots
Match: Catalan Dragons 42 St Helens 0, 14/6/14
Spread betting profit: 89 x stake
As well as betting on the match outcome, total number of points or team performances, Spreadex’s rugby league Hotshots spread betting market allows you to bet on the performance of a named group of players during a game.
This is based on 25 points being awarded per try scored by each player in the group.
So Michael Oldfield’s hat-trick of tries in addition to two from Vincent Duport and another from Ian Henderson saw Catalans Hotshots make-up at 150 in the 42-0 win over St Helens in June.
Spread betters who bought at 61 made 89 times their stake (150 – 61) while those who sold at 58 lost 92 times their stake (58 – 150).

5.
Market: Team Kicking Metres
Match: Wigan Warriors 46 Castleford Tigers 6, 13/6/14
Spread betting profit: 119 x stake
Spread betting on a team’s kicking metres is a way of betting on the distance of all successful kicks by a nominated team during a game, aggregated.
Take a look at the spread betting firm’s prediction before the game and buy if you think the eventual total will be higher, or sell if you think it will end up lower.
Wigan’s big 46 – 6 win over Castleford in June saw the home side’s Kicking Metres total come out at 218 meaning buyers on the spread at 99 made 119 times their stake (218 – 99).
Sellers at 94 however would have lost 124 times their stake (94 – 218).

4.
Market: Tryscorers’ Shirt Numbers
Match: Hull FC 36 Catalans Dragons 34, 14/2/14
Spread betting profit: 121 x stake
Spread betting on Tryscorers’ Shirts is based on the shirt numbers of all tryscorers in a match, aggregated.
The opening week of the season saw a dramatic encounter between Hull FC and Catalans Dragons as the hosts edged to a win only after the visitors had missed a last-gasp conversion attempt to level the game.
In total, 15 tries were scored with the Tryscorers’ Shirt Numbers market making-up at 203 altogether.
Those who bought at 82 ended up making 121 times their stake (203 – 82). Those who sold at 78 lost 125 times their stake (78 – 203).

3.
Market: Shirt Numbers Supremacy
Match: Wigan 46 Castleford 6, 13/6/14
Spread betting profit: 97 x stake
As well as betting on Shirt Numbers for a whole match you can also bet on Team Shirt Numbers for each side playing in a match or the Shirt Number Supremacy.
This is when the spread betting companies predict how much higher they think one team’s Shirt Number total will be over their opponents. Spreadex’s predicted Shirt Numbers Supremacy price before Wigan’s clash with Castleford in June was Wigan/Castleford 54 – 58.
The eventual total was 155 in favour of Wigan meaning buyers at 58 made 97 times their stake (155 - 58) while sellers at 54 lost 101 times their stake (54 – 155).

2.
Market: Player Try Minutes
Match: Widnes Vikings 32 Salford Red Devils 18, 6/3/14
Spread betting profit: 121 x stake
Spread betting on Player Try Minutes allows you to bet on the minutes a named player scores a try in a match, aggregated.
So when stand-off Kevin Brown scored twice late on for Widnes in the 66th and 75th minutes, his Player Try Minutes market made up at 141. Buyers on the Spreadex spread at 20 made 121 times their stake (141 – 20) whilst risking a worst-case scenario of a 20 points loss if Brown had failed to score, when the market would have made-up at 0 (0 – 20).

1.
Market: Huddersfield Multi-Points
Match: Bradford Bulls 18 Huddersfield Giants 66, 16/3/14
Spread betting profit: 742 x stake
One of the more volatile rugby league spread betting markets available to play is the Team Mult-Points market.
This is based on the number of points scored by a side in the first half multiplied by the number of points scored by the same side in the second half.
So when Huddersfield Giants scored 32 points in the first half and 34 points in the second half during a 66-18 drubbing of Bradford Bulls in March, spread betters who bought on Spreadex’s spread at 346 made a whopping 742 times their stake ((32 x 34) – 346).
Sellers at 320, who didn’t close out of their bet early, were left sobbing after losing 768 times their stake.