What is Ladbrokes 5-A-Side Bet?

With the betting industry proving to be so popular and competitive, bookmakers have no option but to think outside of the box in a bid to make their service stand out from the crowd. This is exactly what we have here from Ladbrokes, with the creation of their new betting game "Ladbrokes 5-a-side".

Ladbrokes have been very innovative here. Basically, when you strip everything away, you are betting on five individual players to do something inside a particular match (for example Man City v Chelsea) as a fivefold accumulator bet. The bet is based on stats like shots, tackles, goals, passes, cards etc. You can pick any players from that match to form your 5-a-side line-up. For example you might choose 3 City players and 2 Chelsea players, or you may go for all City players, it's totally up to you.

How to play Ladbrokes 5-A-Side - Quick Guide:

• Choose a formation from any of the six available options - from "Balanced" to "Gung-Ho"
• Pick your five players one by one (players can be from either team in the match)
• Select which stat you want to bet on for each player, and at what level, for example you might choose Ruben Dias, then you might choose "Passes" as his stat, and then set his passes level at 85+ at odds of 2/1
• You repeat this process for all 5 players until you think you have a winning formula, and a fivefold acca bet at, preferably, very nice odds.
• Place your bet and enjoy the match

Here's an example of a 5-a-side line up for the Champions League Final, where we have opted for a "Shoot on Sight" formation. The total bet odds come to 15/1.

How to play Ladbrokes 5-A-Side - The "not so quick" Guide:

Choose your Formation

The first part of this game is deciding your formation. This is basically, what type of players you are going to put into your team. There are a range of different formations available on the Ladbrokes website, six in total, some of which include a goalkeeper and some don’t, with a variety of different mixes when it comes to other players.

Choose the formation you want to play based on the types of players you are going to go for, and also work out what you think will happen in the game you are betting on. For example, all goalkeeper positions are based on goals, either conceding or keeping clean sheets, so you need a strong opinion on goals in the game if you are using a formation that has a goalkeeper.

You can go with a traditional look that involves all positions, go heavy on defence with three defenders and a goalkeeper, or try something all-out attack with no goalkeeper at all.

Formations

1-1-2-1
BALANCED
This is the 4-4-2 of 5-A-Side strategies. Simple, disciplined and balanced from defence to attack.

1-1-0-3
ALL OUT ATTACK
If you think goals are the order of the day, then this is the formation for you. Attack, Attack, Attack!

1-3-0-1
PARK THE BUS
If you’re expecting a backs against the wall job, load up your team with defenders and cheer the tackles and bookings.

0-1-2-2
RUSH GOALIE
Now and then you get a game where the goalkeepers probably wish they’d stayed at home - We’ve got just the formation for that!

1-0-2-2
SHOOT ON SIGHT
If you’re expecting the defenders to be left for dust, this could be the way to go - let your strikers rack up the shots.

0-1-1-3
GUNG-HO
Time to go for it! With just one defender and one midfielder behind you, this formation is all about the firepower.

Choose Your Players, Positions and Bet Stats

Next up after the formation is out of the way, you choose your players and the positions you want to play them. The positions you choose are effectively what you are betting on the players to do, so this is the most important part of your decision making.

For example, choose a keeper and you will either be betting on a clean sheet or how many goals he is going to concede in the game. When it comes to outfield players, there are more options to choose from.

With defenders you can either play them as a cruncher, which is a bet based on the number of tackles they make, or you can try them out as a hacker, which is based on them receiving a card.

Strikers have similar options, go for a finisher if you want to back a player to score one or more goals while if you fancy them to have shots then you can play them as a sharp-shooter and bet on shots,

Those in midfield can be backed either to create goals and bag assists or to reach a number of passes in the game. These are slightly more difficult to predict, but add another element to this game.

Note, you are not limited to playing outfiled players only in their traditional positions, and if you really wanted to you could field a striker as defensive "cruncher" and bet on him to get carded, or as a defender to score a goal etc, these will obviously result in much bigger odds for your acca, but it is probably unlikely and unnecessary, as the odds are pretty big even when playing players in their more natural roles. One instant when it is probably worth doing however, is with a defender such as Ruben Dias who is known as being a passing-machine, therefore picking him in a midfield "Baller" role and betting on passes could be a good strategy.

After everything has been picked, you place your bet and then watch the game. In terms of tactics, it is best that you have a clear picture in your head about what you think will happen in the game before you start picking your team.

Match this with your formation and the players who you think will make a difference. For example, if you are thinking that a game will be full of goals then go for an attacking formation and put players into positions based on goals and shots. You could add a goalkeeper and mark them down for conceding too if you wanted to add in this way.

The storyline and way this bet is built up will certainly appeal to many players out there. It is a fantastic concept from Ladbrokes, who have shown again that they know and understand what punters are looking for right now.

Fancy giving it a try?

Visit Ladbrokes Website

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