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Market bias

Favourite-longshot bias in football odds

A practical check on long 1X2 prices, draw buckets and totals buckets using imported Football-Data history.

Updated 2026-05-11 18:09 UTC. Paper-trading research only.

Favourite-longshot bias check from imported football-data history. ROI is from blindly backing every selection in the bucket at the recorded maximum price, so this is a diagnostic rather than a betting system.

1X2

SelectionOdds bucketBetsStrikeAvg oddsROI
AWAY_WIN<1.5082074.0%1.360.0%
AWAY_WIN1.50-1.99266557.1%1.770.7%
AWAY_WIN2.00-2.991045940.3%2.520.3%
AWAY_WIN3.00-3.99978327.8%3.43-5.1%
AWAY_WIN4.00-5.99830320.3%4.73-5.2%
AWAY_WIN6.00+518011.4%9.55-6.7%
DRAW2.00-2.9932234.5%2.91-0.2%
DRAW3.00-3.992701628.7%3.500.1%
DRAW4.00-5.99821822.1%4.53-1.2%
DRAW6.00+174912.8%7.97-5.4%
HOME_WIN<1.50284076.5%1.331.3%
HOME_WIN1.50-1.99849357.3%1.760.2%
HOME_WIN2.00-2.991651540.8%2.42-2.8%
HOME_WIN3.00-3.99549729.1%3.37-2.8%
HOME_WIN4.00-5.99257421.0%4.69-2.3%
HOME_WIN6.00+138210.8%9.06-6.2%

Over/Under 2.5

SelectionOdds bucketBetsStrikeAvg oddsROI
OVER<1.70630464.5%1.54-0.9%
OVER1.70-1.89680956.5%1.801.5%
OVER1.90-2.09831849.3%1.99-1.7%
OVER2.10-2.391049243.4%2.22-3.8%
OVER2.40+538137.3%2.62-2.6%
UNDER<1.70729061.6%1.59-2.1%
UNDER1.70-1.891060955.5%1.79-0.6%
UNDER1.90-2.09771449.4%1.98-2.2%
UNDER2.10-2.39633942.4%2.22-5.7%
UNDER2.40+535234.6%2.84-4.2%

Operating Rule

  • Treat long 1X2 prices as contaminated by favourite-longshot bias and bookmaker/outlier noise.
  • Prefer two-way markets such as over/under 2.5 for automatic publication until Asian handicap history is available.
  • Asian handicap should be researched next, but this data source does not include historical handicap lines, so it needs a dedicated odds-history feed before public automation.

Raw report: market-bias-report.md. Machine-readable data: market-bias-report.json.