Betting Over

Are you new to the world of sports betting? This thrilling activity encompasses just about any sport you can imagine! Most people believe that betting is rather simple — a process in which you predict the result of a sporting event and put up a monetary bet for your prediction. Then, you win more money if the result is in your favor. However, it’s not as straightforward as you may think.

• Betting Over Under
• Getting Over A Breakup

Actually, sports betting contains many nuances, rules, and strategies regarding the wager and the odds. If you bet on baseball, football, basketball, soccer, golf, horse racing, and other sports, you will need to learn the rules. That way, you’ll gain the knowledge to understand the options a sportsbook or bookie will offer on a particular bet.

An over–under or over/under (O/U) bet is a wager in which a sportsbook will predict a number for a statistic in a given game (usually the combined score of the two teams), and bettors wager. Before a game begins betting over or under the total points scored is usually a -110 wager. Bettors will wager $110 to win $100 for a pre-game totals bet. If bettors wager a lot more on. The following is a brief summary of a 2002 “Over/Under” (Totals) study conducted by two economist, Rodney Paul and Andrew Weinbach. They uncover and interesting Over/Under patterns Their paper entitle, “Market Efficiency and a Profitable Betting Rule,” appeared in The Journal of Sports Economics.

In some cases, the offer will not be as straightforward and will not require you to wager on a winning or losing result. Some bets may offer you the chance to put your money on a combined score of both sports teams in one game. So, what is over/under in betting? Read our article to find the answer!

Betting Explained

Thousands of bettors visit land-based or online sportsbooks each day. Before you visit one, you will need to see if your jurisdiction allows it by law. Luckily, it looks like the U.S. has legalized sports betting in 2018, and many states will soon allow it. Currently, there are over 8 states that offer it legally, both offline and online. However, if your region prohibits it, it’s legal to visit online sportsbooks based offshore to which the U.S. law does not apply. It’s a safe and legal way to gamble and bet from all over the nation.

Additionally, online and land-based establishments have advanced a ton in recent years, and they now offer nearly limitless options. The activity has come a long way since its beginnings in the 1700s. Today, you can even wager on fantasy sports, and popular events like the Oscars, or even TV shows like ‘Game of Thrones.’ Back in April 2019, you could’ve even placed a bet to determine the sex of the Royal Baby in the U.K.

For most of these sporting and non-sporting events, you will usually encounter terms such as odds, spread, money line, +/− symbols, vigs, “juice,” etc. In the U.S., the most common odds are called moneyline, and they express the chances for the favorite and underdog teams, while theoretically showing you how much you can win and how much you have to wager. However, the over-under bet is completely different.

Over/Under Bet

Over/Under is also known as the totals bet. It’s a common wagering type that requires you to predict the final score of both teams. However, things get really exciting since you have to predict if the score will be lower or higher than the over/underscore.

For instance, during the 2005 Super Bowl, the over/under score was 46.0 in the majority of Las Vegas casinos. The total score of 46.0 means that if you place the “under” bet, you choose that the score will be less than 46. In contrast, if you pick that the score will go over, the total will be higher than 46. And, since the game ended with a total score of 45, those who picked the “under” option were the winners.

This is actually among the most popular wagers, and it is almost always available in sportsbooks on most major sports. You can place the bet in hockey, baseball, basketball, football, etc. Perhaps the only bet that’s more popular is the “picking winner” bet.

The Rules

As mentioned, the rules of this bet are simple. When you put your money on the total, you only need to choose if the score will be over or under than the one set by the sportsbook.

The establishment will list the total score as one number for both teams, but it may be accompanied by letters “O” and “U,” signifying the over/under options. What’s more, the loser/winner does not matter in this type. In most cases, you will be making a −110 wager.

When you see the number −110 on the bet, it means that you will have to put up $110 in order to win $100. In some cases, the moneyline could change if there are more bets on one side than the other. Additionally, you don’t need to bet $100; it’s merely a round figure that is used to estimate the odds.

For example, in Super Bowl 53 this year, the total number of points was 57.5, and the wager was −110. The number of points was the same for each team, the NE Patriots and LA Rams. Since the total was 57.5, the under option would win if the score was less than that. And, the over wager would win if the total points scored were 58 and over. Since the half point doesn’t exist, the “push” option was not offered.

Additional Options

In recent years, totals bets have advanced quite a bit. The over/under wager used to only be available pre-bet, but it’s possible to wager on partial games like periods or quarters. Furthermore, it’s also possible to wager on individual teams, or throughout in-play. Even live wagering is available. The rules will change according to each. For example, if you wager on a partial game total, you would essentially put up money on the number of points scored during a period of time. Also, in-play wagers might include a modified total of the whole game.

Over/Under Proposition Bet

There is another variant of this wager — the over/under proposition bet. You can wager on a particular event if the rules of the game are different from major sports.

For example, in a boxing game, the proposition could be that the match would go on for 9 ½ rounds. If you choose over, you are aiming for the match to be longer. And if you pick under, you are predicting that it will last less than 9 ½ rounds.

This type of proposition bet can be made on various sports from races (lap number), fights (length of a match), etc.

Easy to Win

As you have seen, the over/under bet is quite simple. It can be risky, but if you make the right choices, you will win your bet. This bet type is available on a huge variety of different sports in the USA. To start, simply visit a betting site or live sportsbook and good luck!

In sports betting, there are just a few bets that are considered to be regular bets and the over/under is one of them. The over/under is a simple wager where the bettor decides whether the final score of a specific game will be over or under a published number. The number represents the sum total of points scored by both teams. Thus, you either bet on the over or the under.

Over/Under

The over/under is listed in the following manner with the visiting club first.

Chicago Bears

o/u 34.5

Minnesota Vikings

Betting Over Under

In this game, the over/under is listed with a decimal, which is an impossible outcome. That’s done to avoid a push, which means the total points for this game will end up either above or below the number posted. If the over/under were 34 or 35, then the teams could end up with 34 or 35 points. That would mean there would be a push, a tie, and all bets would be returned.

In our example if the point totals are under 35, the under wins, of they are over 34, the over bets win the money. It’s that simple.

Using the Spread with the Over/Under

In NFL sports betting, the over/under is not simply picked out of the air. Like the point spread, moneyline and all other bets, it’s based on a number of factors, including specific stats related to scoring offense and defense.

Prior to wagering on the over/under check out the point spread. This will tell you how close the experts believe the score will be. Compare that to the over/under number. That will give you a good example of how the scoring is expected to go.

In other words, if the point spread on the game listed above has Minnesota favored at

-10.5 that would mean that the scoring when considered against the over/under is expected to be something like:

Chicago 12

Minnesota 22

These numbers are approximate, but they give you a good idea of what 35 total points would look like if they follow the spread. If you think Chicago will score less but Minnesota will score about the same number of points, then you may want to go with the under. Likewise, if after doing your research you believe Minnesota will score another touchdown and Chicago will score about the same as you’ve figured, then you’d wager on the over.

However, what if the point spread has Chicago at -3.5? How would that look like with the same over/under?

Chicago 19

Minnesota 15

Once again, looking at that probable outcome based on coordinating the point spread with the over/under, you’d ask yourself if the point total for each team makes sense. If the totals don’t, then based on your analysis, you’d decided if more or less points would be scored by either team and also what your calculated over/under would be. Then you would bet on the published over/under.

Sports Betting is About Information

Getting Over A Breakup

If you’re able to use all information at your fingertips, including numbers presented by the handicappers, you can objectively determine how accurate the over/under may be. Use this tool to help you make winning bets.