Over/under betting explained

Over/under betting explained

Over/under or total betting is probably the second most popular type of bet just behind the Moneyline (betting on outcomes). This is because the main objective of this market is the number of goals, points or other countable statistical metrics. And most bettors learn about totals as soon as they enter the bookmaker.

Well, if you are not familiar with over/under betting or just want to find some interesting information about this type of bet, then this article will be useful for you.

Over/under betting explained

The essence of betting on totals is predicting the number of goals, points or other countable measurements. This type of wagering usually comes up with two options: over and under. The most basic example is betting on total goals in football (amount of goals scored in the match) with two options:

• Under 2.5;
• Over 2.5.

Under 2.5 means that both teams will score less than 2.5 goals in total (2 or fewer goals), While o2.5 means the opposite: the total amount of goals scored will be more than 2.5 (3+). In basketball, totals are about points, in tennis about games or sets, in baseball runs and so on. But you can also bet on some additional statistics. Many bookmakers offer over/under for corners, cards, shots on goal in football, aces/double faults in tennis, individual score box in basketball. But the mechanics are the same: you just compare an actual total of something to initial total at bookie’s line.

Asian, individual and other types totals

There are a few different types of totals in betting, and one of them is Asian totals. Some bettors call them quaternary totals, as quaternary numbers are used here (2.25 or 1.75). We use an example to show how they work. Bettor A put 100$ on over (1.75) goals in a football match at 2.0 odds. What does it even mean? Asian total in essence is the combination of two totals with an increment of the quarter (+/-0.25) relative to the initial total. In your example it’s over 1.5 (1.75 – 0.25) and over 2.0 (1.75 + 0.25). So, you read “100 bucks on over 1.75” as “100 bucks on over 1.5 and over 2.0. Your stake (100) divided equally between two mini-totals: 50$ on over 1.5 and 50$ on over 2.0.

Possible outcomes:

• Teams score less than two goals: your bet lost fully;
• Teams score exactly two goals: partial win. Over 1.5 wins: 50 * 2.0 = 100. Refund on over 2.0: 50 * 1.0 = 50. Profit is 50$.
• Teams score at least three goals: bet wins fully, your profit is 100$.

Another type is an individual total. In this case, you bet on over/under of some specific team and player, and not on the combined result. So, you just need to check the numbers of your side. Bookmakers also offer bets on over/under of halves, quarters, sets, periods, runs and other possible parts of events.

How to bet on over/under with a success

Here are some tips which can help you to improve your game on over/under:

• Look past the evens. You don’t have to stick to o/u 2.5 at football or any other even totals. Use all the markets available to find the best option;

• Learn the opponents and whole background. Things like motivation, injuries, ground, stage of the tournament could be decisive, and you shouldn’t ignore them.

• Learn the style and stats. Search for some advanced stats like xG in football, pace and offensive efficiency in basketball, serve/return stats in tennis. They indicate the style of team/player, which is very helpful in over/under betting.

Related Articles