Sports odds can be confusing especially to a novice sports bettor. If you want to become a profitable sports bettor, understanding the odds is crucial to your success.
Over/Under - Total. Lastly, the final column on any traditional college football betting line is the total or 'over/under' as it's commonly called. The 'total' refers to the total number of points, from both teams, that will be scored in any given matchup. Bets on the total (over/under) In addition to the spread bet, a very common 'side bet' on an event is the total (commonly called the over/under or O/U) bet. This is a bet on the total number of points scored by both teams. Suppose team A is playing team B and the total is set at 44.5 points. The odds for a game are based on a $1 per 1 moneyline point. On a Vegas odds scoreboard, the moneyline odds are usually to the furthest right. A minus ('-') before the number indicates that the team is a favorite, whereas a plus ('+') indicates that the team is an underdog.
Welcome to the Sports Betting Odds section of The Sports Geek. If you are new to sports betting and don’t understand how to read betting odds (+150, -110, +2200, etc) we will lay it all out for you and help you learn how the betting odds work. Understanding How Moneyline Betting Odds Work The moneyline is used exactly the same no matter what sport you are betting on. All you must do is select who you believe.
There are three main types of betting odds you will see at any online sportsbook – moneyline, point spread, and over/under.
Moneyline
Straight bets, sometimes called side bets, are the simplest, most straightforward bets you can make. Before the event you pick one of the teams or players to win.
For example, the upcoming match you want to bet on is Manchester City – Liverpool. The odds are 2.25 for City, 3.5 for Liverpool, and 2.0 for the draw.
If you place $20 on Manchester City to win, you get $45 (2.25 x $20).
Point Spread
The point spread is a figure that the team you are betting on needs to win by in order to win your bet if betting on the favorite or not lose by if you are betting on the underdog.
For example, if you are betting on a team with a -6 point spread, your team will need to win by at least 7 points in order to win this bet. Alternatively, if you bet on a team with a +6 point spread, you can still win the bet even if your team loses the game provide and that they lose by 5 points or less.
If the favorite wins by 6 points in this example, regardless of whether you bet on the favorite or underdog, you bet is considered a push and will be refunded.
Over/Under
Over/Under bets are based on the total score of the game. For example, if you bet on over when the over/under is 120, both teams need to have a combined score at least 121 points for you to win the wager.
If you bet on under in this example, both teams would have to combine to score 119 points or less. If the combined total is 120 in this example, the wager would be a push regardless of whether you bet on the over or under.
Sports Betting Odds Format
How To Read Over Under Odds
There are three main formats you will see at online sportsbooks.
Often a sportsbook will allow you to change the format of the betting odds to one you are more comfortable.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds are the easiest to look at, especially for novice sports betters. For example, if you are betting on the moneyline in a particular game or match, you might see Team A with 4/7 odds and Team B with 3/2 odds.
In this case you will need to wager 7 units to win 4 units on Team A or 2 units to win 3 units on Team B.
American Odds
American odds are slightly trickier to read than fractional odds, but once you get the handle on it, you may prefer this, especially if you typically bet in round denominations like 10 or 100 units per bet.
For example, in a moneyline bet, you might see a game where the favorite is listed at -130 and the underdog is listed at +120. This means you would need to wager 130 units to win 100 units on the favorite or 100 units to win 120 units on the underdog.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds might be the most confusing to understand, but are important to understand since they are the most commonly used odds at European sportsbooks.
The main difference here is that the odds include your initial bet when determining the return if you win. For example, you may see the favorite in a match listed as 1.50 and the underdog in the game listed at 2.40. Here you are betting 1 unit on the favorite to win .5 units which will net you 1.5 units since the odds include the initial wager.
If betting on the underdog, each unit you bet will net you an additional 1.4 units on top of your wager to return you 2.4 units in total.
While the examples above explain the different types of odds in reference to moneyline wagering,
the same holds true if betting on the point spread or over/under.
Typically these bets are as close to even money as possible.
However, it is important to understand the different types of odds even with these bets since it is never exactly even money.
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Over Under Betting is the second most popular type of NFL betting, just behind spread betting. Over Under Betting is also known as “Game Total Betting” and you will often see it be referred to as either term. Beginner NFL bettors may be confused by Over Under Betting, but it is very easy to learn and understand once explained.
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In Over Under Betting the oddsmakers will set a number of points in which they think both teams will score in total throughout the whole game (including overtime if necessary). Bettors will then be able to bet on the total number of points scored by both teams combined to be over or under that set game total number. For example, the number may be set at 42.5 points. If you bet the “over” you would need a combined 43 or more points from both teams in order to win your bet (a 28-17 score would win you the bet). If you were to place your money on the “under” you would need both teams to combine for 42 or less points throughout the game (a 21-17 game would win you the under bet).
Example of NFL Over Under Bet
Below is an example of what an NFL Over Under line would look like:
Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Over 37.5 (-110)
Under 37.5 (-110)
The number next to the Over and Under is always going to be the same, and represents the set game total. In this case the game total was set by the oddsmakers at 37.5. You would then have the choice to place your bet on both teams scoring more than 37.5 combined points (the Over) or less than 37.5 combined points (the Under). The (-110) beside each choice represents the betting odds, which I will explain more below.
If the final score ended up being Pittsburgh 21 Baltimore 14 we would have a total combined score of 35 points, and therefore the “under” bet would win.
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Other NFL Over Under Betting Information
Although the most common odds set for Over Under lines are -110 or 10% juice on either side it definitely isn’t always the case. The set game total number will always be changing in small increments before kickoff, but the odds will always slightly change before the game total does. Using our above example we might see the odds changed to “Over (-105) and Under (-115)” before we see the game total number adjusted to 37.
That brings me to my next point about NFL Over Under Betting – the game total doesn’t always have to be a decimal number. Although more often than not they are a decimal numbers, you will often see the game total being an even integer such as 39, 41, 44, etc. With an even number game total you may see the combined score end up exactly on the number. In that case the bets on both the Over and Under would be refunded. For example, if the game total was set at 41 and we had a final score of 24-17 it would be considered a “push” and all bets on either side of the number are refunded back to the bettors.
Some of the better online betting sites, such as 5Dimes, may even allow you to adjust the game total either way with the odds of course reflecting the change (known as alternate lines). For example, the game total was set at 41.5 and you thought the oddsmakers did a bad job and the game was going to be a lot higher scoring. In some sportsbooks you would be able to select an alternate game total of 44.5 for example and bet the over, which would payout a lot more than the over on the 41.5 line.
Over Under Wins Mlb
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NFL Strategy Articles:
Explanation Of Over Under Odds
We have a professional sports bettor writing strategy articles here at TheSportsGeek.com. Check them out on the sports betting strategy page of our website, and hopefully you will pick up some tips that will help you make some money betting on NFL totals.