In sports betting, an over-under bet 🌸is a bet on whether a specific statistic for a game will be higher or lower than a pre-agreed value. T🐽his type of bet is also known as a total bet.

The most common type of over-under bet is on the combined score of two teams in a match. In this case, a bettor will wager that the total number of points scored in a game will be higher or lower than a set value. This is normally referred to as “the over-under” for that game. If they are correct, they will win. The bet is called a push if the actual number exactly equals the over-under, in which case all bets are refunded.

What Is an Over-Under Bet?

Over-under bets go by several names. In the US, it’s common to see this ty🥂pe of b🐓et referred to as a “total,” or abbreviated as O-U. All of these names refer to the same type of bet, though.

In an over-under bet, a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:sportsbook will predict a number for a given game. Most commonly, this is the total number of points that will be scored. Bettors will then wager that the actual number will be higher or lower than this prediction. With this type of bet, you ar🌜e not trying to predict the actual score of a match. Instead, you might feel that there will be more points scored than the sportsbook is predicting, or fewer.

The best way to understand this is with a simple example. Let’s say the Team A-Team B total is 54 in a National Football League (NFL) game. This is a high total for the NFL, and you might think that the defensive strength of these teams will prevent that many poin🙈ts from being scored. You would therefore place an over-under bet that the score will be lower. Then:

• If Team A wins 24-20 (44 points), you win
• If Team B wins 34-24 (58 points), you lose

In the rare case that a score is exactly the same as the quoted value, the bet is ca🥃🍒lled a push, and all over-under bets are refunded.

Though this bet is most commonly made with the combined score of the two🌳 teams, many other statistics can be used, including:

• In American football, a player's or team's total rushing yards or attempts, down conversions (first or third), interceptions, completions, field goal percentage, etc.
• In basketball, a player's or team's total assists, blocks, turnovers, steals, etc.
• In baseball, a player's or team's total number of home runs, RBIs, etc.

Over-under bets are popular with people who are new to sports gambling because they work in a simple way. Over-under bets are among the most popular wagering options in sports betting,
behind 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:point spreads and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:moneyline bets. They are also easier for the beginner to understand than 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:teaser bets.

Over-under bets can be good for beginners, says , deputy editor of The Action Network, a sports media company, and in some ways might be better than point spreads or moneylines because they're more intuitive. “All you need to decide is whether or not a game will go over or under a set number of points,” Petrella explains, and this “gives you a rooting interest in all aspects of the game.”

Understanding Over-Under Bets

In order to und༒erstand how to use over-under bets, it’s instructive to see what they look like from the perspective of a sportsbook. The aim of a sportsbook is to have an equal number of bets on either side of the over-under for a given game. They will therefore post what they think is the most likely value for the over-under.

A lot of math goes into predicting the over-under for a given match, Petrella says, but there are two main factors: “pace (on offense) and efficiency (on both offense and defense).” And, like all odds in sports betting, these predictions will change as a betting pattern emerges. “After a few sportsbooks open up the first version of totals for a given sport on a given day,” Petrella says, “sha🧔rp bettors influence the lines with their betting action, and then oth♏er sportsbooks copy that number.”

Sportsbooks will also set the vigorish (or vig) for an over-under bet. This is normally set at 10%. Using American odds, this will result in both outcomes initially being quoted at -110 (which means that bettors must risk $110 to win $100). If the amount bet on both outcomes is exactly even, the money wagered by the losers will be paid to the winners, and the sportsbook will keep the 5% profit.
However, sometimes there may be an imbalance between the number of bets on over, and the number on under. In this c🌠ase, t✨he sportsbook will try to even out the numbers. They can use two strategies to do this:

• Change the over-under value itself. If this was originally 45, and too many people have bet over, it might be adjusted to 46 to encourage others to take the under bet.
• Change the odds. A sportsbook could lower the odds on the under to -105, for instance, and raise those on the over to -115. This will also encourage bettors to go with the under.

When it comes to paying out, a standard bet on a total is treated just like a point spread. The sportsbook will take its cut, and then pay out to the winners.

Psychology of Over-Under Bets

As is the case with any type of gambling, there is some psychological tendencies to be aware of with over-under bets. One of the most prominent psychological tendencies in over-under betting is the inclination to bet the "over." Very generally speaking, if an individual prefers the idea of a high-scoring game because it’s more exciting to watch, they may be more inclined to bet the "over".

This bias toward the "over" is further driven by the optimism bias, a common psychological phenomenon where people tend to hope for favorable outcomes. In sports betting, this could translate to bettors being optimistic about performance. For example, they may be more hopeful that their favorite player will play well as opposed to be🦩tting on their favorite player performing poorly.

Loss aversion, another well-documented psychological tendency, also affects over-under betting decisions. Some bettors may dislike the idea of losing and may find it harder to place an "under" bet, fearing they’ll miss outᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ if the game turns into a high-scoring affair. However, by betting the "over", they may still feel like they have a chance as long as the game is st꧋ill underway.

Another important psychological factor is the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:herd mentality. In over-under betting, bettors may find themselves subconsciously following the crowd. This can lead to inflated over-under lines as sportsbooks adjust to bꦗalance the action (i.e. it becomes less rewarding to follow the crowd as your odds get lowered).

Over-Under Bet: An Example

ℱImagine a fictional baseball game between Team X and Team Y for which the over-under is initially set at 8 points, and the vigorish at 10%.

This means that you would be betting $1.10 for every $1 you want to win. And y🅰ou’ll win if you correctly predict that the total points scored will be less or more than 8. This will be displayed as -110 odds. The same ratio holds for all b൲ets, so if you bet $11, you’ll win $10. If you risk $55, you’ll win $50, and $110 wins $100.

It can get a little more complicated. In lower-scoring sp🔥orts like baseball, soccer, and hockey, sportsbooks often adjust the juice before the total number. Let’s say our X-Y game has a total of 8.5, but the sportsbook makes its projeꦦction closer to 9 than 8.

In that case, a sportsbook may make the over -120 and the under +100 to reflect its projection of how the game will go, forcing anyone who bets the over to risk a little bit more because that outcome is slightly more likely. At -120, you’re risking $1.2 for every $1 you want to win, and at +100, you’re risking $1 for every $1 you want to win. If Team X wins 5-3, under bettors win. If they win 6-3, over bettors win.

The Bottom Line

Over-under bets, also called total bets, are a wager on whether a statistic from a game will be higher or lower than a quoted value. They are most comꦇmonly used in relation to the number of points scored in a sports match. Normally, you’ll be betting $1.10 for every $1 you want to win. And you’l🌠l win if you correctly predict that the total points scored will be less or more than the prediction of a sportsbook.

As with all 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:sports gambling, you should be careful when using over-under bets. As , the American Gambling Association’s senior director of research, puts it: “What’s most important is that every bettor takes the time to learn the odd and rules of their wagers and only bet within their budget. Sports betting should be enjoyed purely for fun, not as a money-making opportunity.” This applies to over-under bets as much as to any other type of sports betting.