How To Bet Over And Under
One of the great things about sports betting online is the ever-expanding choice of betting markets. If you head to any top online bookmaker and look at the betting markets for a Premier League football match for example, you will find over 100 markets available.
One of the most popular betting markets, for football and other sports, is over and under. The over and under betting market is available for a range of sports and can bring home some nice rewards if done properly.
However, before you start looking at over and under betting markets online, we need to answer some questions.
- What is over and under betting?
- On what sports can you use the over and under betting market?
- How can you win more at over and under?
Over/under bets. Even though Totals and Over/Under may be used interchangeably for scoring, there’s another way to make Over/Under bets. An Over/Under bet can also be a proposition bet where there’s a wager made on a specific occurrence. A boxing match is a good example since scoring isn’t quite the same as the major sports. Over/Under betting is a market in which punters bet on a certain outcome in a game being over or under a specific number. It can vary in what you’re betting on, with bookmakers offering many different markets across a range of sports. Most commonly this will be the number of goals/points scored in a game. Fancy over 3.5 goals in #cityvswfc?
We will be answering these questions and many more in the article below.
1. Sign Up with Betting Sites with Best Odds
Before you begin your exciting adventure betting on the over and under market, you must find betting sites with the best odds. If you place over and under bets at websites which are not offering the best odds for that market, you are already placing yourself at a disadvantage.
It does not take long to compare the odds from various bookmakers before placing a bet. You should do this for every bet you place, not only when betting on the over and under market.
For example, if you wanted to place a bet on the match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in the Premier League on January 13th 2019, you could have gone for a high scoring game and bet on the over 3.5 goals market.
One bookmaker was offering 6/4 for this to happen and if you bet €20 on this outcome and it was successful, you would win €50. However, a different online bookmaker was offering 7/5 and for a €20 bet you would win €48.
The difference is only €2 but over time that will soon build up to €20, €200 and so on. Always sign up with betting sites with the best odds when betting on the over and under market, whatever the sport. This will give you the best chance to win more at over and under.
- Compare the best odds
- Use comparison tools to help
- Sign up with more than one betting site
2. Over and Under Betting Explained
Over and under betting is used to bet on whether an outcome in a sporting event will be over or under a given threshold. This could be a number of points or a number of goals for example. The number on which you bet over or under is given by the bookmaker and you must decide if you think the threshold given will be surpassed or not.
If you think it will be surpassed, you can bet on over but if you think it will be under the given amount, it will be under.
Take a basketball match as an example. The bookmaker offers over/under 165.5 points. The first thing you will notice is the .5 in the number. Clearly a team cannot score .5 of a point, so why is it in there?
These reason it is there is to prevent the number of points scored falling exactly on the number in an over/under bet. If it was set at 165 points for example and you bet on over and the points score was exactly 165 there is no winner. The .5 prevents that from happening and that’s why, in most cases, you will see over and under markets displayed with .5 in the number.
So, if you bet on over 165.5 points to be scored and the outcome of the game is 87-80, you have won the bet as over 165.5 points have been scored in total. If the final score was 84-80, you will have lost the bet as only 164 points have been scored.
The beauty of the over and under betting market is it is quite easy to understand. Once you have a grasp of the example above and become familiar with the .5 numbers, you are ready to start and win more at over and under.
- Over and under can involve points or goals
- Understand why .5 is used
- Choose to bet for more or less points/goals scored
3. Sports on Which You Can Bet Over and Under
The over and under betting market is suitable for many sports. Below you will find some examples of the best sports on which you can bet on the over/under market.
Football
This is perhaps the most popular sport for over and under betting. You can choose from a range of over/under bets including over/under 2.5 goals, over/under 3.5 cards and over/under 10.5 corners. You can bet on variations of each of these markets, choosing a higher or lower number depending no how you think the match will develop.
You can also bet on over/under total goals, over/under goals in the first half and over/under team goals.
Basketball
As highlighted previously, you can bet on over and under in basketball by betting on the number of points scored in the game. You can also bet over/under total team points and these are the two most common over and under bets in basketball.
American Football
American football works much the same way as basketball in that you can bet on over/under total points and over/under total team points.
Tennis
During a tennis match you can bet over and under the total number of games to be played in both the match and the first set. You can also bet over/under the number of player games won and over and under for each set if you are betting in-play.
Rugby
As with basketball and American football above ,you can bet over and under the total number of points at the end of the match. You can also bet over/under the total number of points scored by one team and the total number of points scored in each half.
Cricket
When betting on a cricket match there are many over/under markets from which to choose, especially if betting in-play.
You can place a bet on the total number of runs scored by each team, the total number of runs scored on the next delivery, the total number of runs scored from the next over, the number of runs scored by a particular player, the number of runs scored at the fall of the first wicket and the number of overs bowled at the fall of the first wicket.
Each of the above betting markets is available as an over and under market.
These sports are just a small selection of those on offer when betting on over and under. Almost any sport that has a point scoring system will have an over/under market available including ice hockey, darts, futsal, snooker, volleyball, handball, table tennis and badminton.
4. How to Bet on Over and Under
To win more at over and under betting you must be prepared to put in the work. If you make a guess on gut instinct alone there is always a small chance you will be right, especially if you are betting on something like over/under 2.5 goals as you have a 50/50 chance.
However, you will have a much betting chance of placing a winning over/under bet if you follow our tips on how to win more at over and under.
5. Assess Long Term Form
When placing a bet on over/under in any sport, it is not enough to look back at the previous weeks result. In fact, when betting over/under on football, basketball, ice hockey, rugby or cricket, looking back over the previous few results is still not enough.
How far you look back will depend on the sport and the number plus frequency of games played. Taking football as an example, you must look back over at least 20 games to build up a real picture of how both teams are playing. One team may have scored 3 goals in each of their last two matches but prior to that they failed to score more than 1 goal in ten games. This must be considered when betting on the over/under market.
Recent form is a good basis on which to begin but many punters often lose over/under bets by using recent form only and fail to look back at the bigger picture.
- Recent form is not enough
- Look back over 20 matches or more
- Number and frequency of games can distort figures
6. Home and Away Form
You must consider home and away form when placing bets on over and under markets, especially in sports such as football, rugby, cricket, basketball and American football. Some teams score heavily when playing at home and like to attack but adopt a defensive policy when on the road and this leads to low scoring matches.
Look back over the past 10 or 15 games at home and away for each team involved in the game. Take an average of how many times they have been involved in games which have seen over 2.5 goals. For example, 12 of the last 15 home matches involving Arsenal may have seen over 2.5 goals scored but only 4 of the last 15 away matches involving Arsenal may have seen over 2.5 goals.
Over 1.5 Predictions Today
When Arsenal are playing at home, you could back the game to have over 2.5 goals and feel confident of the outcome. However, then Arsenal play away you should think again, as over 2.5 goals is not as common an outcome. Using this information can help you win more at over and under.
- Always check home and away form
- Look for differences and trends
- Look back over a long period for the big picture
7. Look for Irregular Results
When using averages to calculate over and under betting, you must always consider irregular scores. If you take an average of the number of goals in home games involving Manchester United and find over the past 10 games, they have seen on average 3 goals per game, you will be tempted to bet on the over 2.5 goals market.
However, looking a little deeper at their results shows there were two big scores, a 4-2 win and a 5-1 win. Without these scores included, the average number of goals per game drops to 2.52 and now the bet does not seem as clear cut as before.
It is good to take an average point total of previous games before placing an over/under bet but always isolate any irregular scores and check the average with these results excluded to get a better picture before you bet.
- Statistics can be skewed
- Look for freak results
- Remove irregular results and take an average
8. Delve Deeper into Statistics
Using previous final scores over a long period of time is a good way to predict the over and under goals or points outcome of an upcoming match in any sport. However, if you really want to feel confident about placing an over/under bet, you should delve deeper in to statistics.
Taking football as an example, you could look at the number of shots a team is having from outside the box compared to inside the box. If five of their last six shots from outside the penalty area have gone in but they have failed to create any good goal scoring chances inside the penalty area, this suggests the team are relying on more speculative efforts rather than making real chances in games.
If they fail to score a long range goal in the next game, there is a high chance they are not going to score at all.
Statistics are available for free online, so always make use of them and you could find a great value over/under bet because of your research.
- Statistics are free to use online
- Look beyond the final score
- Find trends in the performance of teams and players
9. Team News
Team news is obviously a big factor before placing any bet. Whether it be basketball, football, rugby or ice hockey. If a leading goal or point scorer is missing for a team due to injury or suspension, this could result in lower attacking returns than previous form suggests.
What may have been a match which would have seen over 2.5 goals if the star player was fit, could turn out to be a game with under 2.5 goals. You may find value by pouncing on an over and under bet immediately after hearing the team news and this is a great way to win more at over and under.
- Always check teams news
- Look for key players
- Use the information to make an informed bet
10. Recent Meetings
Look at recent matches between the two teams and look for trends. Do the teams like to attack each other when they play, resulting in high scoring games most of the time or do they tend to play out defensive, low scoring matches?
For example, 14 of the last 15 meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga at the time of writing have seen over 2.5 goals. This suggest there is a high probability the next game will also see over 2.5 goals scored.
- Check past results between the teams
- Is there a pattern?
11. Analyse the Situation
The current situation of a team in the league or tournament could have an impact of the outcome of the game. Does one team need to draw the game to avoid relegation or does a team need to score 4 goals in order to improve their goal difference?
Look at the situation of both teams before a game and think about what they are trying to achieve. If a team needs a draw to avoid relegation, they are unlikely to come out all guns blazing. Instead, they will probably sit back and try to defend as best they can, which could result in a low scoring game.
Use the situation of the clubs to your advantage when betting on the over and under market.
- What do the teams have to play?
- Does a team need to meet a specific goal?
- Will one team need to attack or defend?
How Over Under Bet Works
12. Avoid Unfamiliar Bets
As you gain more experience betting on the over/under market, you may be tempted to move away from the standard goals/points markets to something more exotic. For example, most online bookmakers will offer over/under goals for anything between 0.5 and 7.5 goals.
Over Under Bet Tied
Once glance at the odds for over 4.5 goals and it can become tempting to place a bet on this market, especially if you believe we could see a high scoring match. You could land a good return if this pays off but always look for value before placing bet. Having assessed the value, you may be better off being a little more cautious and at least dropping down to over 3.5 goals.
Remember, bookmakers need to make money to survive and if you regularly succumb to tempting odds on unfamiliar over/under betting markets, you could lose a lot of money.
- If you are unsure do not bet
- Big odds generally mean less chance of success
Betting on the over and under market is not only a good way to try and win at the bookmakers, it can also add enjoyment to watching a game. Hoping to see a game with plenty of goals or points because you have bet on the over market is exciting and you can cheer on both teams each time they attack.
How To Bet Over And Under
However, when using the tips for how to win more at over and under betting, always gamble responsibly and never bet more than you can afford. Stick to these principles and you will have a great time using the over and under betting markets.