What Does Over Mean In Sports Betting and Wagering?
by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Over / Under Betting Odds Explained. Betting on the over/under point total of a game is quite popular when making a sports wager. Bettors tend to really like betting on over/under because they don't really have a rooting issue for one team or the other, but rather offense or defense. What do the + and - mean in sports betting? There are multiple meanings. The most common meaning, particularly in American football and basketball, is a point spread. If point spreads are being discussed, you might see something like “Buffalo +7 a. What does this mean for you? Well, if you’re thinking of betting over on a specific high-profile match, you should always do so as early as you can. Since the majority of bettors will be over on the same day (or the day before the match), bookies will adjust the odds accordingly. If, on the other hand, you want to bet under, betting late is.

What Do the + and – Mean in Sports Betting? The – and + on a sports betting line indicates both your prospective payout and whether you’re betting on the favorite or the underdog. Negative numbers signify the favorite on the betting line. The negative number indicates how much you’d need to bet to win $100. Betting that there will be over or under 40 points scored in the match, with equal returns for either outcome (an $11 stake will return $10.01 in total). NB: if the Dolphins won.

To understand what the over is in sports betting we first need to understand totals betting, otherwise commonly known as the over/under. In the most common form of totals betting the linemaker will set a total for the number of points he thinks the two teams in a game will combine to score. You can bet totals in any of the major teams sports in North America. Once you know what the total is for a given game then your job is easy - you have to determine whether the two teams are likely to score more points than the total, or fewer points. If you think that the teams are going to combine to score more points than the total then you are betting the over. The opposite, of course, betting the under.

The concept is straightforward, but it doesn’t hurt to throw in an example. Let’s say that the total in a game between the Bears and the Colts is 43. If the final score was 35-21 then the teams combined for 56 points and the over was the winning bet. If the score was 21-17, though, then the game total is 38 and the under was the winning bet. If the teams combined to score exactly 43 points then the game would be a push and bettors on both sides would get their money back.

You don’t have to stick just to full game totals if you want to bet the over. There are also partial game totals available. In football, for example, there will be a total for the first half posted before the game, and a total for the second half posted at halftime. You also have plenty of opportunities to bet the over in proposition and futures bets. You can bet over/under on how individual stats for players on a game or a season - like how many yards a quarterback will throw for, or how many home runs a slugger will hit. You can bet on season win totals - the number of games a team is going to win over the course of a season. Totals betting is very common and widespread - and can potentially be lucrative if you pick your spots.

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What Does Betting The Over Mean

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.

What Does Betting The Chalk Mean

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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.

Online Betting Over Under

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.

What Does Betting The Over Mean Means

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.

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NFL Strategy Articles:

What Does The Over Mean In Betting

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.