Oddsmakers estimate the TOTAL, which is a combination of both teams’ total scores. Lines are commonly offered for full games and for just the first half. I got a lot of this information from the guide over on SportsBetting3.com. If you’ve seen the numbers posted before you may interested in How To Bet Totals:
To wager on the TOTAL, you can take the OVER or the UNDER.
For example, there’s a line for the Browns versus Ravens matchup with the total at 42.5. As a sports gambler, you have to decide if you think both teams’ combined score will total over 43 points or under 42 points. Don’t let that half-point confuse you. Because teams can’t score a half-point, adding it to the total eliminates your bet ending in a tie.
If you take the OVER and the final score is Browns 24 and Ravens 21, that means the actual TOTAL is 45 and you’ve won.
How much did you win? Well, remember from our last How-To post, we talked about THE JUICE or betting line.
If there’s a plus sign in front of the number, that means you win that amount on a $100 bet. For example, if you see +125, you win $125 on a $100 bet. If there’s a minus sign in front of the number, that means you have to bet that amount to win $100. For example, if you see -115, you have to bet $115 to win $100.
You’ll usually see the betting line for both the OVER and UNDER set at -110. Sportsbooks will shift the line to smaller or greater odds depending on how much money is coming in on either side of the bet or if significant pregame news breaks, for example, the starting quarterback is injured in practice and will not be playing.
TOTAL bets can be added to PARLAYS, IF BETS, and REVERSALS. Don’t forget, lines are subject to change because bookies want to balance their action. Also, overtime results count when wages are graded. S0, if you see a dude celebrating in the sports bar just because a game is gong into OT, he definitely bet the OVER.
For a more-thorough and more-enjoyable explanation of OVER/UNDER betting watch the video below.
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