Over/Under Betting Guide & Strategy

What is Over/Under Betting?

An over/under bet is a wager where customers can predict whether the number for a statistic in a game will be higher or lower than suggested by the bookmaker.

The most popular statistic for over/under betting markets are goals or points in a game. The bookmakers will create fictional numbers and you need to predict correctly if there will be more or fewer points scored in a match. Over/under bets are also often referred to as “totals”.

Example:

Let’s take a look at an example to figure out how this bet type works. The total for Cleveland Cavaliers – San Antonio Spurs is 218.5 and the odds are:

218.5 Over 1.80

218.5 Under 1.90

As you can see, the odds for the over and the under are different. This basically means that you are paying different amounts of commission on these bets. Consequently, the amount you can win by betting on the over, in this case, will be lower. Therefore you can also say, that it is more likely that the over will hit.

Bets on totals are available for basically every type of sport you can think of. The most popular sports with over/under betting markets are soccer, basketball, tennis, and American football.

How to bet on Over/Under & Calculating Winnings

Calculating the potential payouts for your over/under bets is pretty straightforward. As an example, we will assume that you are backing a Champions League match to go over 2.5 goals with a stake of €100 at odds of 1.80.

Here’s how to calculate your return:

Stake * Odds = Return

Example: €100 * 1.80 = €180

That means that you would win a total of €80 on your bet in our example. You simply have to multiply your initial stake with the odds you are betting on. Afterward, you need to subtract your stake from the winning and you end up with your net profit.

The bookmaker commission is always integrated into the odds you are betting on. However, if you are betting at a betting exchange, the winnings are calculated slightly differently. Betting exchanges charge you a small commission of the profit you generate. The commission rate of a betting exchange can differ, therefore we are going to calculate with an average commission rate of 2.5% in our example. It is calculated according to the following formula: 

((Stake * (Odds-1)) * Commission Rate

Example: (€100 * (1.80-1)) * 2.5% = €2

This means you would have to pay a commission of €2. Keep in mind that the initial odds you would have bet on would have been higher. Therefore it is highly likely that the commission you are paying with a betting exchange such as Betfair would be lower than the commission of a bookmaker.

Over/Under in Overtime

As you may know there are certain types of sports which can go into overtime. Basketball and American football are great examples. If you are betting on a total for one of these sports the entire game will count towards your bet. If you placed a bet on the over you will probably be really happy about it. However, if you’ve bet on the under it can turn into a real nightmare.