A totals bet is a wager where you will predict that an occurrence will be over or under a certain threshold. You can probably guess why they are called over/unders now. Sep 05, 2011 Over-Under Betting Over/under betting involves the punters betting on a number of goals, corners, yellow cards or other events in a match. They don’t need to guess the correct number of the aforementioned events, but rather whether the final number will be over or under the line set by the bookmaker.

1. OVER/UNDER betting is also called a totals bet. The total in any given sporting event is a combined score of both teams. The total for these games is an amount that is set by oddsmakers based on how they envision a game will unfold from a scoring perspective.
2. Jul 13, 2017 What Is Over And Under Betting? An over-under or over/under (O/U) bet is a wager placed on whether the combined total score of both teams (or players) will be over or under a nominated number set by a bookmaker. The nominated number is usually assessed based on the average number of goals a team scores per match.

Have you ever wondered what the different Goal Lines mean?

You can bet on Over/Under 2.5, or Over/Under 2,25 or Over/Under 2. But what are Over 2.5 bets, or even 2.25? There are no half goals! Or quarter goals! It doesn’t seem to make sense. Does it?

We will explain what the different Goal Lines signify and after you’ve finished the article you will never be confused again!

Betting on .5 Goals

One of the most common bet types is Over/ Under .5 goals.

Obviously, there is no way for half a goal to be scored in a game. The expression .5 is just an aid to ensure that it is clear on what you are betting.

For example, if you place a bet on Over/Under 2.5 goals, then the .5 is the ‘turning point’. You win if there are at least 3 goals scored, and you lose if the match ends with less than 2 goals scored.

Here’s an example…

If you still have difficulties understanding the concept, here’s another article on the .5 bet: A Brief Introduction to Over Under Goals Betting.

Betting on Goal Lines with Whole Numbers

Bets on whole numbers are often called Goal Lines or Asian Goal Lines. Although, technically, this isn’t correct as all bets described here are ‘goal lines’, but we will be using the term as it’s widely used by punters and bookmakers.

They are somewhat similar to Asian Handicap betting on the 1×2 result. As the name suggests, the possibility of a refund exists if a certain result comes in, in this case the ‘Goal Line’.

Similar to the AH, if the match finishes in a draw result (= ‘goal line’), it’s a “push”. The punter gets their money back. Otherwise, if there are less goals scored than the goal line, the stake is lost, and if more goals are scored, it is a win.

In the above example, if you were to bet on Over 2 Goals then you get your stake back (push) if the final score is exactly 2 goals (e.g. 2-0, 1-1, 0-2).

All the other Goal Lines naturally follow the same pattern.

Betting on .75 Goals or .25 Goals – or – Whole Number, .75 or .25

If the .5 bets are combined with Asian Goal Line bets, then you get .75 or .25 Goals bets. Half of your stake is placed on the .5 bet whilst the other half is placed on the Asian Goal Line bet.

These bets are often shown as either Over 2.25 – or – Over 2, 2.5.

For example, if you place a bet of £20 on Over 2, 2.5 it means that you are placing a split bet. £10 on the 2 Goals Asian Goal Line, and £10 on Over 2.5 Goals.

If the match finishes…

• with 3 or more goals, then you will receive the winnings of both bets
• with exactly 2 goals, half of the stake will be returned as it was a push (2 Goals Asian Goal Line), and you will lose the other half (Over 2.5 bet)
• with less than 2 goals… your entire stake is lost

The same applies to the .75 bets, as shown below:

In this example you place a £20 bet on the Over 2.5, 3 goal line. Again, you would be placing a split bet. £10 on the 3 Goals Asian Goal Line and £10 on Over 2.5 Goals.

If this match finishes…

• with 4 or more goals, you will receive the winnings of both bets
• with exactly 3 goals, half of the stake will be returned as it was a push (3 Goals Asian Goal Line), but you will win the other half (Over 2.5 bet)
• with 2 or less goals… your entire stake is lost

To be honest, I would recommend keeping your hands away from these bets, although it may sound tempting to get half of the stake back. Although these are referred to as being a single bet they are actually two completely different bets rolled into one!

If you do not really understand odds calculation and probabilities, then it is definitely a bet which bookmakers love! They can adjust the pricing as they like, without the average punter fully understanding the maths behind it, ensuring that the mathematical advantage lies with the bookmaker.

Anyway, the silver lining is that it is quite unlikely to be exposed to the temptation as these bets are rarely offered by European bookmakers.

Here is another diagram to demonstrating split bets:

Betting for Profit on Goals

At the end of the day the goal of each punter should be betting for profit. Am I right?

Bookmakers make a living from betting by using maths. They analyse and calculate the chances of an outcome and then price their bets. Of course, they make sure that the mathematical advantage is on their side, just like anyone operating a game of chance (e.g. Casinos).

The punter who relies only on gut feeling does not have a chance against the bookmakers.

However, with Over/Under Goal bets the punter at least has a chance to start understanding the statistics behind the bet. It isn’t too difficult to calculate the probabilities of the various results and number of goals in a game and to then find value bets.

If you are interested in starting to bet for profit, then you should seriously consider buying our Fundamentals of Sports Betting course. For the first volume, we have chosen to write about the Over/Under goal market as this is the easiest betting market to teach the fundamentals of statistics and maths on, without the need to dive deeper into more advanced formulas and concepts. Give it a try!

1. Goal Line Betting & Refunds

[block]7[/block]Goal Line Betting tips

An ever popular betting medium is betting on the number of goals in a game. In certain matches it makes sense to focus on this than the result. For example at certain times of the season, for example in a tight relegation dog fight, the result could go either way, but goals (or lack of) could be a better focus for your betting.
For example, you might bet on there being ‘Over 2.5 goals’ in Manchester United v Chelsea at 1.95, which means you win if there are three goals or more, regardless of who wins the match. It could be 3-0, 1-2 or 2-2 and you would still win.

[block]9[/block]what does under 2.5 goals mean

Alternatively, you could be on there being ‘Under 2.5 goals’ in Manchester United v Chelsea at 1.95, which means you win if there are two goals or less, regardless of who wins. It could be 1-0, 0-0 or 0-2 and your bet would win.
The main goals market you will most likely be using will be Over/Under 2.5 goals. This sometimes confuses people who are new to football betting as there is obviously no such thing as half a goal!
How Does Over/ Under 2.5 Goal Betting Work?
In over/ under betting, bookmakers commonly use a “half” a goal so they can offer odds on a single “line”. In reality with 2.5 goals betting, you are betting on there being over 2 goals or under 3 goals. By referring to 2.5, you have everything on a single line as three is above 2.5 and 2 is below 2.5.
If you back ‘over’, then you need three goals to win, if you back ‘under’, then you want no more than two goals.

[block]10[/block]Over/ Under 1.5 & Over/ Under 3.5 goal betting

2.5 goals isn’t the only option available to you for betting on the goals market. If we look at the odds comparison for the Evertonv Wigan game, we can see a whole range of goal lines:

The majority of bookmakers (43) are pricing up the over/ under 2.5 goals line, but there are also a number at +1.5, +3.5 etc and some offering +2.25.

These other goal lines are relatively easy to understand as follows:

• Over/ Under 0.5 goals means you want either 1 goal or more (over) or no goals at all (under).
• Over/ Under 1.5 goals means you want either 2 goals or more (over) or 1 goal or less (under).
• Over/ Under 3.5 goals means you want either 4 goals or more (over) or 3 goal or less (under).

By far the most popular goal lines for betting are over 2.5 goals and over 3.5 goals. More people prefer to back ‘over goals’ than ‘under goals’, even though there is no logic to this, it must be psychologically more appealing to want to cheer on goals in a game!

[block]11[/block]Goal Line Betting & Refunds

As well as offering various ‘half ball’ lines for goal betting such as Over 2.5 goals and Over 3.5 goals, bookmakers also offer what is known as ‘full ball’ or ‘one the line’ markets.
Examples of these include:

• Over 2.0 goals
• Over 4.0 goals
• Under 3.0 goals

The difference here is that you get your money back if the game finishes exactly on the line. The downside is that lower odds are on offer. Here are some examples:

• If you bet on over 3.0 goals and the game finishes 2-1, you will receive a refund.
• If you bet on over 3.0 goals and the game finishes 3-1, you win.
• If you bet on over 3.0 goals and the game finishes 2-0, you lose.
• If you bet on under 3.0 goals and the game finishes 3-0, you will receive a refund.
• If you bet on under 3.0 goals and the game finishes 2-0, you win.
• If you bet on under 3.0 goals and the game finishes 3-1, you lose.

The advantage of this ‘full goal’ betting is that you can get better odds than straight forward over 2.5 goal betting, but avoid the frustration of falling one goal short of your target. Many punters find this psychologically reassuring.

[block]12[/block]Quarter Ball Betting

The most complicated form of goal line betting is the ‘quarter ball’ line. The best way to understand this form of betting is to think of it as two half bets.

[block]13[/block]Typical quarter ball bets are as follows:

• Over 2.75 goals
• Over 2.25 goals

The over 2.75 goals bet is best seen as half an over 2.5 goals bet and half and over 3.0 goals bet. If the score is 2-1, you win with the over 2.5 goals part, but only get a refund with the over 3.0 goals part. The advantage of this sort of bet is that you get slightly better odds than a straight over 2.5 goal bet, with some insurance if you don’t exceed three goals.
The over 2.25 goals bet is best seen as half an over 2.5 goals bet and half an over 2.0 goals bet. If the score is 2-0, you lose with the over 2.5 goals part, but get a refund with the over 2.0 goals part. The advantage of this sort of bet is that you get slightly better odds than betting on over 1.5 goals and slightly better odds than betting on over 2.00 goals, with some insurance if you finish exactly on your target.
To help you make sense of all the options, here’s a summary of all the main Over/ Under goal options

[block]14[/block]Goal Line Betting Stats

To help your goal betting, here goal betting stats from across the top leagues in Europe:

• 53% of Premier League games finish with over 2.5 goals (Odds equivalent of 1.88). This trend has increased in recent years.
• 30% of Premier League games finish with over 3.5 goals (odds equivalent of 3.29)
• Premier League: When a top six team plays at home, the over 2.5 goal percentage increases to 58% (odds equivalent of 1.74), but when they play at away, the over 2.5 goal percentage is just 53% (1.88).
• Premier League: Top six v top six clashes are no more likely than average to finish with over 2.5 goals (53%), but are less likely to finish over 3.5 goals (25% of games).
• Premier League: Bottom six v bottom six clashes are no more likely to finish over 2.5 goals (53%), but are slightly more likely to finish over 3.5 goals (31%).
• France is one of the lowest scoring leagues in Europe, with just 44% of matches finishing over 2.5 goals (odds equivalent of 2.29).
• Germany is the highest scoring league as teams are more likely to push for a result rather than sit back and defend a lead. 56% of games finish over 2.5 goals (odds equivalent of 1.77) and 34% of matches finish over 3.5 goals (odds equivalent of 2.91)

[block]15[/block]Stats go back to the 09/10 season

This article has been prepared with the assistance of SecretBettingClub.com

Meaning Of Over And Under In Betting College Football