Over Under betting, or Totals as it is more commonly called, is the sportsbook predicting what they believe the total score of both teams added together is going to be. You place a wager over or under that number. Very straightforward.

Over/Under betting, or totals betting, is one of the most popular options for sports bettors along with the point spread and moneyline. Total bets are simply based on the number of points scored.

Here is an example from the NBA:

Here the total expected score for this game between Houston and Dallas. Here the total set for this game is 212.5. Odds are generally, but not always, the same for one side of the over under. In this example, they are -110, regardless if you are placing a wager on the over or the under. That is the most common odd at sportsbooks. That means that a $100 bet wins you $90.91 if your bet wins. Let’s look at the score for this game:

If they scored 52 points or fewer, the wager would lose. On the other side, a bettor could wager on the “under” at 53 and the opposite would be true. The bettor would be hoping for 52 points. The over/under, or “total,” is the second most popular bet on the board for sports events behind the point spread. Usually the over/under refers to the total points, runs or goals scored in a game. Learn about Over / Under and Totals means in this video from the Odds Coach's Basic Odds course. Link: https://www.oddscoach.com/over-under. When betting totals, you aren’t betting on just one team. You are wagering on the combined points scored in the game. For example, if the over/under in the Green Bay-Chicago game is 42.5 and you bet on the over, you need at least 43 points scored in the game to win. Conversely, if you bet the under, and the score exceeds 42 points, you lose.

In this case, the score was 100 to 111. By adding those we get the actual game total: 211. That means Under bettors won with a margin of 1.5 points.

The over under or totals bet is a very interesting type of bet. You can be wrong on the winner and still win your bet on the total. Over under betting is also interesting from a human psychology standpoint because, on average, people are more likely to bet the over. The basis for this is thought to be based on the fact that there are an infinite number of scores that can make up the over, as in this example, there are only 212 outcomes that lead to a win. There is another school of thought that bettors generally don’t want to cheer for a low scoring game and therefore select the over. Sportsbooks are very aware of this fact and usually adjust the odds accordingly.

I have to admit, I’m one of those sports fans who if I don’t know what something means, I have no shame in asking. Except when it comes to things that I should technically “already know”.

That is the problem that I continuously run into the problem of when I hear the terms “cover the spread” or “I’ll take the points”. I do what a lot of girls do, shake my head and smile to give off the perception that “yeah she knows what she’s talking about”.

Many girls feel somewhat afraid to ask questions when it comes to sports.

Usually they are laughed at for not knowing things that seem very simple to the avid sports fan. Avid fans seem to forget that you could spend dozens of years learning about so many rules, stats and the history of each sport and still not know everything.

But that’s also what makes sports so much fun to watch and learn.

I decided instead of asking someone what “covering the spread” means, I would just take the simple route: When it doubt, Google it. And I’m pretty sure, the search engine won’t be laughing at me!

Read on to find out what a point spread, covering the spread, against the spread and over/under mean….

The “spread” is the difference in points scored by opposing teams in an athletic competition. The spread is also known as “the line” or “morning line”. This provides the basis for wagering : points may be “given” or “taken” to equalize a bet, or bets may be made that the difference will be larger or smaller than the estimate.

In simpler terms its when one team is the favorite over the other… so the spread is how many points the favorite has to beat the underdog by.

The spread is the difference in points between the two teams when the game is over. It’s what oddsmakers come up with to determine the winner and margin of victory of a game.

For example: the Lakers are the favorite over the Spurs by 5 points. So the Lakers must beat the Spurs by 5 points to cover the spread. This is how it will be written out in a Sportsbook

Lakers -5
Spurs +5

If one team is minus, then the other team is plus of the same number, so really you only need to see one of the numbers, to know the other.

If the line on the Lakers was -5.5 instead of -5, you would have to bet 6 (and have the Lakers win by that much) in order to collect on a bet. If you bet just the -5 then some betting sites would at least give you your money back or a credit towards future use.

Vegas Odds Explained

A bet where you try to determine which team will cover the spread; not necessarily which team will win. It’s also known as ATS.

Sports Betting Over Under Explained Nfl

Over/Under means the odds-makers picked the most likely total combined score of both teams. For example in an NFL game with the Jaguars vs Dallas the over/under is 37. You can either bet on either “over” or “under”. Over, is if the two scores added up at the end, total to over 37. Under is if when you add them together, they’re less than 37. If the total is 37, it’s a tie, or “push” again.

Nfl Betting Lines Explained

If your anything like me and math is not your strongest suit, you will have to read that a couple dozen times to fully understand it. It took a while to find a clear answer on these questions but saved a lot of time from pretending to understand and trying not to look confused if someone were to explain this to me in person.