Total Bet Guide
Sports betting isn’t such an easy discipline as it might seem at first sight, same as total bet. And there are a lot of different sports and markets that you can bet on, and sometimes that amount of information can be a bit overwhelming for novice bettors.
That’s why we at Game Advisers portal, decided to make several helpful guides about the most popular and most used markets. And help all newcomers and our readers find the way around the sports betting industry.
With those pieces of information, you will be able to find your style and to continue polishing your betting skills. That way, you will be able to make a steady profit over a long time period.
History of Total Bet Market
This market is one of the first markets that were available by the sportsbooks besides the Moneyline betting market. It is unclear when it became available, but some think it was back in the 1940s. When bookies started to implement point spread into their offers.
And the total betting market became extremely popular fast because bettors didn’t need to pledge the alliance to one team; they just needed to predict the game flow correctly.
What is Totals Market?
The Totals market is one of the most popular betting markets overall in all sports. Besides Totals Market, it is also sometimes called Under/Over Market. So Over/Under bets and Totals bets are the same types of bets, under a different name.
The great thing about this betting market is that you don’t care who will win. You cheer for offense or defense, depending on what selection you played. You can play this market in all US sports and almost any sport in the world. Anything that can be counted during the game is the right candidate for Over/Under bet.
In the Total bet market we have two types of bets:
- – OVER – when you predict that number of points (runs, goals, rebounds, etc.) will be higher than bookie set with their line.
- – UNDER – when you predict that number of points (runs, goals, rebounds, etc.) will be lower than bookie set with their line.
To make things easier to understand we will write examples of some Under/Over bets in the most popular US sports:
NFL Totals Market
In the NFL, the Over/Under betting market is really popular. The most popular type of betting is point spread betting but totals market is as popular as point spread betting market. If you want to know more about the point spread betting market, you should read our guide, here. (place for the link about Point Spread Betting)
Example of NFL Over/Under Market:
New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, Over 47.5 (1.95) – Under 47.5 (1.95)
In this example, the sportsbook set the line at 47.5, and that means that both teams need to score more than 47 points if your selection was Over, or less than 48 points if your selection was Under. That is quite easy to understand.
In the second example, we will show a situation where the bookie sets the line on the round number.
New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins, Over 47 (1.95) – Under 47 (1.95)
Here we have three possible outcomes.
If the game ends with 46 or fewer points, bettors who played Over selection will lose the bet, and bettors who played Under selection will win the bet.
If it ends with exactly 47 points, both bettors who played Over and Under selection will get their stake back, and the game will be marked as PUSH.
And If the game ends with 48 or more points, bettors who played Over selection will win the bet, and bettors who played Under selection will lose the bet.
NBA, NHL, MLB Total Bet Market
There is no difference in any of those sports with the Over/Under market. It is exactly the same principle as in NFL Total bet.
In the NBA, you bet on the number of points scored during the game.
In the NHL, you bet on the number of goals scored during the game, and in the MLB, you bet on the number of runs during the game.
One useful tip! Before you start placing your bets on Over/Under market at your bookmaker, please read terms and conditions for every sport you want to bet. This is important because almost all bookmakers will count a number of points in the Overtime. That can be useful for all totals bettors, as over-time can sometimes change everything.
At the end
There are several exciting strategies for Over/Under bettors. And it is indeed possible to make a consistent profit in the long term. You need to be patient and to choose your bets carefully. Don’t look just the last game of a particular team, and it is important to see how every team performs at home and in the away games. Also, weather conditions can be a crucial factor, especially in the NFL.
Another interesting factor in US sports is the so-called circadian advantage. Teams that travel from East to West and vice versa have problems adapting to different time zones. If you want to learn more about Outside impact in NFL betting, please read our article about this here.
We hope that we managed to explain to you what is the Over/Under betting in US sports and how it works. If you have any questions about totals betting or any other sports betting topic or strategy, feel free to contact us. We at Game Advisers portal will do anything in our power to make as many as possible guides and articles about sports betting to help novice and professional sports bettor be better and win against the sportsbooks in the long run.
FAQ
Some betting strategies can be implemented in basketball betting. Still, most successful basketball sports bettors usually watch hundreds of games per season and know how each team can react in a particular situation. If you want to know more about betting strategies in basketball, you should read our article: How To Bet on Basketball.
Yes. Bookies give half point and whole point lines, and if you played a whole point line and the game ends with an exact number of points than you will get your stake back.
It depends. We strongly suggest you read T&Cs of your sportsbook and see how they grade overtime in every sport. There is a specific set of rules for every sport.