A Simple and Effective Guide to Totals Bets

Totals, or Over/Under bets, can offer great value for money. All you’re doing is saying whether the combined score of both teams will be over or under an amount that is set by the bookmaker.

They’re usually available as in-play or pre-game wagers, on the total at halftime or at the end of play. If you haven’t got a lot of experience with a specific sport or are unfamiliar with the teams that are playing, Totals are an excellent option.

Pushes and Overtime in Totals

Over/Under bets usually aren’t set as a whole number; they’re much likelier to have a .5 set total such as 47.5 in a game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles.

When you do see a whole number, it’s possible to get a push result where the set Over/Under wager number and the actual total combined score are the same. If this happens, your stake will be returned to you.

In other words, if you place a Totals punt that is based on a whole number, you have equal chances of winning, losing or getting your bet refunded.

Some bettors consider this a kind of insurance against not losing everything that you put down, and feel safer placing whole-number Totals.

In the case of a game running into overtime, as with all other stakes, you are paid out or not paid out according to the final result. If you bet Under a specific amount and then the Cowboys and Eagles exceeded that amount in overtime, you lose.

Factors in Over/Under Betting

Different bookies expand Totals beyond the combined scores of both teams. In individual sports such as Golf you might be able bet on the combined score of 2 players, and the principle can essentially be applied to anything that can be counted and tallied up in a sport.

The total number of birdies in a Golf tournament or red cards in a Football game, for example, are perfect fodder for Over/Under predictions. So what are the factors that you need to be looking at?

Check the average recent scores for all involved teams or individual athletes, as well as they offense and defence rankings in comparison to each other and the rest of their league.

You should also try to find out how competitors perform on the specific surface they’ll be on, how much rest they will have had, whether they’ve sustained any injuries, and any other available information.

For outdoor events, be sure to also check the weather and for all contests take a careful reading of public opinion. On the top betting sites in Australia, betting with the heart rather than the head is common with all types of wagers, but with Totals it seems to be especially true.

Essentially, public bias will cause the bookie to set higher Over/Under numbers because fans want to believe those scores are possible. Devotees who are making decisions with their hearts will then choose to bet Over. The point here is to always make decisions with your head – which means betting Under more often than not.