A Guide to Over Under Bets
It is probably due to human nature that spectators and couch athletes want to milk the most out of every game. It is therefore not surprising to see, and hear of, blow-by-blow accounts, constant replays and slow motion recordings of game highlights of each event. This trait to want to get the most out of each occurrence has also translated itself into sports betting.
With just one game, so many wagers may be made. One such example is the over under bets popular in several sports events. This is basically a bet on whether the total combined scores of the opposing teams will be higher or lower (and therefore over or under) a value specified by the bookmaker. Of course, the book would have to do his homework and carefully study both teams to come up with a workable number, but the bettor's role would be fairly simple at determining whether to agree with this number or not, and if not, whether the final result would actually be more or less.
This type of bet is especially attractive to someone who may not necessarily favor a specific team, or inversely, favor both teams in an event. Rather, the bettor would be more concerned about the defense and offense plays and abilities of the teams.
One interesting thing about this variant is that there can be several wagers that may be made within the league tournament, or even just in a single game. Take for example the case of basketball. Over under bets may be made on not just the final total, but even on combined totals for the first quarter, the second quarter, the first half or the third quarter. Multiply that with the number of games played in a tournament, and you get a staggering number of opportunities. Clearly, there are so many ways to sate the gambling urge.
In terms of odds and pay outs, these usually stand even on each side. An exception may be when one side is being bet more on the other, in which case the book would likely adjust the total score. If this is not possible, as with low-scoring sports like soccer, then the pay out may be adjusted.
Over under bets is available in most sports like football, basketball, hockey, baseball and soccer.
