Everything You Need to Understand Totals Betting
When betting totals, you are no longer
pledging your allegiance to one team. It doesn’t matter who wins the game or by how
much, the only aspect of the game you are concerned with is the total score.
Bookmakers
will set a projected number of points to be scored in the game, then you decide whether
the actual number of points scored will be more (over) or less (under) than the total
they set.
Totals Betting: A Case Study Explained
In the following game, the bookmakers
have set the total points (to be scored in the game) at 219. The number appears twice
to give you the odds for picking both “over” and “under.”
(Focus on the “Total” column.
Pay no mind to all the other noise.)
So, if you believe that the scores of both
Cleveland and Boston will combine to equal more than 219 points, you’ll want to bet on
“the over.” If you believe it will be a defensive game with fewer than 219 total points
scored, you’ll definitely want to bet on “the under.”
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We’ve used an NBA
line in our example, but totals bets are available on any sport that involves point
totals.
How Do Payouts on Totals Betting Work?
In our example, you’ll notice that the
odds corresponding to both the over and under have -115 and -110 next to them. Just
like the moneyline, the odds attached to the over and the under indicate the
prospective payout.
The odds attached to the over and the under indicate the
prospective payout.
In the above example, it’s impossible to double your money by
betting on either the over or the under. This is a relatively common practice on
over/unders, as sportsbooks usually decide that there is an equitable probability of
the point total moving in either direction. However, this is far from being set in
stone.
Regardless of the sport, if there are two notoriously high-scoring teams with
shoddy defenses, you may see your sportsbook assign the over as the favorite.
Similarly, if both teams’ scoring is known to be lower than average, you might see the
favorite gravitate heavily towards the under.
It might not seem entirely fair (or
reasonable) that you have to betR$110 in order to winR$100, especially when your
sportsbook is telling you that there’s a 50/50 probability of either outcome.
This is
simply part and parcel of using an online sports betting site. The 10% vig (or “juice”)
is how sportsbooks stay afloat and profitable. It’s a price you’ll often have to pay
just to bet on the spread.
A Bonus of Totals Betting: The Grand Salami
If you’re
betting on the NHL, most sportsbooks offer a slight variation on available totals
betting. It’s called the “Grand Salami”, and it allows bettors to wager on the total
number of goals scored during one night of action in the NHL.
The vast majority of
totals bets in the NHL are 5.5 (over/under), so sportsbooks will usually multiply 5.5
against the number of games in the NHL that night. Whatever (5.5 x (number of games on
the schedule) is, this will be the Grand Salami.
For example, if there were two games
on the NHL schedule, Pittsburgh vs. New York and Vancouver vs. Edmonton, the Grand
Salami would likely be listed around 11 (-110) over and 11 (-110) under.
If Pittsburgh
vs. New York ended at 3-1, and Edmonton vs. Vancouver ended at 4-1, the total number of
goals on the night would 9. If you selected an under on the Grand Salami, your bet
would be a winner.
Conversely, if Pittsburgh vs. New York ended at 6-5, and Vancouver
vs. Edmonton was 4-2, the total goal scored on the night would be 17. As such, bettors
who selected the over on the Grand Salami would be successful.
