You may have heard about Over Under betting before, as it’s quite a common wagering option in both horse and greyhound racing, or even in some countries, dog sledging. It’s also been around for a while in American football, though that’s less common these days. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with this type of wagering. Essentially, you guess whether the the sum of the scores of two or more teams will be higher or lower than a certain number.
If you’re new to this form of wagering, it can be a little confusing. Will you wager on the over or under, and how many points will you need to win? This article will clear up any confusion you might have, as well as introduce you to some basic rules that you need to know before placing an Over Under bet.
The Basics
Over Under betting is one of the easier forms of wagering to understand. If you’ve ever played the game of pool, then it’s quite natural that you’d be familiar with the concept behind Over Under betting. Basically, you’re trying to guess which side (or in this case, which team) will score more points. The person who makes the better prediction wins the wager. To make the guess more accurate, you can use various tools or tricks such as point spreads or over/under lines to help you make your decision.
Another way of thinking about Over Under betting is as an extension of parlay betting. With parlay betting, you make multiple wagers, usually on different teams. For example, if you think Chicago will beat New York by more than 3 points, you might put down $10 on the Chicago Bears and $20 on the New York Jets. If both teams score in your favor, you win $30. The key difference with parlay or Over Under betting is that you’re making just one wager, but you’re betting on multiple outcomes. For example, if the scores are 4-7, you win $100 with the Bears – New York Jets parlay, but you’d only win $40 with an Over Under bet on those two games.
Under
In most cases, when you place an under bet on a sporting event, you’re predicting that the under-score will occur. For example, if you back the Dallas Cowboys – Washington Redskins game, you’re predicting that the Redskins will lose, so in that case, you’d better be prepared to lose your wager. The key difference with an under bet is that you’re not predicting the outcome of the game; you’re just guessing which team will score fewer points.
Over
An over bet on a sporting event is pretty self-explanatory: You’re predicting that the over-score will occur. For example, if you think the New York Yankees will beat the Tampa Bay Rays by more than 10 points, you might put down $100 on the Yankees and $20 on the Rays. In that case, you would win $120 if your prediction is correct.
The difference between an over and under bet is the same as the difference between the first and second half of a football game. Let’s say you’re in the second half and the game is still close. If you were to guess that the score would end up being 35-40, you’d better be prepared to lose your wager because it could just as easily end up being 28-35. In that case, you’d lose the wager, but at least you’d know you tried your best and didn’t make the wrong guess.
Point Spreads
Generally, to make a good guess in Over Under betting, you need to know something about the point spreads for the teams you’re wagering on. Fortunately for you, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular point spreads for the 2019 NFL season. Check out the list below:
These are the point spreads as of February 18, 2019. Keep in mind that the point spreads can change daily, so if you want to get the best price, you should check out some of the offshore betting sites that negotiate with the bookmakers for you.
AFC East
New England Patriots: -7.5
Miami Dolphins: -6
Buffalo Bills: -2.5
Baltimore Ravens: -2
AFC North
Cleveland Browns: -3
Pittsburgh Steelers: -2.5
Cincinatti Bengals: -1.5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -1
Carolina Panthers: -1
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs: -6
Los Angeles Chargers: -3
Oakland Raiders: -2.5
San Diego Chargers: -2
Denver Broncos: -1
NFC East
New York Jets: -3.5
Dallas Cowboys: -3
Philadelphia Eagles: -2.5
Washington Redskins: -2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -1.5
Carolina Panthers: -1
NFC North
Chicago Bears: -4.5
Detroit Lions: -4
Green Bay Packers: -3
Minnesota Vikings: -2
Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: -3
New Orleans Saints: -2.5
San Francisco 49ers: -2
Seattle Seahawks: -1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -0.5
Carolina Panthers: 0
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: -4.5
Los Angeles Rams: -4
San Francisco 49ers: -3
Seattle Seahawks: -2.5
Kansas City Chiefs: -2
Intangibles
There are several components that can’t be easily quantified, but that you need to take into consideration when betting on sports, including home field advantage, team chemistry, and experience. For example, if you think a particular team will play better at home than on the road, you might want to consider that when placing bets. The good news is that you don’t need to rely solely on metrics like point spreads to take these intangibles into account. You can always use more traditional methods like over/under lines to do so. However, the advantage of using metrics is that they can give you a more objective view of the situation. For example, if you’re watching a game and comparing it to every other one you’ve ever watched, you’ll likely notice trends that might not have been as obvious had you not used instruments to analyze the data. Also, statistics can help to eliminate the element of luck that plays such a crucial role in sporting events, especially in professional sports. Luck has little to do with it when you have the statistics to back up your predictions. Using statistical analysis and modern forecasting techniques, it’s possible to project the outcomes of future games with a high degree of accuracy, which makes betting on sporting events much more scientific than it is lucky.
NFL Playoffs Specials
The postseason is upon us, which means that it’s time for the NFL playoffs. As you might expect, the postseason is a particularly lucrative time for sportsbooks, as it’s not only a source of added revenue, but it’s also the period where people are most interested in wagering. Below, you’ll find a list of the NFL playoffs specials for the 2019 season. These are the games that are typically associated with higher wagering levels during the postseason, so if you’re looking to make some serious bank, you might want to pay attention to the below list.