When you are searching for sports betting predictions you will come across many different terms that can seem a little bit daunting. If you are unfamiliar with the terms usually associated with online sports betting you may wonder what they mean and if they are important.
Under in sports betting is one of these terms and it can be used in a variety of different ways. When someone states that a team or player is under they are referring to the betting lines of the respective teams or players. The term can also be used to indicate that a particular team or player is considered an underdog. Undoubtedly, under is a common term in sports betting and it is important to understand its various meanings.
Let’s examine each of these in a bit more detail.
Under As A Reflection Of The Betting Line
When a sportsbook or bookmaker releases a set of betting odds they will often include a reflection of the implied probability that the opposing teams will win the game. This number is known as the betting line and it is generally used to indicate the current opinion on the outcome of the game. As mentioned above, the term under can be used in reference to the betting line and it is common for people to use one term or the other when speaking of the current line.
For example, if Liverpool are playing Manchester United and the betting lines are set at 5.0 for Liverpool to win and 3.0 for Manchester United to win, this would mean that the odds are strongly favoring Liverpool to win the game. When spoken of in this case the term under would certainly apply as the betting line would be in the range of 2.0 to 5.0.
Under As A Reflection Of The Betting Market
Another way in which under can be used is as a reflection of the current betting market. This is particularly relevant for sporting events with large betting markets like the Superbowl or the World Series. If the betting lines are set at 5.0 and 3.0 for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Superbowl and the New York Yankees to win the World Series, this would indicate that at the time this article was written the betting public was fairly divided on whether or not these teams would win. In this case under would also apply as there is significant overlap between the Superbowl betting market and the betting market for the World Series.
Under As A Reflection Of The Favorites
Some sportsbooks only publish betting lines for certain teams or players as favorites and this is another way in which under can be used. A favorite is a team or player that the bookmaker deems to be superior to the other teams or players in their respective league. In this example above the only teams with odds that are not listed as underdog bets are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Yankees. These are the teams that the bookmaker considers to be the superior squads. In the case of the Steelers they are ranked 1 and 2 in their division while the Yankees are the reigning World Series Champions. When speaking of the betting lines for these teams one would say that they are the favorites for the upcoming game.
Under As A Reflection Of The Underdog
Another way in which under can be used is to indicate that a team or player is considered an underdog. The term underdog refers to a team or player that is not considered to be a significant betting or market risk. For example, the 2019 World Series was considered to be a highly competitive series and the underdogs of the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Angels are widely considered to be the biggest surprises of the postseason. The 2019 World Series is also famous for one of the biggest upsets in sports history as the Indians overcame a 3-1 series deficit to win the series. Today the underdogs are considered to be significant favorites and the betting lines generally reflect this as well.
What Is The Difference Between The Terms “Under,” “Unders,” And “Odds-On”?
There is no simple answer to this question as the terms under, unders, and odds-on can be used when referring to the betting lines of an event and they can have slightly different meanings. The terms under and unders generally refer to the betting lines for the underdog team or player while odds-on refers to the betting lines for the predicted winner. In an odd situation one can have odds-on but under or unders would more often be utilized in such cases.
For example, if there is no betting line for the New York Knicks at all for a particular game, one would not usually say that the team is in the odd of winning. However, in this case the outcome of the game is not considered to be particularly significant and the team is not considered to be a significant risk. This is why the odds-on betting lines would be the terms most often used in this situation. If the Knicks win this game surely this will be an upset as the betting lines did not foresee this outcome. Of course, this does not mean that one would necessarily say that the team is in the odd of winning but one would certainly say that they are not an underdog and hence under in this case.
How Does One Calculate The “Winnable” Quotient?
This is another interesting question and one that requires a bit of knowledge of probability and statistics. Essentially, if you want to calculate the winnable proportion you need to look at the current line and figure that x% of the winnings will be taken by Bookmakers and y% will be eaten up by the house edge. The remaining z% is considered to be pure profit.
For example, if the betting line is 5.0 to 1.0 in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs and a player bets $100 on the Chiefs then his winnings would be $5000. The bookmakers take $5000 and the house would make $1000 so the winnable proportion for this game is (5000-1000=) 40% (40% of the winnings are considered winnable).
If this same player placed a bet with the same stake on the opposing team the Minnesota Vikings, his winnings would be $3300 per team and the winnable proportion for this game would be (3300-1000=) 23.3% (23.3% of the total winnings for this game are considered winnable).
A handy formula for calculating the winnable proportion is: (1-(Total stake/Line)) x 100
Why Are Football And Horse Racing The Only Sports Where The “Over” & “Under” Can Be Successfully Utilized?
One reason why the terms over and under can be successfully used in regard to the betting lines for football and horse racing is that these sports have relatively simple scoring systems. This makes backing outperformance in these sports easy as the gamblers just need to compare the number of points scored by the winner of the event to the number of points scored by the loser. This makes intuitive sense as it is generally easy to estimate how more points will be scored by one team than the other given the size of the respective stadiums and their respective fan bases. For instance, in the 2019 Superbowl the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 and this resulted in the New England Patriots being declared the winners by a score of 26-23. When comparing this to the 13-3 victory of the Rams it becomes clear that the Patriots outscored their opponents by 7 points. Therefore, the term over would likely be used when describing this outcome as the points scored by the Rams were in excess of what was expected by the betting community. In other words, the Rams “over” performed relative to expectations.
When Is It Appropriate To Use The Term “Offensive” And “Defensive” In Relation To Sports?
This is a great question and it’s one that’s been bothering me for a while. To begin with, let’s examine what exactly is meant by the terms offense and defensive. A team’s offensive strategy is the approach they take to score goals while their defensive strategy is the approach they take in order to prevent the opposition from scoring.