Bets involving odds and evens have long been around, but have mostly been considered an entertainment option for the wealthy. However, in recent years, savvy punters have started to see betting on over/under as a way of making money in the market.
To be clear, a push is different to a lay. When you push on a ticket, you are not determining the outcome of the game; rather, you are just betting on which team will win. On the other hand, a lay is when you bet on the outcome of the game. For example, if you lay $100 on Michigan to win the Big Ten title, you are saying that you believe the Wolverines will beat Penn State.
How Do I Bet Over/Under?
You can lay bets on over/under in a variety of ways, with the most popular options being via an online sportsbook or a land-based sportsbook. The key thing to consider when placing a bet is whether you are putting your money on one team or two. If you go over/under on the total number of points scored in a game, you will lose your stake regardless of who wins. For example, if you bet $100 on a team winning by two touchdowns, you will lose your $100 even if your team wins by only one.
The Advantages Of Going Over/Under
One advantage of going over/under is that you don’t have to be absolutely precise about your stake. For instance, if you bet $100 on a team to score 22 points, you are essentially saying that you think the total will be 24 points or less. In other words, you are not committing to a certain number of points, which can be beneficial if your estimate of the total points is inaccurate. Inaccurate forecasts of the number of points scored in a game are fairly common, which makes going over/under a popular choice among experienced punters.
The Disadvantages Of Going Over/Under
The main disadvantage of going over/under is that you are essentially committing to a long shot. When you put your money on one team, you are depriving yourself of the opportunity of backing the other. For example, if you lay $100 on Michigan to win the Big Ten title and the Wolverines don’t even make it to the championship game, you will lose your money. You are also doing your bookmaker/sportsbook the disservice of not providing enough information about why you are betting one way or the other. If you do go over/under and win, the payout will not be as good as it could have been if you had taken the time to lay out a case for why you liked/disliked one team or the other.
Making A Profit In Betting Over/Under
One of the biggest draws of betting on over/under is that it’s fairly easy to look for profitable matchups. Since you are not committing to a certain number of points, you can make money in a variety of ways. A profitable option would be to pick a team that is a touchdown underdog. The reasoning behind this is that even though the over/under is set at a certain number of points, there is generally more than one way for a team to score. For example, if you look at the 2017 NFL draft, there were 37 quarterbacks drafted, and only two – Connor Cook of the Minnesota Vikings and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints – did not throw a touchdown pass. In other words, there were plenty of successful underdogs taken in the draft. Cook went tenth overall to the Vikings while Brees went 24th to the Saints. It would be a great opportunity to bet on Cook’s team, the Vikings, beating Brees’ team, the Saints, in the final game of the year, particularly since the over/under is set at 48 points. If you take a long enough view of the game, it is always possible to find an under-dog that can win – the key is to identify them early in the season.
When Do You Need To Bet Over/Under?
You need to bet over/under as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more opportunity there is to make a mistake. For instance, if you were to place a bet on the 2017 NFL draft results 24 hours from now, you would be doing so at a great disadvantage. The reason is that everyone and their mother would be trying to do the same thing, and it is likely that the odds would have changed by then. What may seem like a sure thing at one point in time may be a long shot at another. The key thing is to do so as soon as possible, well before the end of the season
Which Games Are Worth Betting On?
Games between top-level football teams are usually worth betting on, and so is almost any game involving an important conference or league championship. If you are unable to attend the game, it is usually a safe bet that someone else will be watching it on TV and making the betting opportunities available. Since football is such a popular game, you can bet on pretty much any matchup within the sport. Games played during the week are usually more exciting to bet on, as there is more opportunity for errors. Football is a game that can be decided in a variety of ways, and so there will always be multiple opportunities to make a mistake. If you are looking for a game that is almost certainly going to end in a winning result, choose an early season matchup between two relatively unknown teams. These types of games are less likely to be decided by accident or by some weird fluke. The point is that you can never be sure which football game is going to be decided by which team is better, and so you should always consider yourself lucky to be involved in any type of wager at all.