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How to Bet on Totals

Dominic Thomas May 11, 2024May 12, 2024 over/under, sports betting guide, sports betting tutorial, totals

Betting on the totals, or the over/under, is a popular bet people make in sportsbooks. The totals work on most, if not all sports league, such as the NBA, NFL, soccer leagues, the MLB, and more. Find out what is an over/under bet, and how to bet on totals on your favorite sports.

The totals is a bet where you are given a set of odds where you bet on whether the combined score of both teams will go over, or under the projected number set in your gambling software. For example, if for an NBA game, the totals are set at 217.5, and you think both teams will score enough to go over that, then you will bet on the Over. If you do not think they will score that much, then you go for an under. In a sportsbook, the over/under will look like this:

How to Bet on Totals

Betting on the total is one of the most popular options for those who bet on sports. So if you simply want to bet on your favorite team, or you want to open a sportsbook with the Bwager.com pay per head service, you need to understand how people bet on totals.

Normally, you would see the lines with the projected score, say 217.5, with -105 on the odds. This means that in order to win $100, you need to wager $105. The difference here is because of the vig, or the juice that sportsbooks set.

You can bet on the total score of the whole game. But sportsbooks also now offer totals on the half of each game, or even each quarter. Or even as prop bets. So totals bets have evolved a lot to offer a variety of betting options.

Other Factors that Affect Totals Bets

As easy and uncomplicated totals bets sound, there will be circumstances that can affect the over/under bet that you will make, or see in your sportsbook. Here are some of them:

Push. Sometimes, the actual combined score of the game can be equal to the projected score of the game. When this happens, this is capped a Push, and your wager will be returned. Your pay per head software will automatically do this, so there is less work on your end with crediting your players. If you are looking for a bookie software to help you do this, these pay per head reviews can help you.
Overtime. Most sportsbooks already include scores in the overtime, unless a sportsbook says otherwise.
Other types of totals. Totals bets are not limited to the score of the game covering a specific period. There are also other prop bets that are totals but can be about players. For instance, you will be able to see an over/under of strikeouts in the MLB, or with rushing attempts in an NFL game.