What is an Over/Under?

What is over under betting? In short, over under (O/U) a sports wager in which the winner of the game or match doesn’t matter. Instead, you care about the combined score of the teams playing.

How Over Under Betting Works

The sportsbook predicts what the score will be for a given game and the bettor decides if they think the actual score will be higher or lower than that figure. The format often looks like:

35.5 OVER -110
35.5 UNDER +105

If you bet $50 on the over and the combined score 40, you would win $45.45. If you bet the under and the total score was 35, you would earn a payout winnings of $52.50. Both of those dollar amounts don’t include the $50 you bet that you also get back.

Often the O/U is a decimal number (typically 0.5), making ties or pushes impossible. However, if the sportsbook predicts a whole number and there is a push, you would get a refund on your wager. You didn’t win or lose.

O/U Betting in Different Sports

Depending on the sport, you’ll see a variety of different ranges.

In baseball, the common range or the predicted combined score is 5.5-12. The lower the number, the more of a pitcher’s duel the game is expected to be; the higher the number, the more offensive-minded the sportsbooks expect it to be this.

In basketball, that range is going to look much higher because of the typically point system in the game. Ranges for the NBA, for example, is typically between 180-225. NCAA basketball games usually see a lower range, 120-160, due to longer shot clock and shorter playing periods than the NBA.

In the NFL, over under predictions ranges from 30-55, though high-octane offenses or poor defensive games can get much higher point totals. It’s not rare to see predictions in the 70s & 80s in NCAA football predictions.

In hockey, the point totals are low, usually in the 4.5-6 range. It’s a very tight range, with a usual line of bout 5.5. A goal scored in overtime (OT) counts toward the line as well as the team that wins in a shootout. So if the line is 5.5 and the score was 2-2 going into a shootout, the total score will be 5 (regardless of how many goals were scored in the shootout).

In martial art sports, such as the UFC and boxing, the predictions isn’t on score but how many rounds the fight will last. In this case, you wager on if a particular fight matchup will last longer (over) or shorter (under) than the sportsbook prediction.