The Over/Under wager is used in all four major sports and is an extremely popular wager. The Over/Under wager is a wagering option where the player must choose to bet Over the listed total, or Under the listed total. With an over/under wager, the total points of the contest by both teams, overtime included, must fall over or under the side selected. On an Over/Under wager, the total points the wager is based on is called the "TOTAL."

Example 1: (Football)

The posted line on the football game between San Franciso and St. Louis is:

• San Franciso +7 Over/Under: 42 Points
• St. Louis -7

The Over/Under points listed at 42 is called the "TOTAL" for the game.

Example 2: (Football)

The posted line on the football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cincinatti Bengals is Cincinatti –6 with the Total of 44 ½. This poinspread is listed as follows:

• Philadelphia +6
• Cincinatti -6 Total: 44 ½

The Player has 4 wagering options on this game, they can bet on Philadelphia +6, Cincinatti –6, Over 44 ½ points, or Under 44 ½ points. The only 2 wagering options we will consider in this example is the Over 44 ½ and the Under 44 ½.

Option #1: Player A wagers $550 to win $500 on the Over 44 ½. For Player A to Win his wager, the total combined points of both teams must exceed 44 ½. If the final Score is 31-24, Player A would win $500 because the score exceeded 441/2. If the final score is 20-10, Player A loses his $550 wager because the total combined score was only 30 points, which is Under 44 ½.

Option #2: Player B wagers $330 to win $300 on the Under 44 ½. For Player B to Win his wager, the total combined points of both teams must fall below 44 ½. The final score ends up being 24-20, so Player B wins $300 because the final score totaled 44 points.

Sports Betting Strategy

How to win at sports betting online:

The challenge of sports betting is to collect and analyze information and then make a sound judgement on what to bet on, what type of bet to place and how much. To create an opportunity to be a winner, you need to take into account three main factors, analyze them and act on your findings accordingly. These are:

1. The odds offer (Price)
2. The value of the odds (overpriced or underpriced?)
3. The type of bet (single, multiple, combination, etc.)

The odds offer has to be at least 2:1 to make it worthwhile. If necessary, choose a selection with a slightly higher risk to prop up the price.

The value of the odds must be such that the sportsbook's commission is to a minimum, if at all. Some lines get 'steamed' unnecessarily. When this happens, the 'favorite' price lengthens. Take advantage of those situations.

Three type of bets seem to stand out as a sensible combination to use because they are simple, not too difficult to win and have good winning potential: the Straight bet, the Doubles and the Future.

Sports betting is one area where skillful players can win out. But it is important to understand that the skillful players are not "beating the bookies" so much as beating unskillful sports bettors. This becomes most clear when you look at one of the most common ways to win at sportsbetting: bet against popular teams. Bookies aren't sentimental, but people are.

The ideal world for a bookie would be for X number of people betting Y dollars on a team to win, while X number of people bet Y dollars on the opposing team. The bookies then just take 10% of the money that changes hands, with zero risk. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers get a lot of emotional money bet on them by fans. So, games featuring these teams seldom show the "true odds". Instead bookmakers set the odds so that they can attract enough betting to the anti-popular side to counteract the "fan" money. There are many other sports betting tactics that can also be effective.