More or less: this is the option when you make an over/under bet. This option is first of all interesting for a goal point bet. However, using this bet you can just as easily play on the number of corners or cards. In every over/under bet, the rule is the determining factor. And you have a choice. Will you go for the 0.5, 2.5 or 4.5 odds? By choosing the rule wisely, you get the most out of your bet.
Every situation requires an over/under bet
Bookmakers give you a choice of large betting lists. Football in particular has a lot to offer in this regard. Although there are many options, bettors still have a clear preference. For example, the over/under bet is very popular. Thanks to the enormous popularity of this betting option, more and more situations have been added in recent years that provide such an over/under bet. For you as a betting enthusiast, this only makes the option of an over/under bet more attractive!
If you look at the over/under betting category of betting, one question is always at the top of the list: will the football match have more or fewer goals than the set rule? Those who want to delve deeper into the goals can also look at the number of goals in the first or second half. Alternatively, focus only on the scoring ability of the away or home team. Corners are just as interesting for an over/under bet. Some defenders quickly play the ball over the line when danger threatens. Others, on the contrary, go all out to defend well and thus keep the ball in play. The first way of playing automatically leads to more corner kicks than the second. It is up to you to judge the teams correctly when using the over/under system to bet on corner kicks.
Do you discover during your preparation that one of the teams gets frustrated easily and therefore faces a lot of yellow (and sometimes even red) cards? In this case, you can use an over/under bet to bet on the number of cards. With each foul, your gaze briefly goes to the referee. Only he determines whether this card will be there or not. And this means that the referee can help you win.
It’s the half points that count
When browsing the over/under bets on offer, one thing stands out immediately. This is because the standard that the bookmaker puts on the platform is always half points. If you want to bet on the total number of goals, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 almost always appear as possible standards on your screen. However, the number of corners in a match is usually a bit higher than that. You can predict whether there will be more/fewer corners than 8.5, 10.5 or even 12.5. It just depends on what the match requires.
It doesn’t matter which over/under bet ends up on your slip. The principle is always the same, and that principle revolves entirely around half points. It may seem strange for a bookmaker to use half points as a standard. After all, half goals don’t get scored during a match, and half corners haven’t even reached the world of football yet. However, it makes perfect sense for these half points to appear in these bets. This is due to the clear questions surrounding this type of bet. More or less, there are no more possibilities. As a result, there can never be an outcome that leaves the bet undecided. If the standard was 2.0 and two goals are scored in those 90 minutes of play, there is no bet. By setting the standard at 2.5, there is clarity anyway. The question then is whether there are at most two goals or at least three. This question is good for 50/50 odds.
With many templates, there are plenty to choose from
Basically, the concept of over/under betting is very simple. Half points leave no room for an undecided bet, so there is always a clear choice. In the end, do you go for more or bet your money on less? However, there is more to this over/under bet than you think. Indeed, with each of these bets there are more patterns to choose from. And the bookmaker is taking advantage of this to good effect.
Let’s say it’s time for the big Champions League final. There are two clubs facing each other that both have some strong players in attack. Indeed, they have shown in the previous rounds that they are in good form and know how to hit the target well. Moreover, everything depends on this match. So, there is no time to take it easy and just hope for opportunities to come. Everyone has to throw themselves wholeheartedly into the match to get the victory and win this title. In this type of duel, many goals are expected. A 2-1, 2-2 or even 3-2… these are the positions that can appear on the scoreboard after 90 minutes of football. How different it is in matches with two teams playing defensively on the field. Both sides hope for a counterattack, but they don’t really attack in this game. 0-0 or at most 1-0 is the obvious result here.
These two football matches are completely extreme. However, it is important to realize that one match is not the other. If a lot of goals are expected, then a 0.5 or 1.5 standard is not that interesting. Both the bookmaker and most bettors focus on a norm of 3.5 or even higher. This 3.5 rule is simply completely useless in a duel with two defensive teams. The probability of four goals or more being scored is almost zero. Because every match is different, the bookmaker never uses a fixed criterion. Per football match, there are easily five different standards to choose from. At least, if you focus on the total number of goals. But you also have options with the other over/under bets. Choosing the “over 0.5 goals” option is of little use when there are two strong, high-scoring teams on the field. This is because the bookmaker looks critically at each bet and adjusts the odds accordingly.
Odds as a guide for over/under betting
With so many standards, the choice seems easy. You want to win the bet, so with “over 0.5 goals” on your slip, you’re fine. That belief quickly disappears once you look at the odds. Because every over/under bet works with multiple standards, the bookmaker has a lot of room to be clever with the odds. With two high-scoring teams, the over box pays very little when you take 0.5 or 1.5 as the rule. Because let’s face it… you don’t do it for a score of 1.05 or 1.20. It’s only at the 3.5 level that the bet really becomes interesting financially. Suddenly the over/under bet easily returns 2.5 times your stake.
The whole situation changes when you prefer to exchange this ‘over’ box for ‘under’. Do you trust the teams’ defense and expect one or at most two goals? In this case, ‘under 1.5’ can be a very interesting bet. While ‘over 1.5 goals’ is only worth 1.20 times the stake, ‘under 1.5 goals’ has a price of 4.50. So, you can cash in big time if you choose it well.
This will be your tactic
Bookmakers think carefully about the odds they assign to each betting option. You should also think carefully before adding this over/under bet to your betting slip. Look at the statistics to get a clear picture of the match. Now you know roughly how many goals, corners or cards to expect. Then it’s time to study the odds. The trick is to find the golden mean. Don’t take too much risk, but don’t play it safe either. With this way of playing, this over/under bet will pay off the most in the end.