Totals (over/under)

How a total works

The sportsbook posts a number for the two teams' combined points (or runs, or goals). You bet whether the final combined score will go over or under that number.

It doesn't matter which team scores the points or who wins. A 45-0 blowout and a 23-22 thriller are both 45 points.

Pushes

If the total is a whole number, like 45, and the game lands exactly on it, the bet is a push and your stake is returned. Half-point totals, like 44.5, can't push.

Overtime, extra innings and shortened games

• Football and basketball: most sportsbooks count overtime in full-game totals.
• Baseball: extra innings usually count. If a game is shortened by weather, totals may be voided unless a minimum number of innings were played. The exact rule varies by book.
• Hockey: books handle shootouts by their own rules. Many count a shootout win as one goal for the winning team.

Because these rules vary, always check the sportsbook's house rules before betting a total.

Pricing

Totals are often priced around -110 on both sides, which means you need to win about 52.38% of the time to break even. The over and under can have different prices, like Over -115 / Under -105. Use the odds converter to turn any price into a break-even percentage.

Team totals and partial-game totals

• Team total: over or under on one team's points only.
• First-half or first-quarter total: only the scoring in that part of the game counts. In baseball, the first-five-innings total works the same way.

What moves a total

Totals react to anything that changes how much scoring people expect: injuries to key scorers or defenders, weather (wind matters a lot in football and baseball), starting pitchers in baseball, goaltenders in hockey, and pace of play. Like spreads, totals can also move when a lot of money comes in on one side.

Education only. Not betting advice. 21+.