Over/Under Betting

• Overlays

This bet type refers to odds that benefit the player more than the “house”. It generally refers to a situation where the bettor is in a good position and has an edge over the sportsbooks. In smaller establishments, ovelays can occur from the following, lack of diligence, or incorrect analysis from the sportsbook. Overlays that occur in large reputable venues, are usually premeditated. Here’s why a larger venue would overlay, to attract extra action to a event or to balance out a bet. If a sporting event is not getting enough attention from the betting public, overlays are used to build up excitement for the event. Another reason is if the betting public wagers are heavily on the favorite, overlays may be used as incentive to place bets on the underdog.

To receive odd predictions better than “true” odds on a team would be considered as value betting. For example, if your initial calculations of a game indicates the underdog should be receiving 5.5 points, but is receiving 8.5 point, then that is a value bet recommendation, or an overlay. (True odds: the actual odds of something happening as opposed to what a linemaker or sportsbook would offer.)

• The Advantages of Overlays

This bet type is especially popular in fantasy sports betting, because it draws more action to the sports betting sites. When a guaranteed amount of prize money exceeds the total amount of entry fees collected, that would be an overlay opportunity. Players who wager money on fantasy sports sites will have a greater reward value for the risk they are willing to bet. Finding a higher reward value, on a overlay tournament can be a great tool for online fantasy sports betting.

Having less total participants, increases your chances of winning dramatically in some GPPs. (A guaranteed prize pool also known as a GPP) If the prize pool is guaranteed, and not enough players join, the prize money will be split into larger payouts. To calculate the expected reward first, multiply your odds to win by the amount of money an average player would receive if they win.

• When to use overlay

Using these strategies correctly and in the right circumstances will allow you to reduce the risk to zero in many cases. If you have confidence for a winner in your sport of choice, you can use overlay to help increase your total profits, while still making sure you aren’t losing money on any bets.

Use a matched betting calculator to avoid making any costly mistakes. On most matched betting calculators, you can use the custom lay slider to adjust the level of risk associated with any bets you place. This can also help find the right value of liability if your bankroll is disperse throughout several different bookmakers while completing wagering requirements. 

• Advantages and disadvantages of parlays

These bets can promise huge payouts, but they are very risky. This wouldn’t be considered a good investment strategy. If you are into the thrill of just betting on sports, this gives you the oppurtunity to spread your wagers on various outcomes to see if they win. The disadvantage of a parlay bet is that, if any of the bets in the parlay loses, the entire parlay is lost. Remeber, the house always has the advantage. Depending on what you are trying to achieve through sports betting. If you are looking to make money using parlay betting, then the answer is no.

• Parlay pushes

If you are a fan of the parlay betting strategy a push can get a little more involved. Here’s why.

A parlay, accumulator, combo bet or multi is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers and is dependent on all of those wagers winning together. The benefit of the parlay is that there are much higher payoffs than placing each individual bet separately since the difficulty of hitting all of them is much higher. If any of the bets in the parlay lose, the entire parlay loses. If any of the plays in the parlay ties, or “pushes”, the parlay reverts to a lower number of teams with the odds reducing accordingly.

Although you can use a variety of bets to build your parlay bet, correlated parlays are usually not allowed at betting sites. Correlated parlays are two or more bets from the same game that rely on a closely related outcome. Sportsbooks restrict this action because closely related bets can lead to bigger payouts in the chance of a win, which means a more substantial loss for the sportsbook.