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Nomahoners
Rock Star
Silver Level
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OzExorcist
Broomcorn's uncle
Bronze Level
It's pretty standard across most sports to use half-points for lines.
You're right of course, there's no such thing as a half-goal or a half-point, but that's exactly why they do it: to avoid ties / pushes.
Say you want to bet over:
If you bet over 3 and they score exactly 3, your bet is a push*
If you bet over 3.5 and they score exactly 3, your bet loses because 3 is under 3.5
If you bet over 3 and they score 4 or more, your bet wins
If you bet over 3.5 and they score 4 or more, your bet also wins because 4 is over 3.5
The odds for the 0.5 are higher because you're taking a bigger risk (ie: you don't have the safety blanket of a push if they score exactly 3).
The 0.5 just ensures that, win or lose, the bet always has a result that's not a tie.
* check the betting site rules on how they handle a push / tie. Most of the time you should just get your stake back, but some places treat ties as a "partial dividend" instead where you actually end up taking a small loss.
You're right of course, there's no such thing as a half-goal or a half-point, but that's exactly why they do it: to avoid ties / pushes.
Say you want to bet over:
If you bet over 3 and they score exactly 3, your bet is a push*
If you bet over 3.5 and they score exactly 3, your bet loses because 3 is under 3.5
If you bet over 3 and they score 4 or more, your bet wins
If you bet over 3.5 and they score 4 or more, your bet also wins because 4 is over 3.5
The odds for the 0.5 are higher because you're taking a bigger risk (ie: you don't have the safety blanket of a push if they score exactly 3).
The 0.5 just ensures that, win or lose, the bet always has a result that's not a tie.
* check the betting site rules on how they handle a push / tie. Most of the time you should just get your stake back, but some places treat ties as a "partial dividend" instead where you actually end up taking a small loss.
Risto234
põrandaalune pokkerimängija
Loyaler
I'd like to know which magnificent bookie counts over 3 goals bets as loss if the particular team scores exactly 3 goals ...
OzExorcist
Broomcorn's uncle
Bronze Level
If you'd be willing to accept that outcome, then every sportsbook in the world would love to have you as their customer
Trust me, the result should be a push.
The only time a bet like that should be graded as a loss is if they also gave you the option to bet on the tie as well. In this case, if you had the option to bet on under three, exactly three, or over three.
That's pretty rare in total or line markets though. Where you'll see a setup like that most often is betting on soccer matches, where draws are common so you can bet on Team A, Team B or the tie, and bets on Team A and Team B lose if the match is tied.