Over Under Goals Betting (1.5 and 2.5)
Summary: Over and Under Goals is a sports betting market popular in football/soccer. This bet counts on the number of goals in the game and not the final result, but rather on the total number of goals scored in a match at any time. All you need is for the total goals to be over your prediction if you picked the over bet, or for the total goals to stay under your prediction if you picked the under bet.
Over and Under Goals is a sports betting market popular in football/soccer, most punters will be betting on the over 1.5 or 2.5 market or the opposite under 1.5 or 2.5. This bet counts on the number of goals in the game and not the final result, but rather on the total number of goals scored in a match, by both teams combined and at any time. All you need is for the total goals to be over your prediction if you picked the over bet, or for the total goals to stay under your prediction if you picked the under bet.
In this type of betting, the ".5" is used to prevent confusion with other betting markets, so you explicitly know a goal cannot be halved. In other betting markets like 2 or more goals, you win if the game total stays at 2 goals or if goes over 2. So essentially there 2 ways of winning that bet. By using ".5", like in the over 2.5 goals makret, there is only one possible way to win - either the condition is met (over 2.5) or it's a loss.
Here are some more examples:
Over 1.5 goals meaning
Betting Over 1.5 goals means you are predicting that there will be at least 2 goals scored in the match. The half-goal (.5) ensures that each bet will have a definite outcome as it's impossible to score half a goal in a soccer match.
It's pretty straightforward to calculate over 1.5 goals. You simply add up the total number of goals scored by both teams during the match. If that number is 2 or more, an over 1.5 goals bet wins. If the total is 1 or 0, the bet loses. As soon as the match total is over your prediction, you win, most modern bookies pay out these bets as soon as the total is reached, rather than waiting for the game to finish.
Example of over 1.5 goals: If the game ends at least 1-1, 2-0 or 0-2, the over 1.5 goals bet has won. Imagine Real Madrid score 2 goals and Barcelona score 1. In this match, a total of 3 goals are scored. If you placed an over 1.5 goals bet on this match, you would win, because the total goals (3) is more than 1.5 goals. In this example, the total is actually over 2.5 as well, so regardless of the total, as soon as the goals went over 1.5 in the game, the bet won.
Under 1.5 goals meaning
Under 1.5 goals means you are predicting that there will be only 1 goal or no goals scored in the match. The half-goal (.5) ensures that each bet will have a definite outcome as it's impossible to score half a goal in a soccer match. So if there is only 1 goal, that is definitely less than 1.5 and if there are 2 goals, that is definitively more. Again it's straightforward to calculate under 1.5 goals. You simply add up the total number of goals scored by both teams during the match. If that number is 1 or 0, an under 1.5 goals bet wins. If the total is 2 or more, the bet loses.
Examples of under 1.5 goals: Real Madrid score 0 goals and Barcelona score 1. In this match, a total of 1 goal is scored. If you placed an under 1.5 goals bet on this match, first off you're crazy, but your luck would be in and that bet would win. Because the total goals are less than 1.5. Only 3 results can be less than 1.5, that's 0-0, 1-0 or 0-1.
Over 2.5 goals meaning
Betting on "Over 2.5 goals" means you are predicting that there will be 3 goals or more scored in the match. The addition of the .5 ensures that every bet has a clear result, as you can't score half a goal in soccer.
Working out over 2.5 goals is simple. Just tally up the goals from both teams during the game. If the combined score is 3 or more, the over 2.5 goals bet comes through. But if the total stands at 2 goals or fewer, the bet falls flat. As soon as the number of goals in the match exceeds 2.5, you're in the clear. Most modern bookies pay out on these wagers as soon as this threshold is met, rather than at the end of the game.
Example of over 2.5 goals: If the game ends at least 2-1, 1-2, 3-0 or 0-3, the over 2.5 goals bet has won. Let's go back to our previous example. Real Madrid scored 2 goals and Barcelona scored 1. So a total of 3 goals were scored. If you placed an over 2.5 goals bet on this match, you would have won.
Under 2.5 goals meaning
Under 2.5 means you are predicting that there will be less than 3 goals. But 3 goals is over 2.5 so it needs to be under, that is why they use the half goal again, so you can't be confused by it being an equal or under scenario. If the score is 0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 2-0 or 0-2 - these are all under 2.5
Example of under 2.5 goals: Real Madrid scored 2 goals and Barcelona scored none. So a total of 2 goals were scored. If you placed an under 2.5 goals bet on this match, you would have won.
What is the difference between 2 and over, and over 1.5 goals?
If you bet on a 2 or more goals bet, this is a little different as you're essentially relying on 2 possible outcomes, either exactly 2 goals or over 2 goals. This tends to reduce the price of the odds a little as it gives you more chance of winning. If you bet over 1.5 goals, you're waiting for only 1 outcome, for MORE THAN 2 goals. The half-goal differentiates it from the greater than or equal to goals markets.
Do own goals count?
In this betting market, own goals do count towards the total as they are considered goals scored during the match, this bet doesn't rely on who scored the goals it's just the total in the game.
Do goals scored in extra-time count?
No! Most standard goals betting markets are settled in the normal 90 minutes of the match (plus injury time), because this is the standard length of a football match. It is common for betting markets to be settled based on the result at the end of the standard match time, as opposed to extra time or penalty shootouts, which are considered separate events.
Bookies are pricing the game based on normal circumstances. Matches are not fixed or normal at 120 minutes, so it's difficult to price odds based on events that may or may not happen. Bookies do offer bets outside of 90 mins, but standard markets are always fixed to 90 minutes.
If you're interested in this betting market check out our over 1.5 Goals Stats page or any of the following additional stats pages
