Topic: What gives high winning percentage for you, spread or total? (Read 172 times)

For me I mostly win on total over/under, I think this is the highest chances of winning among the all the possible bet you could place. Like on NBA, I depend the starting players statistics to anticipate the total, last 5 or 10 matches scores and player injuries, I don't know but if I see fit I always put a bet on it. I think the spread doesn't apply to NBAA especially on pre-matches, teams be winning on 10 deficits and pre-matches will likely to give you -4.5 spread. Sometimes I solo bet on live matches since it is hard to set up a parlay during live matches and odds are changing during those times.

Why talk about money? I think we need to deal first on how to win, because if we are comfortable with our betting style and we find it profitable, it's easy to grow our money. We gamblers do set our bankroll, that's when we are already serious with gambling, like we are ready to consider it beyond entertainment, we get more ambitious because we trust with our system that would work.

So it takes money to make money, but you never risk big money if you aren't confident enough to achieve long term wins.

It's more of the spread I agree but I think this will still depend on how much money we are talking about here, because there are gamblers who can make good profit on their total bet as well. Basketball is also my local team sports, and some times I also bet in boxing which I can say are more fun to watch while having your bet. Just bet on which you think you are profitable, as long as you do analyze then it can be good, you just need to hope for the luck.

I'm proud to be the first poster to vote on the poll. 

By the way, my answer is spread of course. Since I'm more familiar to a team and it's easier to cap games using spread than total. Just like @inthelongrun mentioned, it's another work, and since we don't gamble to be stress, we don't want to work so hard on that stats, just play the game, and observe, of course never forget to enjoy.

Same type of favorite sports mate. Yes, I agree with you, it might need additional research but personally I don't study it hard. I just look at some numbers, trying to make it simple and just guess, that's how simple it is for me. 


I think in most sports totals are present but as we all know, it's a team vs team or player vs player game since bettors loves to cheer, and we don't cheer on the total score alone, that's non sense and it's not enjoyable at all.

However, this question is only for betting purposes, we deal with figures and results here, that I want to know.

BTW, poll has been added,  please everyone vote between the two.

In basketball which is my favorite sport to bet, I am mostly into the spreads. I am not into total odds because it is another work of research and analyzing teams' scores in their previous games. I just prefer the usual way which is analyzing who wins, and the ability of the teams and players.

I don't know if spreads and totals are popular in other sports. In boxing, I am mostly into ML and then KO or decision which is a different method. In DOTA 2 e-sports, I am also into ML. There are also spreads but the change is huge since it's mostly best of 3 and 5, and giving up or getting a plus 1 or 2 games is too significant.

My favourite game that I bet on is football sport betting, and I don't have a regular bet that I place. I make my choice based on the history of both teams involved in the game, which is what will determine if I'm to place the bet under or over.
 
From their past scoring record, I will be able to determine which one will be best for me on that particular game, and most times in a single slip where I place multiple bets from different teams, I place some to be under and some over.
 
Each of my choices reflects on how much trust I have in those teams and the amount of goals I believe they can deliver within the given period. I can't place a bet over a match, and I'm not sure both teams can deliver two goals not possible.

if I can win in the long run, I don't seem to be able to get it. Because no matter how perfect the strategy I apply in every bet I make, it still cannot guarantee that I will always get a win every time I make a bet. Even in some betting sessions, it was the luck factor that greatly influenced the bets I made, so that I could get some wins. The strategy that I apply every time I place a bet is nothing more than to increase the possibility of winning, not to ensure it.

And I think not only me, but every gambler will find it difficult to win in the long run, because being able to win two wins in a row, in my opinion, is an extraordinary thing. And if one is determined to make a long-term profit, then the place is not in gambling and betting, but in investment and business.
I never imagined that I would make a continuous profit from gambling and betting, unless I was a casino owner.

i can agree when it comes to basketball games. what i like also in this sports is that there are so many betting lines that you can bet in a single game. like each quarter alone will give you better options. and as the game progresses, you can still change your bets on each quarter and so is the total scores. if you are very familiar with the team and you are rooting for them, that will give you more thrilling bets.

the same goes with football, but the total goals for me is quite hard to predict. i usually bet only who's the winning team when it comes to football.

as the odds varies depending on the game and the ongoing scores like in basketball, you can never be assure of your winning percentage. but if you truly know the team's performance, you have better chance of getting it right.

Well, in fact to see profits or enjoy the game you would have to be a long-term player, and that is where you may be able to see profits or stay breakeven. So, the reason for maintaining it in the long term is precisely that, its variance.

OP, sometimes both, sometimes either individually, it depends on the sport.

Indeed depends on the game you will be betting but most of the time I am just either betting on the total scores and winning team because for me it is easier to predict. Supported by my winrate if I'n not mistaken which is more or less 75% on the past few months.Quite speaking in general; both has its own risk and it is just a matter of preference for the gambler. But indeed the amount of your bet will matter on either you would go with spread strategy or money line. I also agree with the idea that percentage of winning is inconsistent on either spread or betting under and over. Parlays would be a better option if you are trying to hit a bigger odd and bigger reward however it'll impose higher risk than with spread although it somehow falls on the same category.

Handicaps will just make the odds bigger most of the time simply because it is somehow of a guess to how many points should a team reach in order to have a winning bet. Scores perhaps are not consistent in every match which makes it hard to do so in my case.

For me I find it easier to do total on sports compared to football. The reason behind is very simple, in basketball, the score is high and based on my observation, sometimes the predicted score that is on the betting odds are way below or higher by a significant numbers, so you won't lose a 1 point differential when betting, if you do that's when you are unlucky. I think the average is like 5 points and above for the excess of prediction, and this is differnet compared to spread because when a game is close and you are betting on the favorite, you'll certainly feel the pressure while watching.

I do both but the thing is that I apply them separately.
- Ml and spread for basketball games
- Ml and total goals for football games

I tried predicting total scores for basketball but I suck at it for some reason so I dropped that and only use those two ever since.
I'm okay with handicap on football games but I've had more success with over/under so I just stick with it. No need to reinvent the wheel.

This is how it is for me too. The match I want to take and the amount I used to bet it matters. There are times I go for the impossible but which can be surprising if I win the bet.

As for me, I like to go for under/over which is very good, but I still also go for other types at times.

In sports betting, I always bet on my favorite sports, such as football, basketball, tennis or cricket, boxing or MMA or UFC.
But not all matches will be bet on because I will choose in each week how many matches there will be and I have to determine which matches between team are possible to bet on with opportunities that are easier to get.
This is very important because the chances of winning and also the odds that can be obtained really depend on which team or player is competing, you have to be able to determine this and choose as well as possible.

In fighting sports such as Boxing, UFC or MMA, will prefer favorite fighter because will have greater chance of winning, but you also have to do research and analysis of each fighter because there are also many challenger fighters who have won.

Meanwhile, for sports like football, I will prioritize analysis of both team to be able to take betting options, but the safest bet in my opinion is to choose the favorite team or draw.
For example, in the Manchester City vs Everton match, the safe bet I will make is Manchester City or draw, so that when Manchester City wins I also win and if the result is draw I also win.
This is one of the best betting options in my personal opinion, even though the odds may be relatively low, the chances of winning can be slightly greater than just betting on one team winning option or under or over.

I would choose the spread though because that's where we will experience the excitement since we are rooting for a team. For total (under/over), I do some side bet sometimes, so I can't really tell which between the two are more profitable since my bets on total and spreads aren't equal.

If you don't want to get thrilled much, maybe go with the total, as spreads are very thrilling, stressful at times due to lead changes.

When it comes to making bets, I usually roll with moneyline. It's all about picking the team that's gonna take the win. I like the straightforwardness of it – just predicting the outright winner. It lets me really dig into team dynamics, strengths, and matchups without getting into the nitty-gritty of spreads or totals. It's a simpler approach.

Just keep in mind that you shouldnt gamble to earn profit in the long run. Gambling is not a stable source of income.

You aimed to be profitable in gambling on the long run, and that's where you got it wrong, I just gamble only when I feel like, I have other important things to spend my money on and it's not a must for me to gamble.

Have you not all realise already that gambling isn't worth all the attention you are giving it? Some gamblers are too serious with gambling than their source of income, I am not saying that gambling is wrong but the chances that things will go your way is too small, you want to keep betting on that? Fine, why not use very small money? The type we use to buy beers when we hang out with friends.

I don't keep records and I don't need to, I know what gambling is and I only do it if I have the money that I won't be using, for the time being, I can take weeks off without gambling, and I only jump right back in when I have money to lose.

I didn't track my gambling activities, so I don't know how high the percentage of different strategy I bet.

I'm not really into using a same strategy in my betting, it varies depend on how big the odds and my feeling which I think worth to bet.

Over/under mostly a safe bet, it's when I can't predict which one will win or odds for favorite is too small. While money line or spread sometime surprising, I bet when I feel the underdog might pull an upset.

Gambling is luck. You should know that.

Do not chase earning money in gambling. But even though if you chase profit, use just little amount of money to gamble.

I prefer in-play. In normal staking, in-play and all matches related to football, I am still losing than winning despite that I have different strategies looking for ways to win.

I have to be honest with the idea that most of the wins I've experienced have been pretty much luck, decisions with almost no sophisticated analysis at all when it comes to the sports games I'm interested in. Like many traditional gambling games, it is about probability. I'm not sure which strategies can bring sustainable and long-term profits, because it's like a fascinating psychological game that we play but what we need. I hear a lot about capital management strategies, or psychological control, as well as staying alert,... it sounds very reasonable, but how long will it take for them to really get into a bad situation?  . Anyway, I'm not someone who has a financial goal in this field, so maybe my opinions will not be the same.

Every time I bet on sports, I usually focus on the moneyline and spread. Sometimes, I also bet on the total, over/under.  As a gambler who aim to be profitable in the long run, which of these two are you more comfortable betting with? And please explain the reason behind.

Also, please state the game you are betting so we have some hint on what strategy work in a specific game.