The bet on the “even” total in some markets comes in more often than the “odd”. We answer the questions “when” and “why”.
The total “even” in sports betting is similar to the game of red / black in roulette, but there is a big difference. This choice comes more often than in 50% of cases. Below we will analyze what a bet on the total “even” is, calculation examples, why it comes more often than the total “odd” and a couple of strategies.
What does the total “even” mean in bets
The total “even” bet is a bet on an even number of actions according to one of the indicators: goals in football, games in tennis, pucks in hockey, and so on.
The bet on the “even” total will play if the number of selected actions is divided in half without remainder. The score 0:0 and the number 0 are also considered even.
Example of a bet on the “even” total
Let’s analyze the calculation of the bet on the “even” total on the example of football matches.
Let’s take the match of the Russian Cup “Spartak” — CSKA of the 2019/2020 season and bet on an even total with a coefficient of 1.90 in the amount of 1000 rubles. In regular time, the match ended with a score of 2:2.
An even number of goals were scored in the match. Thus, the bet is played, and you will receive a profit of 900 rubles: 1000 x 1.90 – 1000.
Another example of betting on a match of the same teams, but already in the sixth round of the RPL of the same season. The bet on an even total in that match did not go in, as the meeting ended with a score of 2:1. That is, there was an odd number of goals in the game.
Features of betting on “even”
The total in the match in any case will be either even or odd. But the mathematical probability that there will be an even number of goals in a match is not always 50%.
The higher the total expected by bookmakers, the closer the odds for “even / odd”.
For example, in the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors basketball game, bookmakers can give 1.90 each way in the odd/even market.
If analysts expect less than three goals in a football match, the odds for “even” will be below 1.90. Zero or two goals are more likely than exactly one ball.
In some markets, they give a high coefficient of 2.00 for an odd total.
In hockey, “even” is any draw in regular time, as well as a victory with an advantage of an even number of goals. If one of the teams concedes one goal in the last minutes, it will remove the goalkeeper. Then the chances of one of the options increase: to win back or to concede two goals.
In volleyball, “even” in a separate set is also more likely than “odd”. The game is played up to 25 points, but at 23:23 – up to two points difference.