Totals

Most sporting events produce a total number of goals, points, shots or runs scored. The bookmaker decides on a spread of totals - if you think the final total will be bigger, buy at the top quoted figure (HIGH) or if you think it will be lower, sell at the lower figure (LOW).

The unit stake is decided by you, and your winnings are then calculated using the difference between the high or low price and the final results total.

• If you buy, you will win your stake x the number of points above the high price, OR you will lose your stake x the number of points below the low price.
• If you sell, you will win your stake x the number of points below the low price, OR you will lose your stake x the number of points above the high price.

This is very different to fixed odds betting when you know exactly how much you can lose (your stake) and how much you can win (providing you take a price) when the bet is struck.

These principles hold firm for any market in which the total is expressed in terms of a spread, be it the number of goals scored in the World Cup or the total number of seats the Conservative Party win in the General Election.

Example

Wigan are playing against St Helens, and a spread firm quotes the total number of match points scored in the game as 49-52. For this type of bet it does not matter which side scores the points, simply how many there are altogether in the match.

If you feel that the match will be a high scoring affair you would buy at the higher quote (52). On the other hand, if you expect a low scoring game, you would sell the total goals at the lower quote (49). In this example, we will use a unit stake of £10 per point.

The game finishes with Wigan winning 22-20, meaning the total points equals 42. The two bets would work out as follows:

1. Buying at 52 for £10 a point. You wrongly predicted that there would be 52 or more points scored. You lose (52 - 42) x £10 stake = £100.
2. Selling at 49 for £10 a point. You correctly predicted that there would be 49 or less points scored. You win (49-42) x £10 stake = £70.