Explaining Betting Odds

If you’re going to bet on sports, you need to understand the odds before you put any cash down. There’s no way for you to know the risk involved in your particular wager or the potential payoff unless you know how betting odds work. If you’re looking for the best odds at an online sportsbook, be sure you check out Bovada.

• Explain Betting Odds In Horse Racing
• Explain Betting Odds Mma
• Understanding Betting Odds Sports
• Understanding Betting Odds Football
• Explain Las Vegas Betting Odds
• Explaining Sports Betting Odds
• Explain Betting Odds

It’s essential to understand that odds are a determination of how a specific event may play out. They are not saying that the event will end in the manner predicted. They predict the likelihood of an outcome.

NFL spread betting is probably the most common and popular way to bet on football as it adds some excitement and better odds from just picking an outright winner. If you are new to betting the NFL altogether, be sure to check out our great How to Bet on the NFL guide. Here is an example of a point spread for an NFL game and how it would look. Betting Odds Explained. Essentially, the concept of betting odds is very simple: taking football as an example, if one team is stronger then they will attract a short price and your profit will be smaller but if the weaker side causes an upset and wins the match, your return, based on longer odds, will be considerably greater. How to Understand Sports Betting Odds Example of a Game on an Odds Board. This is an example of an NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. Rotation Numbers. Rotation numbers are commonly used at in-person sportsbooks. These numbers are provided for bettors to.

Betting Odds Explained – A Beginner’s Guide to Gambling Using Betting Odds to Calculate Probability. Whenever you see two numbers separated by a trailing slash, i.e. Using Betting Odds to Calculate Winnings. Betting odds allow you to calculate how much money you will win if you make.

Those wagering on the favored team usually do so at a disadvantage, while those wagering on the underdog are given an edge. Sportsbooks do this in an attempt to even out the bets so that there’s an equal amount of cash placed on each team.

When wagering, you’ll find that there are three basic ways that odds are listed:

Enter the odds in any format and click Convert

Odds Conversion Guide

To convert decimal odds to fractional, subtract 1.00 and then find the nearest whole integers (so 3.75 - 1.00 becomes 2.75/1, or 11/4).

To convert moneyline odds to decimal, if the moneyline is positive, divide by 100 and add 1. If it is negative, divide 100 by the moneyline amount (without the minus sign) and add 1.

To convert fractional odds to decimal, divide the first figure by the second figure add 1.00 (so 11/4 = 2.75, then add 1.00 = 3.75).

Fractional Odds

• Used mainly in the UK and in international horse racing. Becoming less popular online.
• Tell you the amount of profit relative to your stake if you win your bets.
• For example, if you bet £10 at odds of 3/1, you receive £30 profit if you win.

Decimal Odds

• Common around the world but especially in Europe. Standard on betting exchanges such as Betfair.
• Convey the total amount you will receive if you win, including the return of your stake.
• For example, if you bet £10 at odds of 3.75, you will receive £37.50 in total if you win.

Moneyline Odds

• Used by most US bookmakers.
• Based on a straight single bet (on a single outcome, without a points spread)
• If the moneyline is positive, the amount quoted is the amount you would win on a $100 bet.
• If it is negative, the amount quoted is what you would need to bet to win $100.

American

U.S. odds are reflected in the moneyline or line. They’re expressed in whole numbers with the number for the favored team showing a minus and the number for the team that is not favored having a plus in front of it.

Here is a moneyline for football:

This betting line favors the Colts. Indy is listed at 2:1. That means for every $2.00 bet the payout would be $3.00. That includes the $2.00 you wagered plus a profit of $1.00. If you take the Bears, the odds would be 1:4. On a $1.00 bet Chicago, which is the underdog, would pay a total of $5.00. That includes the $1.00 bet and the $4.00 payout.

The bettor always gets a bigger payout when they assume a greater risk. The more the risk, which would reflect the unlikely chance of something happening, the more you profit if the bet is won. Consider that a team that’s listed at -200 has a 66.66% chance of winning, while a team at +400 has a 20% chance of victory.

Fractional

Fractional odds, which are also known as English odds, are a bit easier to understand. If the same NFL game were listed using the fractional system it would look like this:

With this type of listing, the first number in the fraction, the numerator, is the amount you would wager and the second number, the denominator, is the payout amount. The payouts and risk in this example are exactly the same as that in the American example, with the Colts paying a $1.00 profit for every $2.00 bet and the Bears offering a $4.00 profit for every $1.00 wagered.

Decimal

You’ll find decimal odds used most often in Europe and for this reason they are known as European odds. These may be the most confusing to American bettors because the math is hidden.

Once again using the same example from the NFL, the decimal odds would be displayed in this manner:

In this system, the smaller the number the less risk involved and the better the chances are that a team will be victorious. To understand how much you will win, you would multiply the amount wagered by the betting line.

In this example, on a $1.00 bet on Chicago you would get back a total of $5.00 and on a $2.00 bet on the colts, you’d realize $3.00. As you can see, regardless of the format of the betting lines, the payout is the same.

Odds are Skewed

Betting odds can be given in various ways. The important thing to understand is they’re not “real.” They are skewed to ensure that the sportsbooks make a profit.

Built into the odds is the sportsbook’s commission, which is silently collected on every bet. In real life, the Colts probably have less of a chance of winning and should pay more while the Bears are even more likely to lose than the odds reflect and should also pay more.

Those are the basics to understanding odds. If you’re an American bettor, then chances are you’ll be using the U.S. version. Europe or other parts of the world, you’re going to encounter the two other types of listings.

Understanding Payouts

There are a few important aspects of sports betting payouts that you must understand in order to ensure that you’re able to take full advantage of wagering opportunities and to successfully manage your bankroll.

First we’ll take a look at some basic odds and related payouts and then we’ll consider some of the finer aspects of the payout.

You must be able to read the odds listed in order to understand how much you will make on a bet. The amount of cash that you make, your profit, is your payout. Some sports bets, such as those involving a point spread, usually pay approximate odds of 1:1. That means for every dollar wagered, you’re going to get that dollar plus another buck if you win your wager.

Here’s a look at the three ways of expressing odds that you’ll usually find listed for a favorite.

Each of these expressions of odds represents the same wager and payout. For every $2.00 bet, you win a dollar, making the total amount of cash you get back $3.00 ($2.00 bet + $1.00 payout = $3.00 return).

These are an example of the type of odds given for a team that’s not favored.

These odds tell you that for every $1.00 you bet, you’re going to get $2.00 back. The payout on this sports bet is $2.00 ($1.00 bet + $2.00 payout = $3.00 return)

Notice that you get the same amount of cash back on both bets but that you actually make double on the second wager. Never confuse “return,” which is the total amount of cash you get back when you win, with “payout,” which is actually how much you make. When it comes to sports betting you’re biggest concern is how big the payout is in relationship to how much you wagered.

The Commission

One element that many new bettors are not aware of is the commission that is paid by gamblers to bookies or sportsbooks. The commission is often referred to as vig, vigorish or juice.

This part of sports betting is important because it alters your payout, lessening it. Here’s the way it works. Vig can be readily seen in point spread betting and when you bet on the favorite using the moneyline.

Although the spread odds expressed in sports betting are 1/1, they are really approximately 1/1.10.

Explain Betting Odds In Horse Racing

Here’s why:

When you place a $1.00 point spread wager, you place the dollar bet plus 10%. Thus, you would place $1.10 on a team to win $1.00. You get back your original bet, $1.10, and the one-dollar payout. But if this were a true 1/1 wager, your payout would be $1.10. What happens to the 10 cents? That’s the sportsbook’s commission.

The same can be seen with the -110 moneyline. In order to win $100 on that moneyline, you must put up $110. The way bookies make their commission on the moneyline is they charge more than they should to bet on the favorite and undercut the payout on the underdog. Thus, the vig is often hidden, but it is there.

Managing Your Bankroll

It’s important that you learn how to manage your sports betting bankroll and that means keeping track of all wagers, loses and payout. When looking at a potential payout always consider the risk involved in the bet and what percentage of your bankroll you’re willing to commit to that bet. Never risk more than 5% of your bankroll on a bet.

Understanding the payout in relationship to the amount of money risked and the total return is important to be able to manage your bankroll and sports betting business.

When Is It Too Late to Make a Bet?

When is it too late to make a bet? When the game is over. But the more complex answer has to do with how much you have to wager, what your objective is and how much you’ve lost or won.

Here are some guidelines that will help you decide when you should wager on props when the odds are becoming more favorable, diminishing odds, and when you should bet on propositions whose odds are going up or expanding:

Diminishing

There are various times when you should play props whose odds are going from being long shots to sure shots. With a diminishing odds bet, the chance of the prop being a winner is becoming more certain. Bets in this category range from 2-1 to 1-4.

Play these in the following situations:

• You’re way ahead and wagering numerous units.
• You’re behind and wagering one unit at a time.
• The game is near the end and you’re ahead. Bet one to three units.
• You’re ahead and want to preserve winnings. Bet one unit.

The above situations are all designed to make sure that you limit your loses. Along with wagering on bets that offer you low odds, make sure you bet on props about which you feel confident. The point is to give yourself the best chance of winning.

Expanding

As odds expand and go higher so do the payouts. Although commonsense tells you that these wagers are getting progressively more difficult to win, there are times that you should utilize them.

• You are way ahead and want to try to make a big score. Use only one or two units.
• It’s near the end of the game and you’re even. Go for a big play, big payout bet using one unit to try to put yourself over the top.
• The team with expanding odds is actually on a role. (It can happen).
• Bet on the defense if there are expanding odds on its side and it needs to make a big play. Use one unit.

Betting on these scenarios isn’t as foolhardy as you might think since you are limiting how much you’re going to wager, lessening your loses. Stay away from tossing a lot of cash on a bet that has expanding betting lines. If you don’t, you may see your cash diminish quickly.

The thing to remember about live sports betting is that as the game goes on and things change, the odds will also change. As they do, you can take advantage of them in various ways. Also, be careful not to bet too much.

Learn More About Strategy

To properly understand sports betting, you need to understand
odds. They are an integral part of any sports wager, and they are used
to determine whether a wager is worth making or not. The
potential payout of any wager you place is calculated using a
combination of the relevant odds and your stake.

On this page, we explain about odds in some detail. We define
exactly what they are and the role they play. We also look at
the three different formats in which they can be expressed, and
explain why odds on the same outcome can vary with different
bookmakers.

What Are Odds?

In sports betting terms, odds basically serve two purposes.
First, they are used to calculate the payouts of winning wagers.
Every time you place a bet with a bookmaker, you’ll be offered
odds at the time, which impact how much you can win. The higher
they are, the more you stand to win relative to your stake.

Second, odds also reflect the likelihood of any particular
outcome happening. The more likely an outcome, the lower they
will be. This makes perfect sense, as you would expect to win
less when betting on an outcome that’s likely than when betting
on an outcome that is unlikely.

Imagine a tennis match where the player ranked number one in
the world is pitted against the player ranked 137th. It stands
to reason that the best player in the world is going to be
considered more likely to win than his opponent. Therefore, a
wager on his winning would have very low odds; a wager on his
opponent winning would have much higher odds.

This is a somewhat simplified explanation, but it gives a
general idea of the role of odds in sports betting.

Different Odds Formats

As you can see, the fundamental principle behind odds is
really quite straightforward. Things are slightly complicated by
the fact that there are three different formats of odds as
follows:

• Moneyline/American Odds
• Decimal Odds
• Fractional Odds

Chances are, at some point, you’ll encounter each of these
formats. For this reason, it pays to be familiar with each one.
They all work in essentially the same way–basically just
different ways of expressing the actual odds for any particular
wager.

Moneyline or American Odds

Moneyline odds are also known as American odds, and this is
the format most commonly used in the United States. They can be
displayed as either a positive or a negative number. A positive
number expresses how much a correct wager of $100 would win,
while a negative number expresses how much you would need to
stake in order to win $100.

If you saw odds of +150, you would know that a $100 bet could
return $150 in winnings, plus the initial stake of $100. If you
saw -150, you would know you need to stake $150 to return $100
in winnings, plus the initial stake of $150. An even money wager
(where you stand to win an amount equal to your stake) is
expressed as +100.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds used to be associated mostly with mainland
Europe, Canada, and Australia. However, they have now largely
become the standard at most online bookmakers with the exception
of some US betting sites. This is because they are the most
straightforward of the three formats and are expressed simply as
a single positive number, typically to two decimal places.

The number shows how much the total payout will be, including
the original stake per unit staked. For example, a winning bet
at 1.5 would return a total of $1.50 for every $1 staked. A
winning bet at 2.25 would return a total of $2.25 for every $1
staked. An even money bet is expressed as 2.00.

Explain Betting Odds Mma

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are the traditional format used in the United
Kingdom, although decimal odds are slowly taking over.
Calculating potential profits and payouts with this format can
be a little tricky, certainly to start with, but the basic
principle isn’t as complicated as it might seem. As with
moneyline odds, fractional odds show how much potential profit
you can make. To calculate the total potential payout, you have
to add your original stake.

As the name suggests, these odds are displayed as a fraction.
A simple example is 3/1, which is said as “three to one”. 5/1 is
said as “five to one”, and so on. With 3/1, you can win three
units for every one unit staked, and with 5/1 you can win five
units for every one unit staked. 1/1 is even money, so you can
win one unit for every unit staked. As you can see, this is
quite straightforward so far.

Understanding Betting Odds Sports

Things get slightly more complicated, because this format also
includes examples such as 6/4, 11/10, and 5/2. The math involved
is thus not always so simple. With 6/4, you can win six units
for every four units staked, which is equal to 1.5 units per
unit staked. With 11/10, you can win eleven units for every ten
units staked, or 1.1 units per unit staked.

Whenever the first number is larger than the second, this is
said to be “odds against.” These are basically the equivalent of
positive moneyline odds in that the potential profit is greater
than the amount staked. Things get even more complicated as
there are also “odds on” odds. These are the equivalent of
negative moneyline odds in that the potential profit is less
than the amount staked.

An example of odds on is 1/4 is said as “four to one on”. 4/7
is “seven to four on”, and so on. With 1/4, you can win one unit
for every four units staked, and with 4/7 you can win four units
for every seven units staked.

Understanding Betting Odds Football

Converting Odds Formats

If you ever want to convert odds from one format to another,
there are some reasonably straightforward calculations you can
do. We can save you the bother, however, as we offer a useful
tool which will automatically convert any odds from one format
to another. You can find this tool on the following page.

Why Odds Vary on the Same Outcome

Explain Las Vegas Betting Odds

For a lot of wagers on sporting events, you’ll see that
different bookmakers offer different odds. For example, one
might have a football team at +130 to win a match, while another
might have the same team to win the same match at +120. To
explain this, we expand on a statement made earlier.

When we said that odds reflect the likelihood of a particular
outcome happening, it would have been more accurate to say that
they reflect how likely a particular outcome will happen in the
view of the bookmaker. Predicting how likely any outcome is in a
sporting event isn’t an exact science, and it essentially comes
down to a matter of opinion.

This is why the odds in sports betting are variable, because not
all bookmakers will have exactly the same view on how likely a
particular outcome is. Odds can also be affected by other
factors, such as the amount of money a bookmaker has taken on a
particular market. What this means is that the odds that a
bookmaker sets for a wager aren’t always an accurate reflection
of the true likelihood of the relevant outcome happening.

Explaining Sports Betting Odds

Therefore, it’s possible to put the odds in your favor when
betting on sports. If you’re able to correctly predict the
outcome of sporting events often enough, you can consistently
turn a profit. It’s not easy, but if you can combine your sports
knowledge with an understanding of certain key aspects of
betting, it can definitely be done.

Explain Betting Odds

Odds are one of those key aspects, and you hopefully now
understand how they work and why they vary. You should also
understand why the use of odds is the main reason why bookmakers
make money, which we explain in the next article.