So you’re getting into sports betting, and you want to understand odds.
Good. Let’s start with that. Understanding sports betting is critical to your success, therefore it’s important that we cover it in detail.
In this article, we will take a look at what America, decimal and fractional odds are, and cover them a bit in-depth.
Keep reading to get serious with sports betting.
What Are American and Decimal and Fractional Odds Formats?
When it comes to sports betting, the odds are displayed in a certain format. Currently, the most prominent three are American, Decimal, and Fractional formats.
They serve two purposes:
- The identify the probability of the outcome to which they are linked to
- They signal how much money you can win if you bet on that certain outcome
This might seem lucrative to a beginner like a betting strategy, but it is not recommended to rely on odds alone, as they influenced by a variety of factors beyond the relevant outcome.
A sportsbook can manipulate odds to incentivize a bet on certain criteria, and the probabilities for that event would surpass 10%, as the sportsbook would take a cut that has been ingrained into the odds.
Odds are also responsible for showing how much the book will charge for the bet.
Alright, let’s get in-depth on each.
American Format Odds
The most common is the American odds. These can be found on any online sportsbook. Reading and understanding the odds is confusing, if you don’t know what to look for.
So here are two examples to help you out.
There will be a number in brackets. It represents the odds. The American odds consist of two components. The first is the positive or negative sign. The second is the number that follows the sign.
The sign in front of the number shows if placing a bet on the outcome will pay more money then you have wagered. Or less then you have wagered.
So if the odds are negative, the outcome is likely to happen and the payout will be less than what you bet on it. While a positive odd is not likely to happen, but it would pay out more than you wagered.
So now you need to figure out how much the bet will payout. To do so, you take a look at the number.
A negative odd with 140 following it, -140 would show us how much money we need to bet to win $100.
So in order to win $100 in profits, you need to bet $140. You can substitute the $100 bet with a $10 bet, and move the decimal spot over. That means you need to bet $140 to win $10.
What if the odds are indicated as +120, then it shows us that if we bet $100 on the outcome, the bet would pay out $120 in profits. So instead of showing you how much you need to bet to win $100, it shows you how much you can win if you place $100.
The value of online sports betting is that the calculations are done on the spot. You click on an outcome, team, or whatever, input the wager and it will show you the payout right away.
This type of odds is also used in eSports. On that note, check out these best esports betting sites.
Decimal Format Odds
Decimal format is less common in America and is mostly used in Europe. This format is very straightforward, so to calculate the odds, you need to multiply the amount of your wager by the decimal odds, and you will get the payout.
If you want to place a $10 bet on the USA team at 2.40, you multiple $10 by 2.40 odds. Therefore, the payout is $24. Always remember that decimal format already includes the amount you wager, so to find out profits, you subtracted the wager. And the actual profits are $14.
Decimal format odds are easily calculated in your head, but they are rarely seen on North American sportsbooks, so you shouldn’t worry yourself with them. Unless you plan on doing wagers internationally.
Nonetheless, almost all online betting sites allow you to choose the odds on your display. So if you prefer decimal, use that.
Fractional Format Odds
This type of format is primarily pertinent to horse racing and is most common in the UK.
The odds would look like this 8/5 or 3/6. And you would say eight to five or three to six.
The number on the left presents how many times a book expects the outcome to fail. And the number on the right shows how many times the outcome is expected to succeed.
In order to calculate the winning, you take the wager and multiply it by numerator/numerator. So if you bet $10 on an 8/5 odd, your winnings would be $16.
You can also calculate the probability of an outcome by looking at the various horse statistics, but those are advanced techniques and should be left for involved research.
Understanding Sports Betting Without Hassle
Now that you know how to differentiate the types of odds, how they work, and how to calculate them, you are well on your way to making use of the provided information to help you place some bets and win some money.
You have finally put effort into understanding sports betting. And you know what? That’s what separates the best from the worst – Knowledge.
If you’re interested in learning more about sports betting, check out some of our other blogs.
Good luck with your bets!