Betting odds explained

Betting on sports is directly linked with betting odds or prices. Betting odds depict the return on investment someone will have from his bet. That's the reason why betting odds are also called prices. Another way to understand betting odds, is to realize that its nothing else than the probability of an event to come true.

There are 3 major betting odds formats that are going to be explained below. Usually, if you open an online betting account there will be an option to select the type of format you want the betting odds to appear as.

The three betting odds explained below are Decimal odds, Fractional odds and American odds

Decimal odds

The most common format of betting odds for sports are Decimal Odds. This odds format is bee used in most of the world and is also known as European or Continental odds format.

Examples of decimal odds are 1.5, 2.2 , 3.00 etc. If the odds are sort,i.e 1.3 then that means that the team you are backing is a favourite to win the match according to the bookie. High decimal odds i.e 5.00 mean that the bookmaker estimates that this outcome has less chances to come.

You returns are always the amount you bet times your decimal odds.

Lets have a look at an example of decimal odds.

If you bet 50 Pounds/Euros at odds of 2.00 and your bet wins then your returns will be 50X2.00=100. Your initial stake is always included in your estimated returns.

Fractional Odds

This type of betting odds format are traditional in the UK and Ireland. Examples of fractional odds are 4/6, 1/1 (or evens), 3/1 etc. The smaller the fraction the more chances the bet has to come according to the bookies estimation while the higher the fraction then the less chances of that outcome according to the bookmaker. Fractional odds of X/Y are repesenting that for every Y amount you bet you make a profit of X amount plus your initial stake back.

For example with a fraction of 4/6 (four to six) someone will make a profit 4 Pounds/Euros if they bet 6 Pounds/Euros plus their initial 6 Pounds/Euros back.

American Odds

American odds format is primarily used by US players and are also known as money line odds. American Odds are indicated with a + or a – sign. When there is a + sign that shows the amount someone will win for every 100 they stake. A – sign shows how much someone needs to stake to win 100.

For example, a bookmaker offers odds +100 for a team to win on NFL. That means that betting $100 will return $100 ( plus the initial stake $100 totally $200) . This doesn’t mean that the betting amount has to be $100. Someone can bet $50 and get back 100X50/100 = 50 and adding the initial stake total returns of $100. Alternatively if the odds where -200 ( which indicates betting on the favourite ) then someone will have to bet $200 in order to make $100 profit. So with a $50 stake they will win $25 p;us the initial stake of $50, total $75.

How to transform fraction odds to decimal odds

Most people will find decimal odds to be easier to calculate when betting on sports. It is very easy to transform fractional to decimal odds if you need to. Just divide the fraction and add 1. So for example a fraction of 1 /2 will be 1 /2 = 0.5 +1 =1.5 in decimal.

You can also read about betting on sports as well as how to bet online.