Sports Betting Odds Explained & How They Work

They play a pivotal role in guiding your betting decisions, as they not only reflect the potential payout but also hint at the implied probability of an outcome. By comprehending the different odds formats and learning how to interpret them, you can make more informed choices and maximize your potential returns. Converting types of odds between formats is an essential skill for bettors who use various betting platforms. Although odds may be displayed differently, their underlying probabilities remain the same. In this section, we will provide a guide on how to convert decimal odds to fractional odds, fractional odds to decimal odds, decimal odds to moneyline odds and vice versa. By mastering these conversions, you can easily compare odds and make informed decisions across different sportsbooks and betting sites.

Any time a favorite wins/underdog loses by the exact point spread, the result is a push, meaning the sportsbook returns all money staked. Each of the odds formats represent a chance of winning, just displayed in a different way. Understanding what kind of return this will produce is done simply by multiplying your wager by the odds, with the addition of your initial wager returned as well.

NHL moneyline

When betting on a considerable underdog, if the team or individual athlete wins, you will receive considerably more money on the money line than when betting on a successful favorite. With point spreads, the point differential takes care mostbet of this, and you will more likely receive close to even money on either side. Here, we look at the various betting odds and break them down in detail. They reveal how bookmakers perceive each team or event and indicate your potential return on a winning wager.

They are predominantly used in the United States and can look like –150 (favorite) or +130 (underdog). The best odds to bet on in soccer are the odds that are lower, since those indicate the favourite to win, and that is likely to happen. Here, the plus (+) indicates the underdog in the match and the minus (-) indicates the favourite to win. One thing to keep in mind is that Money Line odds are always calculated against a base of $100. These odds will never be an integer less than one and there are usually two decimal places after the integer. If the odds are decimals greater than 2, then generally the outcome is less likely to occur.

For an NBA basketball game, the Boston Celtics could be -150 to win against the Los Angeles Lakers, who are priced at +130. Because of its global reach and reasonable pricing in the basketball and soccer markets, bet365 frequently leads in terms of value. Decimal odds are the most straightforward when calculating probability, with just a single and supremely simple bit of math. For Fractional odds, the formula is also quite easy—just flip the fraction into numbers and plug them in. Outplayed.com acts as an aggregator of operator sites which are licensed by the Gambling Commission.

• You can bet on things like Patrick Mahomes to score the most TDs, Mike Trout to hit the first home run in a game, or Russell Westbrook to get the most rebounds.
• Comprehending betting odds is critical for successful sports betting.
• They reveal how bookmakers perceive each team or event and indicate your potential return on a winning wager.

We can go a bit farther now that you understand how to read American, fractional, and decimal betting odds. These odds are typically used to calculate the likelihood that a wager will win. After dissecting each of the main odds formats, let’s examine how odds represent chance in more detail and how knowing this may help you identify value in your wagers. To non-Americans, moneyline odds are the most confusing of all. To start with, they come in two different formats, depending on the likelihood of an outcome.

Betting Odds and Payouts

Futures odds are a dynamic representation of the betting market’s collective belief in the likelihood of various long-term events. As new information and performance data emerge, odds can change drastically, reflecting the changing probabilities of the outcomes. Bettors should closely monitor the odds and consider the factors influencing their fluctuations to make well-informed betting decisions.

You can either say that a football team can be backed at odds of 2/1 or that their price is 2/1. As you can see, the combined implied probability of the selections above is 100%. That’s because, presuming they’ve got the same amount of liability on each selection, they’d never make any money as they’d have to collect and payout the same amount. Like we mentioned before, the favorite always has a lower payout to balance the higher odds of winning. Calculating the odds of the favorite winning takes one extra step but it’s still really straightforward.