1. Understanding Odds In Sports Betting
2. Sports Betting Odds
3. Understanding Odds In Sports

Understanding Sports Odds
by Spencer Patton - 11/21/2008

Remember when we all thought 'when are we ever going to use this math' while we were in school? Well, here's one of those rewarding chances to do some simple math, yet have it pay you in real dollars. Understanding sports odds is the first essential step in making an informed sports wager.

Sports odds, whether you’re in a land-based casino or reading your favorite online sportsbook, are always heavily influenced by what’s coming out of Sin City as they generally have the last word. Understanding sports betting is integral for beginners and here we will provide a comprehensive understanding of all that encompasses betting odds. Sports Odds Explained: American Odds. If you don’t know how to calculate sports betting odds, don’t worry, you’re not alone. The most common type of sports odds used in North America is American Odds, which uses a plus/minus system for calculating payouts. Odds are displayed in a variety of different formats, but all are easy to understand You can use odds to calculate the implied probability of a certain outcome in a sporting event Understanding how to read odds is a crucial step to becoming a successful sports bettor.

Step 1: Identify the type of line you are looking at. All online sports books offer you the chance to have your lines in an 'American' or 'Money line' version. If I were you, I would use this as my standard. An 'American' line uses either a + or - before a number to indicate odds. So a -120 and a +120 are two very different odds on a team… I will explain the differences shortly. Two other less common variations exist: decimal odds and fractional odds.

Briefly:

--Fractional odds are most commonly found in racing. A 10/1 payout should be read '$10 paid for every $1 wagered.' When the bigger number is on the left, you will find that bet is normally an underdog in the race. Also note, however, that in case such as 'Who will win the Super Bowl in the NFL?' you will see all the teams listed as 'underdogs'… i.e. paying at least 2/1 (some up to 300/1 or more).
--Decimal odds are largely used in Europe. Essentially, unless you are forced to use these, do not. For 99 percent of bettors today, American/Money Line or Fractional odds will serve much better.

Step 2: Identify the favorite. Lines with a - before the number (i.e. -200) indicate the favorite. A -200 should be read as: 'For every $200 wagered, I win $100.' When there is a negative sign, the line should always be read with relation to 100. That does not mean you have to bet that much, it's just easiest to understand! When a + sign is present, just reverse the reading, always keeping reference to 100:

Examples:

1) -150: For every $150 wagered, I win $100 ($50 wagered would win $25).
2) +300: For every $100 wagered, I win $300 ($50 wagered would win $150).
3) 100 (can be either +/-): For every $100 wagered, I win $100 ($50 wagered would win $50).
4) Most commonly: -110: For every $110 wagered, I win $100.

You see '4' most commonly because the extra $10 you have to bet to win $100 is called the 'juice' that the books keep as a fee for making the line available to you.

The most important thing you can teach yourself early on is: 'Just because the books assign one side to be the favorite (even large, -200 or -300, favorites), does not mean that they will win.' We have all seen favorites get upset, and it is important to avoid the temptation of finding comfort in the fact that the lines makers put one team as a favorite.

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Understanding The Different Sports Odds And How They Work

Understanding Odds In Sports Betting

Being a fan of sports is an exciting thing to be–you get to cheer for your favorite team or player, you get to feel the excitement and the thrill, of each game even though you are not playing with your favorite team, and you can even bet on the games played–and win real money along the way.

However, before you bet on sports, you have to understand the basics of it first, especially when it comes to online sports betting. One thing you can do is to read betting sites in India detailed reviews, among other things. Other than that, one of the most important things that you should know about is the odds–what is it, how the bookies use it, and how you should understand it.

What you should know about the odds

A lot of people think that the odds and the lines in sports betting show the probability of a certain team or player winning or showing which side of the game has a better chance of winning it. While that is technically what you would mean by odds, the odds given out by the bookmakers are not always like that.

Most of the time–no, in fact, ALL of the time–sportsbooks give out odds more as a way to balance out their income and turn the number of bets according to their favor. In sports betting, this is called controlling the “action.” At the end of the day, being a sports bookmaker is still a business and just like all businesses, they have to earn money, too. So, what they do is adjust the odds based on the current number of bets that they have on either side of the game, to push more people to bet on the other side. In this way, they ensure that they earn their money no matter how the game would turn out in the end.

Now that you understand how odds work, it’s time to get a better understanding of the different types of odds and how to read them.

The three types of betting odds

There are at least three types of odds in sports betting–American, UK, and European odds. Although they are written in different formats, they all show you the same thing: the probability of a team or player winning against the other (or at least the way the bookies want you to think, and the amount of profit you can make on the bet).

American odds

American odds are also called Moneyline odds. IN this type of odds, you would see two sides of the game–the favorite and the underdog. The favorites would be noted with a negative (-) sign, while the underdogs would have the positive (+) sign.

Reading American or Moneyline odds is simple: you simply take the absolute value of the odds (disregard the sign) and that would be the profit that you can make for every $100 wagered, should you win the bet.

European odds

This is also called decimal odds since it is presented in decimal format. Simply put, all you have to do is multiply your based bet by the odds and that is what you are to win for the bet. So, the odds of 2.5 would be $5 for $2 wagered.

UK odds

Also called the fractional odds, UK odds are–as its name implies–presented as a fraction. It is easy to read, too. The denominator shows the amount to bet while the numerator shows the profit you can make should you win the bet. Thus, odds of 5/1 means you get $5 for every $1 wagered.

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