Odds is a term that has become an extremely important factor in the modern sports betting world. The odds that are offered by a bookie are created from a number of different sources of information, such as the current value of the players or teams, the probability of the odds in question, as well as value of the bet that’s being offered.
Understanding how odds works is a vital milestone to increasing the chances of winning more often in sports betting, and one of the easiest ways of going about this is by first learning the various odds formats that are offered by bookies around the world. The first odds format that we will be looking are moneyline odds, which have become a standard in the modern betting world.
Moneyline Odds
Commonly known as American odds, these have become the standard for most sportsbooks around the United States, and for many parts of the world. The prices that are offered are usually preceded by either a plus or minus symbol, such as -140 for team B, while team A has been given odds of +112. The minus here indicates the units the bettor will need to reach in order to win the bet for the team that are considered underdogs, which is usually added to 100 to give the better double what they put down if their wager is successful.
On the flip side of the coin, the plus represents what the bettor will make back the amount that is offered on top of the amount that they invested. If $100 was invested, and team A won the match, the bettor would then receive an amount of $212.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are more common to find in countries like Australia and New Zealand, as well as many parts of Europe. These are generally easier to understand than moneyline bets, are usually found on some of the more popular betting sites. This kind of wager involves multiplying the decimal odds offered by the sportsbook by the amount that was put on stake. The calculations here can vary, but for the most part, this is a tried and tested formula that most bookies have readily adopted around the world.
Fractional Odds
Finally we have fractional odds, which are the prices that are most commonly associated with older forms of betting, such as horse racing in the United Kingdom. These kinds odds work through calculating the amount of profit that is relative to how much the bettor puts into the wager. These are the kinds of odds that often come in terms of “9-4”, for example, which means that if the bettor is able to win, they would profit for a total of 13 points. This isn’t as popular for other forms of sports betting as the odds here are completely controlled by the bookies, and many of them can simply change the numbers to favour themselves in many cases.