How To Read Sports Betting Odds

For a fresher, new to the field of sports betting, it may be a struggle to get around the technical terms and understand the various factors and elements involved in a sportsbook or bet sheet. One of the most important factors that bettors must learn is to read the odds.

Bookmakers use odds as a measurement of showing the possibility of the occurrence of a certain event. The lower the odds, the higher the chances of the outcome to happen. The odds can also show the profit a bettor could possibly gain by winning a bet. The higher the odds, the larger the payout that the bet could offer.

There are chances that the bookmakers can tamper with the odds to bring in more bettors to their website. Hence it is of utmost importance that you research and start your betting journey with trusted and licensed gambling websites like Betrino.

To start with, you must know that odds can be presented in multiple ways, and the system changes every time the formation changes. There are three standard ways odds are presented: American odds, fractional odds, and decimal odds.

American/Moneyline Odds:

These types of odds may not be as straightforward as the decimal or fractional odds. It works with $100 dollars as a base, and its relation with the $100 varies between the favourites and the underdog.

Favourites: These are the bets that are favoured and are denoted by a (-) sign. This number indicates how much you will have to bet inorder to win. For example, if the odds given are -120, then you must bet $120 to win $100.

Underdog: These are bets that are not favoured, and they are represented by a (+) sign. The number indicates how much you profit you will gain if you bet $100. For example, if the odds given are +250, then on winning a $100 bet, you will gain a profit of $250 along with the original $100 you bet.

To take an example, let’s imagine that a sportsbook releases the following odds:

Chiefs: -689
Steelers: +278

Here, the bookmakers have presented odds of -689 for the Chiefs. The (-) sign indicates that the team is the favourite, and this means that on betting $689, you can possibly receive $100 if you win the bet. The Steelers are indicated to be the underdogs with the (+) sign. This means that on betting $100, you will receive a profit of $278 along with the original $100.

British/Fractional Odds:

These types of odds are more common with the British or Irish bookies. Some American bookmakers also feature such odds. They are represented by a slash (/) or hyphen (-).

A fractional odd of seven to one (7/1) indicates the possibility of gaining a profit of $7 if you place a bet of $1. This means that if a fractional odd is the ratio of the profit over the bet placed. For example, if you place a bet of $10, with the fractional odds being, (7/1), then you will stand a possibility of gaining a profit of $70 along with $10 you had placed.

If the odd is a more complex fraction, then the math would be like this: To calculate the win offered by a $10 bet, with the odds being 6/4, you must first multiply the bet with the numerator, which will give you 60. Now, divide 60 with the denominator 4, which gives 15. This indicates that you will possibly get a profit of $15 along with the original $10.

You can differentiate the favourite and underdog by the size of the denominator. The favourite will have a denominator larger than the numerator (½ or ⅖ ). On the other hand, the underdog will have a denominator lesser than the numerator (2/1 or 3/2).

Decimal Odds:

These types of odds are usually used in continents, such as Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. These are easy to work with because the favourites and underdogs can be identified instantly.

These types of odds present the total payout you could receive if you win a bet. This means that the odds are the sum of both the profit and bet you place. For example, on placing a bet of $100, with the odds of a team winning being $4, then the total payout you could possibly receive will be $400, and out of this, $300 will be the profit gained and $100 will be the bet placed.

Bets are only one of the factors when it comes to sports betting. There are many more, such as types of bets, head-to-head history, team performance, Home vs Away, and more. It is important that you research and understand how sports betting works before you embark on your exciting betting adventure. This will help you make better decisions and form efficient strategies that increase your chances of winning.