How To Interpret Betting Odds

  

NHL Team prop betting odds are lines formed for games and during the season that do not really relate to the direct outcome of the game. For example, a team prop in a specific game might be something like the first team to score a goal in the match up. The bet is placed, and once the first team puts one in the back of the net, the bet is closed. Learn how to read the odds at VegasInsider.com. We provide betting resources to understand sports betting odds, point-spread odds, moneyline odds, over-under total odds, futures odds, halftime odds and much more for your sports betting needs. First there are the moneyline betting odds, which is the bet on who will win the event outright with no point spreads or other variables. You simply pick the team you think will win and place the bet. However, without using the odds, the payouts are usually much different then they would be with the odds in place. So, 7/5 fractional odds will become (7/5) + 1 = 1.4+1 = 2.4 as decimal odds. If you want to enter the world of betting, it’s crucial to interpret betting odds in different formats. While fractional odds and decimal odds are the most common ones, understanding the different kinds of cricket odds is always beneficial to make strategies.

Welcome to the Sports Betting Odds section of The Sports Geek. If you are new to sports betting and don’t understand how to read betting odds (+150, -110, +2200, etc) we will lay it all out for you and help you learn how the betting odds work.

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Sports Betting Odds Explained

Many people don’t know how to read or calculate sports betting odds, so below we have done our best on explaining how betting odds work. The most common type of sports betting odds used in North America are the American style odds which we explain below.

American Style Sports Betting Odds

Most online sportsbooks will list their odds in what is called “American Odds”. There are a couple different versions of sports betting odds, but these American Odds are the most common odds used. Reading and understanding sports betting odds can bet a little confusing to beginners, so we have provided an example below using two NFL football teams:

Explain

American Odds

  • Matchup Odds
  • New England Patriots +120
  • Pittsburgh Steelers -140

The number shown in the bracket represents the odds. The American Odds have two components to them, the first being the positive or negative sign, and the second being the number that follows the sign.

The sign in front of the number indicates whether placing a wager on that outcome will pay out more money then you have wagered or less money then you have wagered. If the odd is negative (-) it means that outcome is more likely to happen and placing a bet on that outcome would payout less than the amount you wagered, while a positive (+) odd shows that the outcome is less likely to happen and it would pay out more than the amount you wagered.

The next step is figuring out exactly how much the bet pays out, which is where the numbers in the odds come into play.

A listed odd with a – sign in front of it, such as the -140 in our example above, shows us how much money you would need to wager in order to win $100. So using the -140, this would show us that you would need to bet $140 in order to win $100 in profits. You can easily substitute the $100 bet for a $10 bet by moving the decimal place over one spot, showing us that you would need to wager $14 in order to win $10 in profits.

Examples:

A listed odd with a + sign in front of it, such as the +120 in our example above, shows us how much money you would win on a $100 bet. Using the +120 odds, it shows us that a $100 bet on that outcome would pay out $120 in profits. Again this can easily be converted into smaller or larger size bets. A $10 bet on +120 odds would pay out $12 in profits.

Examples:

Below is an example of NFL betting odds taken from an online betting site.

Interpret

In this example you can see Los Angeles is listed at +130 ($100 bet pays $130 plus of course your original wager back) and New England is listed at -150 ($150 bet pays $100).

The great thing about betting online is that the online sportsbooks will do the calculations for you before you place your bet. You can click on the outcome or team you would like to bet on, and then input the amount you wish to wager and it will show you your potential pay out before you confirm your bet.

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Decimal Style Sports Betting Odds

Decimal style odds are used mostly in Europe, and are pretty easy to understand. To calculate the decimal style odds all you will need to do is simply multiply the amount you wish to wager by the decimal odds shown and you will get your payout. For example it may look something like this:

How To Interpret Betting Odds -110

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on the USA at 2.40 you would simply need to multiply your $10 wager by the 2.40 odds (10 x 2.40) to find out that the payout is $24. It is important to realize that with decimal style odds it includes the amount you wagered, so to find out profits you would need to subtract your wager ($24 – $10) to find out your potential payout is $14 in profits.

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on Brazil you would again just multiply $10 x 1.55 to find out that you would win $15.50 total or $5.50 in profits.

Decimal style betting odds are very simple to understand, but you won’t see them displayed in many North American sportsbooks. With that said, most online betting sites will allow you to chose the style of betting odds you want displayed, with American odds set as the default.

If you are planning to enter the betting or the gambling world, it is important to understand and interpret all types of odds well. Be it casinogambling, sportsbetting, or any other type, it’s important to understand the odds. Betting odds represent the probability of an outcome occurring and the winnings you will receive if your bet is a winner.

There are three fundamental types of betting odds: American (Moneyline) odds, Fractional (British) odds and, Decimal (European) odds. These are distinct ways of presenting the same thing and hold no difference in terms of payouts.

American odds

The odds for favorites are accompanied by aminus (-) sign, showing the amount you need to stake to win $100. Meanwhile, the odds for underdogs are accompanied by a positive (+) sign, indicating the amount won for every $100 staked. In both cases, you get your initial wager back, in addition to the amount won. The difference between the odds for the favorite and the underdog widens as the probability of winning for the favorite increases.

Fractional odds

Fractional odds are the ratio of the amount (profit) won to the stake; Decimal odds represent the amount one wins for every $1 wagered; and American odds, depending on the negative or positive sign, either indicate the amount one needs to wager to win $100 or the amount one would win for every $100 staked.

For example, with odds of 4/1, for every $1 you bet, you will win $4. There is a 20% chance of this happening, calculated by 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20.

How To Interpret Betting Odds

Total Return = [Stake x (Numerator/Denominator)] + Stake
where numerator/denominator is the fractional odd, e.g. 28/6.

Decimal odds

The favorites and underdogs can be spotted instantaneously by looking at the numbers. The decimal odds number represents the amount one wins for every $1 wagered. For decimal odds, the number represents the total return, rather than the profit.

Read

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The total (potential) return on a stake can be calculated as:

Total Return = Stake x Decimal Odd Number

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