Bet Odds Meaning
- Football Bet Odds
- Premier Bet Odds Meaning
- Bet Against The Odds Meaning
- Bet Odds Meaning Chart
- Soccer Bet Odds
Nov 04, 2020 The three main types of betting odds are fractional (British) odds, decimal (European) odds, and American (moneyline) odds. These are simply different ways of presenting the same thing and hold no. For this article, we are going to specifically focus on American odds - the odds with the + or - in front of the number. The short answer to the question of 'what do the plus and minus signs before the odds number mean' is: a minus sign indicates a favourite to win, while a plus sign indicates an underdog. Anytime you see odds with a minus in front of it, take the number and that is what you would need to bet in order to win $100 in profit. So, a -450 number would mean that you would have to bet $450 in order to win $100 in profit back. On the other hand, an odds number with a 'plus' in front of it means that the team or player is an underdog. 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.
In the world of sports betting, a money line bet is simply betting on which team you expect to win. It doesn’t have anything to do with a spread. You may also see a money line bet listed as “Money Line” or “ML” in different spaces.
Money lines are represented in negative and positive values.
Negative money line: -145, -220, or anything similar
When you see a minus (-) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the favorite to win the game.
That number also indicates how much money you need to bet/spend in order to win $100.
For example, a -220 money line means you need to bet $220 in order to win $100 provided the team you bet on actually does win.
Heavy favorites are known in sports betting as a “chalk” pick. A heavy favorite usually has a number pushing +300 or more. Here, you’re wagering a lot on the favorite to win a little. Don’t assume that a heavy favorite, or chalk pick, is a guaranteed winner…
Positive money line: +145, +220, or anything similar
When you see a plus (+) sign in front of a price, it shows you that team is the underdog. Higher numbers like +400, +500, +5000, etc. represent how much of an underdog the team is in the game. The higher the number the more likely the team is expected to lose in the eyes of the oddsmakers.
The number also indicates how much money would win in comparison to every $100 you wager.
For example, a +150 money line means you would win $150 for each $100 wager you place should that team win the game.
Money line examples:
Lets use an NFL example here:
New England Patriots -240
Miami Dolphins +220
To bet the New England Patriots to win on the money line, you would need to spend $240 on the bet for a chance to win $100 if the Patriots beat the Dolphins. Your return would be $340 – the original $240 stake (bet) and the $100 bet profit.
To bet the Miami Dolphins to win on the money line, you would spend $100 on the bet for a chance to win $220 if the Dolphins, as the underdog, beat the Patriots. Your return would be $320 – the original $100 stake (bet) and the $220 profit.
In both situations, it doesn’t matter if the team you bet on wins by one point or 100 points. You’re purely betting on the team you believe will win the game. As Al Davis said, “Just win, baby.” That’s exactly what you’d be looking for out of your selection. It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to happen or your original stake is lost.
- Betting odds tell you how likely an event is to happen
- They also tell you how much money you will win
- However, at first, they may seem confusing and complex
- Our comprehensive guide takes you step-by-step to explain them
If you’re new to betting, one of the first things you should do is learn how betting odds work. It’s critically important because it allows you to understand how likely an event is to happen, and what your potential winnings will be. At first, it may appear confusing, however, read our guide and let us explain it to you.
In gambling, odds represent the ratio between the amounts staked by parties to a wager or bet. Thus, odds of 3 to 1 mean the first party (the bookmaker) stakes three times the amount staked by the second party (the bettor).
What is Probability?
The most basic level, betting provides you with the ability to predict the outcome of a certain event, and if your prediction is correct, you will win money. For any given event, there are a certain number of outcomes. Take rolling a dice for instance. If someone rolls a dice, there are six possible outcomes. Therefore, if you bet that the person rolls a ‘one’, there is a 16.67% chance that will happen. What betting odds merely do is present how likely the event is to happen. Bookies most frequently in the UK do this as a fraction, i.e. 4/7, whilst the vast majority also offer the ability to view them as decimals. Again, let us talk you through them. All will become clear.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Probability
Whenever you see two numbers separated by a trailing slash, i.e. 10/1, this is known as fractional odds. From this, you can calculate how likely a given event is to happen with a calculation. For ease of explanation, let’s replace the numbers with letters i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Here is the calculation: Probability (%) = B / (A+B).
- 9/1 can be calculated as 1 / (9 + 1) = 0.10– There is a 10% chance that the event will happen.
- 4/1 can be calculated as 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20 – There is a 20% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/1 can be calculated as 1 / (1 + 1) = 0.50 – There is a 50% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/4 can be calculated as 4 / (4 + 1) = 0.80 – There is a 80% chance that the event will happen.
Hooray! We’re making progress. Given a fraction, we can now tell how likely (the probability) what we’re going to bet on will happen. Now let’s figure out how much money can be won using betting odds.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Winnings
Football Bet Odds
Betting odds allow you to calculate how much money you will win if you make a bet. Let’s use the same examples as before, with the same replacement of numbers for letters, i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Quite simply, for every value of B that you bet, you will win A, plus the return of your stake.
- 9/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £9.
- 4/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £4.
- 1/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £1.
- 1/4 for every £4 you bet, you will win £1.
What About Decimals?
Decimals are far more common on exchanges, such as Betfair, but all leading betting sites do give you the option to view betting odds in this format. They are an alternative to seeing betting odds in the fraction format, and in our opinion, are easier to work out. Here is the calculation: winnings = (odds * stake) – stake. Let’s illustrate it with some examples
- 9.0 can be calculated as (9.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £80 winnings.
- 4.0 can be calculated as (4.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £30 winnings.
- 2.5 can be calculated as (2.5 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £15 winnings.
- 1.25 can be calculated as (1.25 * £10 stake) – £10 stake =£2.50 winnings.
Premier Bet Odds Meaning
You can use our bet calculator to help you calculate winnings.
USE BET CALCULATOR
Decimal Odds Versus Fractional Odds
In truth, one isn’t better than the other but there is certainly a trend emerging towards decimal odds. Historically fractional odds were used in the UK, especially on racetracks and on the high street. There are two key differences. Generally, decimal odds are easier to understand. Based on this, there has a movement to attract more people to horse racing by making it more accessible to the average punter. Ten years ago, if you were going to Cheltenham, all the odds would be displayed as fractional odds. Now, they’re largely all in decimals. Don’t hesitate to check out our exclusive Premier League Betting Offers !
The second difference between the formats is that fractional odds only represent winnings, and do not include the returned stake compared to decimals which do include the stake. The transition from fractional odds to decimals largely kicked off with the growing popularity of the betting exchanges such Betfair. For odds to change slightly, it’s really difficult to marginally increase or decrease the probability without creating large fractions which are hard to compute for the punter.
Use Our Tool to Convert Betting Odds Into Your Favourite Format
Bet Against The Odds Meaning
Our odds converter toolwill allow you see odds in whatever format you like . Not only that, but it’ll tell you how likely the selection is to win!
Bet Odds Meaning Chart
In Summary
Betting odds represent the probability of an event to happen and therefore enable you to work out how much money you will win if your bet wins. As an 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.
Next steps
That’s it! Hopefully, that clears up betting odds. You should now have the knowledge to read betting odds, understand how likely it is to happen, and how much you stand to win.
Soccer Bet Odds
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