A Guide to Understanding Sports Betting Odds

When you are new to the world of sports betting, it can be a bit easy to get lost in some of the detail that comes on different apps and websites. One of the main difficulties that can come with betting on sports is how to actually understand what odds you are being given for a certain outcome. It is very important that you understand this and know what it means as it will play a large part in your online betting experience. 

How Are Odds Presented? 

Online sports betting sites and the best online sportsbooks tend to present their odds in different ways. This can come down to a number of factors such as personal preference of the site owner and also the country in which the site is based. As such, it is important that you have an understanding the different ways that betting odds are shown. Some of the most common include the following: 

Fractional Odds 

Some of the most common kinds of odds are fractional odds. They are (predictably) displayed as fractions, so will come up as 3-1 or 6-4. The way that you can work out how much you will get back on these odds is easy, as all you need to do is multiply the amount of the bets you place by the fraction. For example, if you were going to place a bet with £10 and the odds were 3-1, if that bet were to come in then you would be the winner of £30 profit and you will also get your £10 back too. 

When the odds aren’t as straight forward then you need to multiply your bet by the first number and then divide it by the second. As such, if you were to make a bet with £10 and the odds were 7-4, then you would get £17.50. Work this out by taking the 10 and multiplying it by 7 (70) and then divide that by 4, which comes to £17.50. 

You are going to be able to tell whether a bet is a favorite or not depending on whether the first number is bigger than the second. If the second number is bigger than that bet is a favorite but if the second number is smaller than that bet is an underdog.  

Decimal Odds 

A decimal odd is shown as one number and this number is the amount that someone would win based off of a £1 stake. For example, if the odds are listed as 6 then you would get £5 profit and the original £1 bet. You tend to find decimal odds don’t get used as much as fractional odds purely because of the fact people find fractional odds a bit easier to navigate. It will simply depend on the website you decide to use. 

Conclusion 

Sports betting is incredibly popular and done all over the world. If you want to get involved, then you should start learning about how to read odds as this is going to be very important when it comes to placing your bets.