Comprehending And Deciphering Betting Odds For Sports Betting

Considering just how pivotal betting odds are in gambling, many punters still don’t know how to correctly read and interpret the probability of games. To clear the confusion and help ensure that you get the most value for your stake, we’ll be going over the basics of understanding and interpreting betting odds in this post.

A Basic Introduction To Betting Odds

Your sportsbook compiles the betting odds for a game. These odds represent the probability that an event will or will not occur. Express this probability in various ways, and we’ll get to that subsequently.

Probability In Betting – What To Know

As we’ve established, the betting odds you get for any sporting event are a function of probability. But just what is probability in this context? Probability is an expression of the likelihood of a given event occurring. As such, the more likely an event is to occur, the higher the odds are, and vice versa.

Understanding And Interpreting Betting Odds With Ease

Knowing the above, let’s understand and interpret betting odds correctly. Now, there are three ways that your sportsbook can offer you odds on a sporting event.

Fractional Odds And How To Interpret Them

Fractional odds are in the form of fractions. It can be 5/2, 8/4, 7, 3, or similar. By interpreting these odds, you can determine what you’ll get should your wager win. Let’s use betting odds of 5/2 and a stake size of $100 to wager that Liverpool will beat Chelsea in a match coming up by the weekend. Calculating this would be;

100 * 5/2 = $250

Should your wager come through, you’ll win $250.

Decimal Odds And How To Interpret Them

Decimal odds are every bit like fractional, with the only exception being that they come in decimal format. For example, 3.00, 6.00, or 9.00. As we mentioned, they’re similar to fractional odds. Let’s use betting odds of 3.00 and a stake size of $100 to wager that Chelsea will beat Liverpool in a match coming up by the weekend. All you need do is;

100 * 3.00 = $300

Should you have guessed right, you’ll win $300.

Money Line Odds And How To Interpret Them

Also called American odds, this betting format differs slightly from the others. It approaches establishing the probability of an event from the favorite underdog standpoint. For example, let’s call Liverpool the underdog at (+300) and Chelsea the favorite at (-150). Should you bet $150 on Liverpool to win, and they do, you get a reward of $300 plus your initial stake of $150, making a total of $450. If you bet the same amount on Chelsea and they win, you’d get a reward of $100, plus your stake of $150 to make $250.

Summary

And that’s all there is to understanding and interpreting odds at a fundamental level. However, you should ensure you add to your knowledge on this to become an even better bettor.

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