Without understanding and learning how to calculate odds, no one can place winning bets. As a beginner looking to dip their feet in online gambling, your first step should be understanding how the odds work. Odds reflect your winning chances, and bookmarkers decide how much you’ll get if your wager is successful. Even though these odds may look confusing at first, they’re pretty easy to understand.
What Are Betting Odds?
Betting odds are the available bets on sporting events created by the bookmarkers to represent the likelihood of an event happening. Odds are represented in either the fraction form, the decimal form. Or the American or Moneyline form. Through odds, players can place their wagers and win if these odds turn out to be true.
What Is Probability?
Probability is how likely an event is to occur; for example, a coin toss can only have two outcomes; heads or tails. So, the probability of getting either outcome is 50%. This is how you can select betting odds to make winning wagers.
Calculate Probability From Odds
Since odds are set out with 2 numbers, you can easily use them to figure out the probability of the winning team in any sporting match. All you have to do is calculate the chance of the event happening in percentage. If the percentage is higher, you should place the bet. For example, a 10/1 odd has a 9% chance of winning, while a 4/1 odd has a 20% chance of winning.
How To Read Odds?
To read odds, you need to first understand the different kinds of odds. The three most common odds are explained below.
American Odds
As the name suggests, these odds are popular with American sporting events. They are also referred to as Moneyline bets. In this, you have the favorites with a higher chance of winning denoted by a (-) sign and the underdogs with a lower winning chance, denoted by (+). You’re more likely win with favourites, but the payout is lower. For the underdogs, the opposite is true.
Fractions
With fractions (/) slash symbol is used—for example, 1/2 or 5/1 for favorites and underdogs, respectively. You’ll need to bet $20 to win 10 for the first bet, while you’ll only need to wager $10 to win $50 for the underdogs. But the chances of the underdogs winning are slim.
Decimals
In decimal odds, the number refers to the number of winnings per $1. For example, an odd of 3.25 would get you a total payout of 3.25 on each $1 you wager.
Want to get started on sports gambling but don’t know where to begin? Head over to our website, Betting Sites Ranking. We offer a list of the best sportsbooks for you to choose from. You can even look at the ranking and reviews done by our experts, along with comparing your favorite online casinos. Look up top local betting sites as well the top bets in your country.
