It is essential to have an idea of the odds and their formats offered by multiple online betting sites is essential to gain profit from wagering and creating betting strategies. It may seem a bit complicated for a person who visits online bookies for the first time to tell one figure of another, however, if you understand the basic principles, you will be able to analyze the markets and make correct choices whatever betting site you visit.
The definition of odds
Odds are the numbers that give a hint to a punter whether the event is more or less probable to happen. For instance, you want to wager on a sports betting event, say, a tennis match. You have two players that you can bet on: Player 1 and Player 2. If you see that Player 1 has 2 to 1 odds, you can guess that, according to the experts of the chosen bookmaker, Player 2 has more chances to win, and what is more, the number ‘2’ in the odds value, means that Player 2 has double chances to win in comparison to the Player 1. If the odds equal to each other, which is called the even odds, it means that both tennis players have approximately similar chances to become the winners.
The second thing you need to know about the odds is that they can come with a plus or minus sign: this is applied to the American odds. Don’t get confused by the additional values: this is simply another indicator of your possible winning or losing amount, which we will discuss in more detail further in the article.
How do bookmakers define the odds
If your bet wins, the bookmaker pays the amount of the stake, multiplied by the odds. You have to remember that any bookie has to gain profit from their gambling business, so the real odds are usually higher than those offered by a sportsbook; the difference between the real odd and the given one is the margin of a sportsbook.
Thus, it is obvious that the sportsbook needs to make a right forecast not only for the outcome of a certain event, but also think of how the bets will spread between the punters depending on the odds. The main purpose of the bookmaker is to gain their profit, so if a company supposes that a certain event is more likely to happen, and the bets on it will be very popular, the odds will be lowered for this event.
Types of odds
To start with, let’s concentrate on the most popular odds that are offered by the British, European, American, and Canadian sportsbooks. If you prefer betting on Asian markets, you will need to know a bit more, but let’s make first things first.
Decimal Odds
This odds type is probably the most popular at the European and British sportsbooks, so it will be reasonable to start with them, if you have no idea of betting at all. To count your possible winning, you have to simply multiply the bet amount to the odds. If the odds are a whole number, it means that both outcomes of an event have the same probability to happen.
Fractional Odds
The fractional format is very similar to the decimal one. It shows the correlation of the total winning amount to the amount of the bet you place on the event. If the fractional odds show you 1/1, it means that the chances for both outcomes are even.
American Odds
This odds type is a little more complicated, however, many people around the world use it and as soon as you understand how it works, you will not face any difficulties betting with American odds. These odds are counted on the base of a hypothetical bet of 100 with positive odds. In other words, American odds show how much you can win if you wager 100 USD on the event (we mean net win amount here, the bet amount is not included).
For instance, you see the odd of 120. It means that if you bet 100 USD on the event with such an odd, and your choice is right, your winning amount becomes 120 USD. Thus, the bookmaker will have to payout 120 USD of the net win amount plus the amount of your initial bet, 100 USD. The total amount you receive is 220 USD.
Keeping this formula in mind, you can now calculate the probable winning amount for any value of your bet. However, this is not the end.
We have seen into the positive American odds, but what should you do if you see a minus sign before the odd, say, -120? In this case, if your bet wins, your net win amount will be less than the amount of your bet, because the value of a negative American odd shows you the number of standard units you have to wager on the event, in order to get a net win amount of 100 units. For instance, if your odd is -120, it means that after placing the winning bet of 120 USD, you will receive 100 USD as a prize.
Asian odds
The bookmakers of Asia prefer using their own betting rules, action lines, and odds, which can be divided into three types: Hong Kong, Malayzian, and Indonesian. There is no significant difference between them, however, let’s still discuss each.
Malaysian type can be either positive or negative, and it always goes as a number which does not exceed 1. It is almost the same as American odds, with the difference in format.
If the Malaysian odds are negative, you simply multiply it by the bet and get the amount of money you have to bet on an event to win one USD (or another currency, which is more likely for Asian bookmakers). When you deal with the positive Malaysian odds you simply multiply the odd to the stake amount and the result is the correct amount shows how much you will win, if your bet is successful.
Hong Kong odds go as a positive number with a value above zero. They can be go as a whole or decimal number, and it shows how much you can win if your bet is correct after you multiply the bet amount to the odds value.
Finally, Indonesian odds are written as numbers more than 1, and they can also go with plus or minus signs. Negative Indonesian odds show how much you have to wager to win the amount of bet+odds, and for the positive odds you just multiply your bet to the odds value and see the possible winnings.
As you can see, there is nothing but a range of simple formulas that you have to understand clearly and tell them from each other. More sophisticated bettors are able to make analysis of the odds and predict if they are profitable or too low for this or that event outcome. To start your betting experience, you can train on the odds that seem more convenient for you, and when you become experienced you can gain more by creating your own strategies with different odd types.