How to win at sports betting? Betting odds explained
What exactly odds indicate is something that you need to understand well if you are planning to engage in sports betting or online gambling. So, unless you are familiar with the types of odds and have the ability to interpret their formats, you should ideally not start placing bets right away. Odds are integral to sports betting and these will help you decide whether a bet is worth placing or not. Potential payout wills be calculated through a combination of odds and your stakes.
Betting odds explained:
When you think of sports betting you have to understand that odds are important for two reasons; one, to calculate the bettor’s payout and secondly to reflect the possibility of an outcome happening. Every time you decide to place a wager, the bookies will offer you odds that will impact the amount you can win. Have a look at Sportslens for best betting odds. So, if odds are higher, the greater are your chances of winning.
Odds will also show the likelihood of an event happening; so, when they are low, that means the outcome is likelier to happen. So, if you bet on a result that is unlikely, you stand to win more, whereas if you bet on an outcome that is likely, you will win less. For instance, in a tennis match, if one of the players is ranked number one and the other is ranked 150th, it is assumed that the high-ranked player will win. So, a wager placed on him will have low odds whereas a wager placed on the 150th seed will have high odds.
Types of odds:
- Fractional odds: These are also known as UK or British odds or traditional odds which are most popular amongst Irish and British bookies. These odds, as their name suggests, are displayed as fractions, like 3/1 or “three to one”. So, you win 3 units for every 1 unit at stake.
- Decimal odds: These are also called digital/continental/ European odds as they are more common in New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and Australia. They are simpler to understand because underdogs and favorites can be spotted at once by viewing the numbers. They are typically expressed as a positive number. They represent the amount you will win for every $1 that you have wagered. So, the number stands for the total payout and not profits.
- Moneyline odds: These are American odds popular in the US and displayed as a positive number or negative number. The first stand for the amount a correct bet of $100 can win, and a negative number stands for the amount you must stake to win $100. Odds for favorites have a minus sign assigned to them while odds for underdogs will have a positive sign which shows how much money you have won for every $100 at stake. Difference between the odds for underdogs and favorites keep widening as probability of winning increases for the favorites.
To enter the world of gambling or online sports betting therefore, you need to understand and interpret these afore-mentioned types of odds. Betting odds stand for an event’s probability to happen; so, you can figure out the amount of money you can possibly win if your bet is right.
