Beginners Guide On How Do Sports Odds Work

All the newcomers who have just commenced with their sports betting should learn a few things before beginning their journey. Knowing the odds and calculating them is the most significant thing out of all the crucial things in sports betting. 

Be it recreational or professional sports bettor; you should know how odds work and what they imply? You'll get to witness three different odds formats on the online sports betting sites, and all three formats are pretty simple to understand. 

All the numbers imply different things, but it depends on the sportsbooks our site uses. The most common odds formats are American, Decimal, and Fractional odds. Let us analyze- how do sports odds work and help you level up your game. 

Different formats of odds

Every sports betting site uses different odds formats, and you need to understand all these formats in-depth to know their functioning. 

American odds 

Usually, American odds are a bit confusing among all the other odds. The decimal and fractional odds are straightforward to understand, but you have to run your brain to understand the American odds. 

The American odds are based on $100, but the way they relate to it varies according to whether the bet is favored or not. The best odds start with a negative number for the favored bets, and they are likely to tell you about how likely you'll need to bet to win $100. 

The odds that have a plus sign along with it are referred to as underdog bets. Not only this, but the odds will also tell you how much profit you'll make on a $100 bet. 

Fractional odds 

Usually, the sportsbooks outside the United States use Fractional odds, but you can get to witness these in some American sportsbooks also. But the principles on which both decimal and fractional odds work are the same. 

As the name indicates, fractional odds are expressed in fractions 3-1 and 7-4. You'll get the profit by calculating the bet amount by the fraction. For instance, if you bet $10 with 3-1 odds, it will give you a profit of $30. 

The favorite bets will usually have a larger denominator than the numerator, such as 1-2 and 2-5. Things will be the opposite in underdog bets. The numerator will be bigger than the denominator in the underdog bets. 

You will get to witness fractional odds in futures betting where all the odds have denominators of 1, which will be easy to understand. 

Decimal odds 

The last format of odds is decimal odds. Decimal odds refer to the amount a winning bet would collect on a $1 bet. A winning bet will receive a $5 profit if the odds are listed as 6 and the original $1 bet. The fractions used in fractional odds get a bit ugly as these are commonly used outside the US. 

How to convert odds to break even percentage 

You'll only get to know about a good bet by converting your odds into a break-even percentage. Consider the bet to be good if the given odds are better than one in two. As sporting events are not predictable, you won't know the exact odds, but you should consider this when evaluating a bet. 

Conclusion 

After going through such extensive information on sports betting odds, you must have a fair idea about- how do sports odds work. By calculating the payout beforehand only, you'll increase your chances of winning the bet and stand apart from the crowd.