Betting Odds Explained – All You Need to Know

What Are Betting Odds

It is quite simple to understand how betting odds work. Each bet will have odds attached. In a tennis match for example, there may be a bet such as which player will win the match. There will be odds offered on both players. If these are in the decimal format, the numbers may look like 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 or even up to 4.2, 4.3 and so on.

These odds should be multiplied by the amount bet to see how much can be won. A bet of $10 on a tennis player to win at odds 1.3 will offer winnings of $13. Alternatively, placing a bet on a tennis player whose odds are 4.2 will mean the $10 bet can win $42.

When the bookie places short odds, such as 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and so on, it is because the player is favoured to win. If the odds are longer, this means that the player is expected to lose. The odds are calculated based on the player’s standings in the tennis world rankings, the player’s last games, their track record on the type of field that the match is played on, and many more factors.

All bets across all the different sports will be calculated in similar ways, whether it's eSports, horse racing, football, surfing or anything else.

While the decimal format is the most common way of displaying odds, it is not the only way. There are also American odds and fractional odds, and it is worth taking a moment to understand them.

With fractional odds, there is a fractional number shown, such as 5/1 or 8/9, which show how much the bet can win and does not include the return of the original stake. This is the major difference between decimal odds and fractional odds. In the scenario where the odds offered are 5/1, a $10 bet will win $50 + $10 from the original stake. In the scenario where the odds are 8/9, a $10 bet will win $8.89 + $10 from the original stake. The mathematics behind calculating with fractions may take slightly longer, but there are some bettors who prefer to use the fractional system and don’t mind the slightly more complicated calculations.

The American odds system is completely different, as it does not use decimals or fractions, but instead shows much a player can win if they bet $100 or how much they need to bet to win $100.

American odds are presented with two numbers, such as -110 and +230. The negative value has the shorter odds, and the way it works is that punters need to bet $110 to win $100. The positive odds are bets on the underdog, where a punter can win $100 if they place a stake of $230 (and the original stake will be returned).

For example, a $10 bet on the -110 favourite will win $9.09 + $10 from the original stake. The way this can be calculated is to divide 100 by the negative odds, and then add 1 to get the precise decimal odds.

Placing a bet of $10 on the positive odds will mean the punter stands to win $23 + $10 from the original bet.

Parlays

Parlays are used to increase betting odds. When a punter wants to place multiple bets, they can combine these into a parlay. When doing so, the odds from each bet are multiplied against each other to produce much longer odds. The bets placed in the parlay have to be able to work together without contradicting each other.

In the decimal format, here is an example with a football bet of how a parlay works.

• Brazil to win vs Argentina at odds 2.2
• Neymar to score in the match at odds 2.1
• Brazil to keep a clean sheet at odds 3.2

The bets in the parlay do not contradict each other, as Brazil can win against Argentina, with Neymar scoring and Brazil keeping a clean sheet. If the punter places bets of $10 on each of the individual bets, they would win $22 + $21 + $32, for a total of $75.

In a parlay, the odds would be multiplied together, generating a much higher odds of 2.2x2.1x3.2 = 14.784, meaning the same bet of $30 can win $443.52.

The only risky part of parlays is that all bets need to win for the parlay to pay out. Punters can choose to create parlays with many different bets, over different matches or on the same match, but they all need to win for the punter to win big.

Parlays are hugely popular amongst sports bettors, and once punters find the bets that they have the most success with, they usually try to place these into parlays to win big from small stakes.