American Betting Odds Explained
American Odds Explained American odds are used in the USA where they are also known as Vegas odds and Money Line Odds. They tend to be tricky for someone that encounters them for the very first time, especially after being accustomed to fractional odds or decimal. Here we explain American odds in detail with real life examples. Fixed-odds betting is a form of wagering against odds offered by a bookmaker or an individual or on a bet exchange. It involves betting on an event in which there is no fluctuation on the payout. It involves betting on an event in which there is no fluctuation on the payout. American Football Odds Explained American Football Bet Types American Football Betting Strategy How The NFL Works. American football, both the professional and college variety, is the dominant sport in the United States, with its popularity.
- Betting odds tell you how likely an event is to happen
- They also tell you how much money you will win
- However, at first, they may seem confusing and complex
- Our comprehensive guide takes you step-by-step to explain them
If you’re new to betting, one of the first things you should do is learn how betting odds work. It’s critically important because it allows you to understand how likely an event is to happen, and what your potential winnings will be. At first, it may appear confusing, however, read our guide and let us explain it to you.
In gambling, odds represent the ratio between the amounts staked by parties to a wager or bet. Thus, odds of 3 to 1 mean the first party (the bookmaker) stakes three times the amount staked by the second party (the bettor).
What is Probability?
The most basic level, betting provides you with the ability to predict the outcome of a certain event, and if your prediction is correct, you will win money. For any given event, there are a certain number of outcomes. Take rolling a dice for instance. If someone rolls a dice, there are six possible outcomes. Therefore, if you bet that the person rolls a ‘one’, there is a 16.67% chance that will happen. What betting odds merely do is present how likely the event is to happen. Bookies most frequently in the UK do this as a fraction, i.e. 4/7, whilst the vast majority also offer the ability to view them as decimals. Again, let us talk you through them. All will become clear.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Probability
Whenever you see two numbers separated by a trailing slash, i.e. 10/1, this is known as fractional odds. From this, you can calculate how likely a given event is to happen with a calculation. For ease of explanation, let’s replace the numbers with letters i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Here is the calculation: Probability (%) = B / (A+B).
- 9/1 can be calculated as 1 / (9 + 1) = 0.10– There is a 10% chance that the event will happen.
- 4/1 can be calculated as 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20 – There is a 20% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/1 can be calculated as 1 / (1 + 1) = 0.50 – There is a 50% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/4 can be calculated as 4 / (4 + 1) = 0.80 – There is a 80% chance that the event will happen.
Hooray! We’re making progress. Given a fraction, we can now tell how likely (the probability) what we’re going to bet on will happen. Now let’s figure out how much money can be won using betting odds.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Winnings
Betting odds allow you to calculate how much money you will win if you make a bet. Let’s use the same examples as before, with the same replacement of numbers for letters, i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Quite simply, for every value of B that you bet, you will win A, plus the return of your stake.
- 9/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £9.
- 4/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £4.
- 1/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £1.
- 1/4 for every £4 you bet, you will win £1.
What About Decimals?
Decimals are far more common on exchanges, such as Betfair, but all leading betting sites do give you the option to view betting odds in this format. They are an alternative to seeing betting odds in the fraction format, and in our opinion, are easier to work out. Here is the calculation: winnings = (odds * stake) – stake. Let’s illustrate it with some examples
- 9.0 can be calculated as (9.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £80 winnings.
- 4.0 can be calculated as (4.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £30 winnings.
- 2.5 can be calculated as (2.5 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £15 winnings.
- 1.25 can be calculated as (1.25 * £10 stake) – £10 stake =£2.50 winnings.
You can use our bet calculator to help you calculate winnings.
USE BET CALCULATOR
Decimal Odds Versus Fractional Odds
In truth, one isn’t better than the other but there is certainly a trend emerging towards decimal odds. Historically fractional odds were used in the UK, especially on racetracks and on the high street. There are two key differences. Generally, decimal odds are easier to understand. Based on this, there has a movement to attract more people to horse racing by making it more accessible to the average punter. Ten years ago, if you were going to Cheltenham, all the odds would be displayed as fractional odds. Now, they’re largely all in decimals. Don’t hesitate to check out our exclusive Premier League Betting Offers !
The second difference between the formats is that fractional odds only represent winnings, and do not include the returned stake compared to decimals which do include the stake. The transition from fractional odds to decimals largely kicked off with the growing popularity of the betting exchanges such Betfair. For odds to change slightly, it’s really difficult to marginally increase or decrease the probability without creating large fractions which are hard to compute for the punter.
Use Our Tool to Convert Betting Odds Into Your Favourite Format
Our odds converter toolwill allow you see odds in whatever format you like . Not only that, but it’ll tell you how likely the selection is to win!
In Summary
Betting odds represent the probability of an event to happen and therefore enable you to work out how much money you will win if your bet wins. As an example, with odds of 4/1, for every £1 you bet, you will win £4. There is a 20% chance of this happening, calculated by 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20.
Next steps
That’s it! Hopefully, that clears up betting odds. You should now have the knowledge to read betting odds, understand how likely it is to happen, and how much you stand to win.
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Sports betting odds indicate the team's chance to win. There are three types of sports odds.
- Moneyline or American odds (-110)
- Fractional or UK odds (5/1)
- Decimal or European odds (2.5)
A big advantage of using online bookmaker, besides betting on sports events taking place anywhere in the world, is the possibility to choose the betting odds you prefer, so you won't have to convert them manually. But still we will explain them all.
American odds
American odds work differently for the favorites and the underdogs. The odds for the favorite express how much money you need to risk to win $100. For example, if the odds are -170 you have to bet $170 to win $100 and collect a payout of $270. The American odds for the underdog show how much money you would win if you risk $100. If the odds are +400, you would win $400 for a $100 bet and receive a total payout of $500.
Fractional odds
Fractional (traditional, UK) odds are often used in horse racing. They show how much you would win, relative to the wager. For example, odds 1/5 show that you would win $20 on a $100 bet. The odds 10/1 express that you would win $1000 on a $100 bet (payout $1100).
Decimal odds
Decimal odds are widely used in Europe, Australia and Canada. They are the easiest to understand because you simply have to multiply the value of your bet with the decimal odds and you will get the total payout (bet+winnings). For example, if the decimal odds are 2.5 and you risk $100, you would receive $250 in total payout (2.5*$100).
Odds comparison
American Betting Odds Explained Odds
The table below shows you how percentage chance, American odds, fractional odds and decimal odds are expressed to mean the same thing.
Betting Odds Explained Point Spread
| Chance of Winning | American Odds | Fractional Odds | Decimal Odds |
| 20% | +400 | 4/1 | 5 |
| 80% | -400 | 1/4 | 1.25 |