Simple And Quick Guide To Understanding Online Sports Betting Odds

Understanding betting odds is a must for any online sports betting enthusiast. Gaining such knowledge is not an option. It is an important requirement that should be observed.

To know how betting odds and most importantly, betting formats work, guides you on your possible gains or profits. As you perform your team analysis, a better understanding of betting odds will help come up with a better decision. In this manner, you are no longer required to depend heavily on luck.

Different odds format

Different kind of odds format exist. The formats utilized in bookies vary. It depends on the area or region where you are betting. Some formats are more popular than the other. Although there are bookmakers, which provide odds converting tools, not all sportsbook providers have them. Resorting into manual conversion does not help that much as this will only consume your effort and time.

Thus, for reference’s sake, here are the different odds formats that you must understand.

Decimal odds

As the name implies, this odds is written in a decimal format. Bettors from Europe,  Canada and Australia favor this format since it gives them an easy time to computer their possible winnings.

The formula that it follows is stake x odd = payout

Therefore, if you place a $500 on a 2.50 odds, your payout will be $1250.

Fractional odds

Considered as one of the oldest betting formats, this is widely used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is also used in horseracing and apparently, it follows a fractional format. This is also called as traditional odds. They also show you the total payout that you will get, relative to your stake. So, for example if you see a 2/1 traditional odd, this means that  you will get a $400 profit if you place a $200 worth of bet.

American odds

American odds or moneyline is a popular betting format in the United States. For favorites, a negative (-) sign is attached to the number. The higher the number value is, the higher the chance of winning. Therefore, a -300 is more likely to win than a -200.

When it comes to the underdogs, the positive (+) sign is utilized. Here, numbers with a higher value is less likely to win. So between a +200 and a +300, it is the former (+200) which shows higher winning possibility.

Since it uses a $100 baseline value, this means that in a -300 favorite, you must risk $300 to win $100 in a bookie.

On the other hand, for a +200, this means that you will only risk a $100, but win $200.

Hong Kong Odds, Malay Odds, Indonesian Odds

Hong Kong odds are similar to UK odds, except that they are shown in decimals.

Indonesian odds are also expressed in positive or negative just like American odds. However, its baseline value is 1.

Malay odds are simply the opposite of Indonesian and American odds.

It may take some time before you get the hang of using odds format. But mastering them will definitely make you a wiser and better punter.