OzExorcist
Broomcorn's uncle
Bronze Level
If you're new to sports betting, one of the most basic things you'll need to know can also be one of the most confusing: what odds am I getting on my bet?!?
Sports books will use one of three different odds formats, depending on what part of the world you're betting in: moneyline, decimal and fractional.
It's a good idea to be able to understand all three. Even if your local books only use one format, if you ever discuss bets or read content from overseas, it's pretty likely you'll see someone talking about odds in one of the other formats. I've seen people on here make posts using all three at various points. So here's a rundown of all of them:
MONEYLINE FORMAT
Most commonly used in: America
Examples: -300, +250
If you're betting in person in Vegas, reading betting content that's written by an American, or using a sports book that caters to Americans, chances are you'll see betting odds expressed in the "moneyline" format. It's easily the hardest format to understand IMO, but let's run through it.
In the moneyline format, every number will have either a "-" or "+" in front of it, and everything is based around either winning or risking $100.
"-" numbers tell you how much you would need to risk to win $100 on that bet. "+" numbers tell you how much you would win if you risked $100 on that bet.
So for example, you might see a market like:
Team A +285
Team B -325
That tells you that if you bet $100 on Team A and they won, you would win $285. It also tells you that if you bet $325 on Team B and they won, you would win $100.
That's not to say that you have to risk or try to win exactly $100, you just do the same math for your bet size. If you bet $500 at +200, for example, you'd win $1000 ($200 for every $100 you bet).
Note that it's pretty common in line/totals markets for both numbers to be "-" (usually -110 each side or thereabouts, depending on the amount of vig your book charges).
FRACTIONAL FORMAT
Most commonly used in: United Kingdom
Examples: 10/11, 7/1
Fractional format odds are relatively straightforward: the number on the left of the slash is the amount you could potentially win if you bet the amount on the right of the slash.
For example, 10/11 means you will win $10 for every $11 you bet (if your bet wins, obv). 11/2 means you will win $11 for every $2 you bet. Of course, you get your stake back plus your winnings if your bet wins.
As with the moneyline bets, just multiply up or down for the size of your actual bet. Bet $50 at 5/1 and you profit $250 if your bet wins.
Unless you're in the UK this isn't a format you'll see used all that often, because in most places it's been replaced by...
DECIMAL ODDS
Most commonly used in: rest of Europe, Australia, most other places too AFAIK
Examples: 1.91, 1.10, 3.50
Decimal odds are the most straightforward IMO (I might be biased, they're my local format). Just multiply the amount you want to bet by the odds, and that will tell you everything you'll get back if your bet wins (including your original stake).
Say you bet $100 at 1.91 odds. 100 * 1.91 = 191, so if your bet wins you'll get $191. That's your original $100 stake, plus $91 profit.
If the number is less than 2.00, your profit will be less than your original bet. If the number is more than 2.00, your profit will be more than your original bet. Bet $100 at 3.50 odds, for example, and you get 100 * 3.50 for a $350 return ($100 original stake, $250 profit).
Note that decimal odds will sometimes be displayed with the local currency symbol in front (eg: $2.35)
HOW DO I CONVERT FROM ONE FORMAT TO ANOTHER?
Well you could do the math... and pretty quickly you'll get used to doing it in your head (especially with common numbers like the ones I referenced in the title of this post: -110 translates to 1.91 in decimal and 10/11 in fractional, and those are numbers you'll see very commonly for line and total bets).
Some online sportsbooks (Pinnacle, for example) give you the option to choose the format you'd like your odds displayed in.
There are also plenty of online converters that will do the work for you if you just Google "betting odds converter" or something along those lines.
Hope this helps some people, especially if you're new to betting. If anyone has any questions feel free to post them below and if I'm able to help I will.
Sports books will use one of three different odds formats, depending on what part of the world you're betting in: moneyline, decimal and fractional.
It's a good idea to be able to understand all three. Even if your local books only use one format, if you ever discuss bets or read content from overseas, it's pretty likely you'll see someone talking about odds in one of the other formats. I've seen people on here make posts using all three at various points. So here's a rundown of all of them:
MONEYLINE FORMAT
Most commonly used in: America
Examples: -300, +250
If you're betting in person in Vegas, reading betting content that's written by an American, or using a sports book that caters to Americans, chances are you'll see betting odds expressed in the "moneyline" format. It's easily the hardest format to understand IMO, but let's run through it.
In the moneyline format, every number will have either a "-" or "+" in front of it, and everything is based around either winning or risking $100.
"-" numbers tell you how much you would need to risk to win $100 on that bet. "+" numbers tell you how much you would win if you risked $100 on that bet.
So for example, you might see a market like:
Team A +285
Team B -325
That tells you that if you bet $100 on Team A and they won, you would win $285. It also tells you that if you bet $325 on Team B and they won, you would win $100.
That's not to say that you have to risk or try to win exactly $100, you just do the same math for your bet size. If you bet $500 at +200, for example, you'd win $1000 ($200 for every $100 you bet).
Note that it's pretty common in line/totals markets for both numbers to be "-" (usually -110 each side or thereabouts, depending on the amount of vig your book charges).
FRACTIONAL FORMAT
Most commonly used in: United Kingdom
Examples: 10/11, 7/1
Fractional format odds are relatively straightforward: the number on the left of the slash is the amount you could potentially win if you bet the amount on the right of the slash.
For example, 10/11 means you will win $10 for every $11 you bet (if your bet wins, obv). 11/2 means you will win $11 for every $2 you bet. Of course, you get your stake back plus your winnings if your bet wins.
As with the moneyline bets, just multiply up or down for the size of your actual bet. Bet $50 at 5/1 and you profit $250 if your bet wins.
Unless you're in the UK this isn't a format you'll see used all that often, because in most places it's been replaced by...
DECIMAL ODDS
Most commonly used in: rest of Europe, Australia, most other places too AFAIK
Examples: 1.91, 1.10, 3.50
Decimal odds are the most straightforward IMO (I might be biased, they're my local format). Just multiply the amount you want to bet by the odds, and that will tell you everything you'll get back if your bet wins (including your original stake).
Say you bet $100 at 1.91 odds. 100 * 1.91 = 191, so if your bet wins you'll get $191. That's your original $100 stake, plus $91 profit.
If the number is less than 2.00, your profit will be less than your original bet. If the number is more than 2.00, your profit will be more than your original bet. Bet $100 at 3.50 odds, for example, and you get 100 * 3.50 for a $350 return ($100 original stake, $250 profit).
Note that decimal odds will sometimes be displayed with the local currency symbol in front (eg: $2.35)
HOW DO I CONVERT FROM ONE FORMAT TO ANOTHER?
Well you could do the math... and pretty quickly you'll get used to doing it in your head (especially with common numbers like the ones I referenced in the title of this post: -110 translates to 1.91 in decimal and 10/11 in fractional, and those are numbers you'll see very commonly for line and total bets).
Some online sportsbooks (Pinnacle, for example) give you the option to choose the format you'd like your odds displayed in.
There are also plenty of online converters that will do the work for you if you just Google "betting odds converter" or something along those lines.
Hope this helps some people, especially if you're new to betting. If anyone has any questions feel free to post them below and if I'm able to help I will.
