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Last updated on May 1st, 2022 at 11:45 am
You simply cannot start placing bets without knowing how do betting odds work.
There are different types of betting odds and each bookmaker can display them differently. The three main types are:
- fractional odds (UK)
- decimal odds (European)
- moneyline odds (American)
They present the same thing (a chance of an event occurring) written in a different way.
How do fractional odds work?
Fractional odds are popular in British and Irish bookies mostly. They are also referred to as British odds, UK odds or Traditional odds, and often used in horse racing.
The UK odds are typically written with / or –.
A fractional odd of 5/1 (five-to-one) means that you win $5 against every $1 you wager. So the first number represents the net amount you will win and the second number is the bet amount. Furthermore, the final amount will include both the net + the bet amount. Therefore, if you bet $10 at 5/1, you will receive a total of $60 ($50 + $10 initial bet).
How do decimal odds work?
These betting odds are most popular in Europe, Australia and Canada. For decimal odds, the number represents the total payout, not only the profit, so your bet is included. Meaning, decimal odds are essentially equivalent to the decimal value of the fractional odds, plus one.
If you bet $10 on 2.0 decimal odds, you will have a total payout of $20.
How do American odds work?
As you can figure out by the name, this type of odds is mostly popular in the USA.
The odds for favorites come with a minus sign which shows how much you have to bet in order to win $100. Meanwhile, betting on underdog comes with a plus sign. The positive number shows how much you can win if you bet $100.
If you bet on odds +150 this means, that you have to wager $100 to win profit of $150. The total payout will be $250.
