With legal sports gambling legislation easing across the United States, more and more interested parties are going to want betting odds explained. This guide to sports odds will help novice bettors understand how betting odds work, how to read sports odds and provide easy-to-understand point spread, moneyline and total sports betting examples.
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If you’re traveling for work, pleasure or to attend an international sporting event, like the Olympics, online sportsbook betting odds may look different depending on the country. The three sports odds formats you need to familiarize yourself with are: American, fractional and decimal.
American sports odds are pretty easy to learn. The favorite’s odds will come with a minus prefix displayed like (-115), while the underdog’s odds features a plus prefix such as (+200). Although you aren’t required to wager $100, the American odds system is easily explained based on a $100 wager.
For example, if the odds are (-115) on a favorite, you would need to wager $115 for every $100 you sought to win.
If the odds are (+200) on an underdog, you would risk $100 to win $200, plus recoup you original wager.
Fractional odds are also referred to as British odds are often found in horse racing betting. They are often displayed on oddsboards using a backslash or hyphen.
For example, a horse named Any Given Saturday is 7/1 or 7-1 to win the upcoming race means you can win $7 for every $1 wagered. If the odds were reversed at 1/7 or 1-7, you’d need to risk $7 for every $1 you hoped to win on the heavy favorite.
If you travel to Europe at any point and check out the local sports oddsboard, chances are you’ll see decimal sports odds, also known as continental odds. Potential winnings are calculated by taking the odds multiplied the wager.
For example, a -250 moneyline favorite in the United States would equal a 1.40 decimal odds favorite in Europe. If you risked $100 and the bet won, you’d win $40 on top of the original wager of $100 for a total payout of $140.
Sports odds are the implied probability that something will happen. Odds afford bettors the opportunity to wager on different sporting events and win real money. Whether that’s point spread betting, moneylines or point totals, professional and collegiate sports offer betting odds for a number of events.
This depends on if you’re looking at American, fractional or decimal odds at your best online sportsbooks. If you’re looking at American odds, a + or a – (minus) symbol will appear as a prefix.
For example:
Chiefs -2.5 (-105) vs Bills +2.5 (-115).
In this case, the Chiefs are favored to win by 2.5 points, while the Bills are 2.5-point underdogs and need to lose by two points or fewer OR win the game outright for the bet to cash. The -105/-115 means that you need to wager $105/$115 for every $100/$100 you want to win.
When it comes to moneyline wagering, the +/- has to do with the vig or vigorish or, in slang terms, juice. Look at vig as a tax the online sportsbook charges to accept the wager.
The most common types of sports betting odds are point spread betting, moneyline betting and total betting.
Betting at an online bookmaker is no different than betting at a land-based sportsbook. Everything is done virtually, which makes sports wagering easier in many ways. First, visit and online sportsbook and create an account. Second, fund the account with your preferred payment method.
Third, pick a game for your first bet. Make certain this is a sport you know well. Fourth, fill out the betting ticket by choosing the team you favor. Fifth, choose a bet size. Confirm your choice and you’ll have made your first online sports bet. Do comparative shopping and choose a bookmaker site with the best betting lines.
People bet on a wide range of events. Most of these are sports bets on team sports like NFL football, NBA basketball, MLB baseball, NFL hockey, or Association football. They bet on individual sports like golf, tennis, boxing, and MMA. The most action every year is on that year’s biggest sports events: The Super Bowl, March Madness, The World Cup, and the Olympics. Prop bets involve entertainment news, tv competitions, and politics.
The best online sportsbooks provide bettors a calculated total of their potential winnings on their personal bet slip before they confirm the wager. These bet slip calculators provide transparency and build trust between the bettor and sports gambling site operator.
Bettors who live near Las Vegas sportsbooks or within the 30 US states with legal sports betting might be within driving distance of a land-based bookmaker. If that isn’t the case, then gamblers can find the latest betting lines for their favorite sports at online sportsbooks. People living in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia can sign up and wager at US online sportsbooks.
