Betting Odds Formats Explained

When entering the world of betting, it can be confusing being presented with odds in different formats. In the below article we will cover the three main styles of betting odds and how they work.

American Odds

Possibly the most confusing odds available is American odds. While not as common as other formats, American odds will still be good to know.

Starting off, on any bet there will be a positive and negative side denoted by + and – respectively.

• The negative side points towards the team predicted to win, the negative number would signify the amount you would need to bet in order to win $100 (replace $ with your respective currency). For example, if you were to place a $50 bet on a team with -200 odds, your winnings would be $25 over your original betting amount. If you were to bet $200 in the same wager, your winnings would be $100.
• On the Positive side (+) we have what would be the underdogs of the game, expected not to win, so odds will be in your favour. The positive number denotes how much you would win if you were to wager $100. For example if you were to wager $50 on a +160 bet, if successful your winnings would be $80 over your original betting amount. If you were to bet $100 on the same wager, your winnings would be $160.

It is important to note that the winnings exude your original betting amount which will also be paid back to you if successful.

Fractional Odds

Shown as a decimal number, E.g. 5/2. Fractional odds are more straight forward to understand with no variation between positive and negative bets. The layout is (potential winnings)/(amount bet). So if you were to bet $50 on a 5/2 bet your profit would be $125 over your original bet amount. For the negative the process is exactly the same, if you were to put $100 on a 7/9 bet your payout would be $77.78 excluding your original bet amount.

Decimal Odds

Presented as a decimal point, Decimal odds are widely considered to be the easiest to understand out of the forms of odds. You will often see a decimal number like 1.50  the simple formula for this is (betting amount)x(decimal number) easy! For example, if you were to place $100 on a 2.5 decimal bet, when winning your total payout would be $250. Another more realistic example, $36 on a 1.22 bet would yield a payout of $43.92

Tips

It is important to note that in decimal odds unlike fractional odds and American odds, the payout includes your initial bet quantity. In the American and fractional, it does not. In American and fractional odds, the calculation only relates to the profit you stand to make, your initial bet will be paid out on top of the calculated profit. With Decimal odds the calculation includes your initial bet, the number given from the calculation is profit and initial bet.