• Understanding Sports Betting Line
• How To Understand Sports Betting Over Under
• How To Understand Betting On Sports
• How To Understand Sports Betting Lines

If there’s one thing you know, it’s sports. You’ve been making friendly bets with your buddies for years, and almost always come up a winner. But do you really understand odds in sports betting?

Sports betting odds can be tricky to understand at first, especially since you may see the odds posted in more than one way.

Sports betting can be a lot of fun if you’re knowledgeable, but it might be a little intimidating if you’ve never done it before. Before placing those wagers, be sure you know your terms like “money line” and “over/under” or you’ll be using your losing parlay card to dry your tears! Types of Las Vegas Sports Betting.

1. Every bettor should be aware of the possibility of a push before they lay their first wager on sports. Simply put, a push is a tie. You will not see pushes when betting on the money line. If a sport allows a game to end in a tie, that’s an outcome you can bet on.
2. There are a variety of ways to bet on most sporting contests, from something as simple.

From plus/minus to decimal, to fractional — how is anyone supposed to know how to place the best bets?

Don’t sweat it, we’ve got you.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about how to understand odds in sports betting, and how you can start creating your own odds.

Understanding Sports Odds: What Are They?

So, you want to place a bet on the upcoming match but you’re not sure how to get started.

First things first, you have to understand the odds to know which bets are worth the risk. We’ll touch more on that in the sections below.

Secondly, you need to know that there are a variety of formats for which odds are displayed, such as:

• American (plus/minus)
• Decimal Odds
• Fractional Odds

All of them are easy to understand, and we’ll show you in the upcoming sections of this article.

Lastly, odds are used to calculate the implied probability of a particular outcome in any sporting event.

Once you have a solid understanding of how the odds work, you’ll be able to determine which bets offer the best payouts and how much money you are willing to wager.

Sports Odds Explained: American Odds

If you don’t know how to calculate sports betting odds, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

The most common type of sports odds used in North America is American Odds, which uses a plus/minus system for calculating payouts.

Below, we’ll answer your question: how are odds calculated in sports?

We’ll start with the American way, and give you some betting odds examples so you know exactly what you’re looking at the next time you want to make a wager.

But first, it’s important to know what odds are designed to do.

1. Odds flag potential bettors as to the implied probability of the bet
2. Odds announce the payout you could win if you bet on that outcome

However, odds can be influenced by more than the events that are relevant to the outcome of the game or match.

Many traditional sportsbooks are known for manipulating the odds in their favor and factor in how much the book is charging for you to place your bet. You may hear fellow wagerers refer to this cut as the “juice”, “vig”, or “cut.”

How Does Plus/Minus Work in Sports Betting?

When you see +130/-240 (or any other three-digit combination) you know you’re dealing with American odds.

The plus or minus indicates whether you’re betting on the favored team or the underdog.

A negative number on the betting line implies the favorite, and exactly how much you have to bet to walk away with a $100 payout.

Positive numbers belong to the underdog, and let you know how much you’ll win if you bet $100.

For example:

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With American Odds?

Using the above example, calculating your odds look like this:

To win $100 on the Vikings (favorites), you would need to wager $130. If you bet $100 on the Packers (underdogs), you’d be paid out $260 in addition to receiving your $100 bet back.

Calculating Payouts

Let’s say you don’t want to bet $100 of your money — we get it, that can add up.

Many people prefer to place a series of smaller bets on multiple games to get the most out of the experience.

Winning two and losing one can be more appealing than losing it all in one shot.

With the above example, let’s calculate the odds of betting the underdog with only $10, instead of $100.

Using the +260 odds on the Packers, a $10 bet would payout $26 in profits, plus the return of your original $10 bet for a total of $36 back in your pocket.

In most cases, the sportsbook you’re betting with will do the calculations before you even place the bet.

You’ll know the exact payout before you confirm your bet.

Calculating Implied Probability

If you’ve started to research exactly how sports betting works, then you’ve probably heard the term “implied probability”.

The odds are what suggest a particular outcome in any match, and the implied probability refers to the prospect of that outcome.

To calculate the implied probability you need to convert the odds into a percentage.

The reason you’d want to calculate the implied probability is to determine if the estimated probability of a match you wish to bet on is different from the sportsbook so that you can adjust your bet accordingly.

Remember, that all odds available at a sportsbook include the “juice” or “cut” so you’ll need to factor that in, as the implied probability of every conceivable outcome of a match is going to be above 100%.

This is called overround, and it’s the reason you should remove the “juice” from betting lines before calculating what the oddsmakers actually expect the outcome to be.

Sports Odds Explained: Decimal Odds

Of the three types of odds you’ll come across, betting with decimal odds are the easiest to learn.

Decimal style odds are typically used in Europe, but many Sportsbooks default to American odds. However, you should be able to set the preference to any betting style.

Decimal odds look like this:

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With Decimal Odds?

Calculating your potential winnings with decimal odds is easy. All you have to do is multiply the amount of money you’re wagering with the odds attached to the team you’re betting on.

For example:

Calculating Implied Probability

Calculating your implied probability is a valuable tool to determine if a wager is worth the risk.

Using our example above, we’ll determine implied probability using the following formula: 1 / Decimal odds

With the above example, the Toronto Blue Jays implied probability of winning is:

1 / 2.10 = 47.6%

And the New York Yankees implied probability of winning is:

1 / 1.40 = 71.4%

In this case, the New York Yankees have a much higher probability of winning, and therefore the safer bet… unless you know something we don’t.

Sports Odds Explained: Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are most commonly used in the UK and can typically be seen when placing bets on horse races.

They’re sort of funny looking odds, but when you understand what they mean, they are really easy to calculate.

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With Fractional Odds?

Let’s say you want to bet on a horse in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

You open up your betting app and see strange-looking figures such as 8/3 or 1/2 (which, by the way, we would say “eight to three” or “one to two”).

So, how do you calculate these odds?

Simple.

The number on the left (8) tells you how many times the oddsmaker expects the related outcome to fail. And the number on the right (3) dictates how many times the outcome should succeed.

So, what does this mean for your pocketbook?

Calculating Payouts

Calculating your payout for fractional betting is really quite easy.

Multiply your bet by the numerator (or top number), then divide the result by the denominator (bottom number).

For example, if you place a $50 bet on 8/3 odds the calculation would look like this:

(50 x 8) / 3 = $133.33 (a total of $183.33 coming your way).

Or if you placed your $50 bet on the 1/2 odds, then the calculation would look like this:

(50 x 1) / 2 = $25 (for a total of $75 in your pocket).

Calculating Implied Probability

Figuring out the implied probability for fractional bets can be done fairly easily.

Let’s say your horse of choice has 8/3 odds on him, this means that out of 11 races (8+3) your horse is expected to win eight times. Pretty good right?

Now divide the number of times he’s supposed to win by the number of races on the roster and you get your implied probability: 8 / 11 = 72.7%

Remember though, it costs money to play, so anytime you’re calculating odds, whether American, decimal or fractional,the outcomes when added together will always equal more than 100%… that’s the “vig” or the “cut” we’ve been talking about.

What is a Push?

A push — while not related to odds — can directly affect your payout so we thought it was worth mentioning here.

Being aware of the possibility of a push before you place your first bet on a sports match is important.

So, what is a push, exactly? In simple terms, it’s a tie.

You will not see a push on the moneyline when placing bets, so you need to know in advance if it’s an outcome you can bet on. Typically this only applies if you’re betting against the spread or making a totals bet.

If a push occurs and hasn’t been bet on, then you’ll just get your money back, as it’s considered neither a win nor a loss.

A point spread will usually add half a point to each number so that a push can’t happen, but that’s not always the case, so keep your eye on your bets and all possibilities of a push.

What Is ZenSports?

Now, that you know how to figure out odds in betting this is where it gets really interesting.

ZenSports is an online peer to peer betting marketplace that removes the need for a bookmaker, and thus the “vig”, “cut”, or “juice”.

By eliminating the bookmaker, ZenSports can charge 50-90% lower fees than traditional bookmakers do.

On top of saving a lot of money, every customer that uses ZenSports is betting against other sports bettors (not greedy bookmakers), so customers feel good knowing that they’re going up against people that are just like them.

Create Your Own Bets and Odds With ZenSports

How does peer to peer betting work, exactly?

By eliminating the bookmaker, ZenSports has essentially created a marketplace for which every bettor plays a role in creating a fun, decentralized ecosystem for everyone involved.

Here’s a five-step overview of how the ZenSports process currently works:

1. Makers create bets. Anyone can create any imaginable sports bet they want with their own terms, payout, and wager amount.
2. Takers accept bets. Anyone can accept part of or a whole bet created by a Maker.
3. Makers submit the results of the bet outcome. To prevent a Maker from submitting false results, Makers have an escrow fee of 10% of their bet set aside in case of a dispute by the Taker.
4. Takers can dispute results. A Taker can dispute any outcome but are required to hold 5% of their bet in escrow aside to prevent the Taker from making false disputes.
5. The Marketplace resolves disputes. The Marketplace is incentivized to vote correctly because they will receive half of the losing party’s escrow amount if they vote alongside the majority of the voters. The prevailing party received a full refund of their escrow fee, along with half of the losing party’s escrow fee.

All bets are then paid out accordingly.

ZenSports is the only mobile peer to peer sports betting marketplace, where anyone can create and accept bets around the world without the need for a centralized bookmaker.

The future of online sports betting is here.

The VegasInsider.com Sports Betting 101 Odds feature is your ultimate resource to understanding 'How to Read Odds.'

Understanding Sports Betting Line

Once you understand the odds, then you'll be more prepared to make a bet and more importantly, win your bet! Odds are easy to understand but there are different formats and once you become familiar with all of them, you can choose your preference.

Sports betting is taking off across the United States. Since the end of the federal prohibition on sports wagering, several states have legalized sports betting. Providers in these states are already offering betting odds on all of your favorite events.

But if you’re new to sports betting, all the information may seem a bit overwhelming. You may be wondering how to read odds, or even how do odds work? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Check out our guide and have all of your questions on betting odds explained below.

How to Read Betting Odds

Betting odds are a measure of how likely or unlikely a sportsbook finds an event to be. The more likely an outcome is, the less you can make wagering on that outcome. Conversely, betting on the less likely outcome correctly pays much better.

Learning how to read odds is the foundation of developing a successful sports betting strategy. So how do odds work anyway? Let’s break it down in the next section with the basics of betting odds explained.

How Do Odds Work?

Betting odds are determined by a number of calculations factored in by sportsbook providers. Experts in sports betting know the answer to the question, “how do odds work?” and can use that information to decide which outcome the bookie considers more likely.

Learning how to read odds and what to use that information for will help you make successful wagers. Let’s take a closer look at some of these basic principles of odds.

Why Do Odds Matter in Sports Betting?

Betting odds matter because they tell you how much you could potentially win on a particular wager. Learn how to read odds correctly and you will be able to calculate what your exact return will be if your bet is correct.

Along with determining your payout, knowing the answer to the question “how do odds work?” will also give you some insight into how likely a sportsbook thinks a particular outcome is. There is more on that subject in the following section where we have implied probability and betting odds explained.

What’s the Most Commonly Used Format of Odds?

The standard format for printing betting odds varies depending on the sport. Football will most often be displayed with American odds, while soccer is more likely to show with fractional odds. However, on most American sports betting websites, you’ll have the option to display these odds in several formats, with American being default.

Read on to see an explanation of how to read odds in any of these formats. The variations can take some getting used to, but we’ll give you a breakdown on each format of betting odds explained.

How To Calculate Implied Probability Using Odds

By learning how to read odds, you can read between the lines and figure out how likely a particular sportsbook has determined an outcome to be.

Learning this method of how to read odds is a crucial skill in sports betting. By placing wagers on outcomes that you have determined are more likely than the sportsbook sees the outcome, you increase the value of your bets and increase your chance of getting a return on your investment.

The chance of a particular outcome occurring that a sportsbook has calculated is called the implied probability. To determine the implied probability, you must convert the betting odds into a percentage. See how to convert each format of odds to an implied probability in the following section, where you’ll see each type of the betting odds explained.

American Odds

American betting odds display with a plus or minus sign followed by a number. Negative numbers indicate the favorite, while positive numbers indicate the underdog. NFL games are one sport often listed with American odds.

How to Read American Odds

So how do odds work when it comes to the American format? As stated, a negative number means the bookie sees the outcome as more likely. The number gives you how much you would need to bet to win $100 in profit.

A positive number indicates the underdog. The number shown in the betting odds tells you how much you would win if you bet $100.

To figure out the implied probability from American odds with a positive number, use this formula:

Implied probability of an outcome = 100 / (positive American odds + 100)

But how do odds work for the implied probability on negative American odds? Follow this equation instead:

Implied probability of an outcome = negative American odds / (negative American odds + 100)

Calculating Payouts from American Odds

There are two different equations to calculate your payout with American odds. Calculate your winnings on a positive American odds payout, solve for x with the following formula:

100 / odds = wager / x

If the odds are negative, use this equation instead, where x represents your winnings:

Odds / 100 = wager / x

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds, as you might expect, display with one number over another number. The numbers are separated by a slash or hyphen. UK and Irish bookmakers favor this format, making it a common sight on soccer betting odds.

How to Read Fractional Odds

If you’re wondering, “how do odds work with the fractional format,” the top number indicates how many times a bookie predicts the outcome will fail. The bottom number shows how many times they expect it to succeed.

For example, if the Patriots are given 1/2 odds, the bookie predicts they will win the game two times out of three.

Determine the implied probability of an outcome using fractional odds with the following formula:

Implied probability = denominator / (denominator + numerator)

Calculating Payouts from Fractional Odds

Want to know how do odds work for payouts with the fractional format? Use this equation:

Winnings = wager x (numerator / denominator)

Decimal Odds

How To Understand Sports Betting Over Under

Decimal odds appear with a whole number followed by a decimal. This format is used in many sports internationally. You may see these odds on global events like the PGA tour, tennis tournaments, or the Olympics.

How to Read Decimal Odds

Seeing just a decimal number may seem confusing if you’re still figuring out how do odds work. However, this format is really the most straightforward when it comes to how to read odds.

The decimal shows how much profit is paid for every dollar on a correct bet. Favorites have a lower number, while underdogs have a higher number.

Here is the equation for calculating the implied probability on decimal betting odds explained:

Implied probability = 100 / decimal odds

Calculating Payouts from Decimal Odds

So how do odds work when it comes to payouts on decimal odds? Use this simple formula to calculate your winnings:

Your winnings = (wager x decimal odds) - wager

Types of Betting Odds

Now that you know how to read odds a little better, let’s take a look at the different types of wagers. So how do odds work when it comes to these different types of bets? Read on to see each type of betting odds explained.

Moneyline

A moneyline is one of the simplest kinds of betting odds explained in this guide. Here you are simply betting on a result of a match, whether that is one team winning or the game ending in a draw. As long as you pick the correct outcome, this bet will payout for you.

These bets can be found for any sport, but are most common in low-scoring games like baseball, hockey, or soccer.

Point Spread

Point spread bets are popular for many sports. With these betting odds, you are wagering on whether the favored team in a matchup will not only win, but win by more than the number of points that the provider is estimating. This estimate is called the spread.

You can figure out how to read odds with point spreads by taking a look at the number shown next to the odds. For instance, if you see Dallas Cowboys +7, you are betting on whether or not the Cowboys will win their game by more than 7 points.

Totals

Sometimes referred to as an over/under, these betting odds are wagers placed on whether the total score between both teams in a game will be higher or lower than what the provider predicts.

You place a wager on whether the total score between the two teams will be higher or lower than the total offered. Learning how to read odds like these and predicting what games will be high scoring are crucial skills as a sports bettor.

Parlays

All of the previous wager types are bets placed on single events. Parlays involve taking multiple bets and bundling them together. This increases the potential payout for each wager, but also comes with an added risk. If even one of your bets is incorrect, you lose the entire parlay wager.

Just like in all the betting odds explained in this guide, the higher your risk, the higher your potential payout. Use parlays to string together several bets and, with a little luck, you could be in for a big payday.

Teasers

Teasers are similar to parlays in the sense that they bundle multiple wagers together, affecting your overall betting odds. However, while parlays are for moneyline bets, teasers allow bettors to “tease” the point spread by a few points across the board, which can adjust your risk and make for a easier-to-hit multiple.

Futures

So far, the different types of betting odds have all been wagers on single events within the upcoming week or two. Futures are wagers placed on, you guessed it-- future events. For instance, you might place a future bet on the Red Sox winning the World Series or The Lakers bringing home an NBA championship ring.

Predicting these events so far in advance is difficult, so learning how to read odds like these can give you some of the most lucrative payouts in sports betting.

FAQ

Wondering how do odds work? Here’s a quick reference for some common questions on betting odds explained.

Are the odds different depending on the sport?

Odds may be displayed differently depending on what the standard is for a particular sport. Refer to our guide’s section on American, fractional, and decimal odds to see different types of betting odds explained.

So how do odds work in different sports? Though the format they’re shown in and the calculations that determine your winnings change, betting odds are always a measure of how likely a sportsbook finds an outcome.

How can I calculate my potential winnings?

Having knowledge about the raw math behind betting odds explained is useful, but of course you want to know about your potential payout too. But there’s no simple answer. Each different format for betting odds will have a different formula for calculating your winnings.

Check out the earlier parts of this guide to see the different formats of betting odds explained and learn how to estimate your potential winnings.

How To Understand Betting On Sports

Who sets the odds for sports betting?

After all these complex calculations, it’s common to wonder how do odds work anyway? The truth is each individual provider sets their own odds, with the advice of expert statisticians and their data.

How To Understand Sports Betting Lines

Because each provider will have different offers, it’s important to learn how to read odds. This way you know what to look for when you’re shopping around for the best odds.

Final Thoughts

Having these fundamental principles of betting odds explained is the first step to making successful wagers.

Following the tips in this helpful guide can take you from wondering, “how do odds work?” to understanding how to bet successfully. Remember how to read odds and the formulas for determining the implied probability from each. Once you have that implied probability, you can place your wagers accordingly.

There’s always luck and chance involved in sports betting, but understanding how to read odds helps you make an informed bet. If you believe an outcome is more likely than the implied probability, you have an optimal chance of winning a return on your wager.

Now that we have the different aspects of betting odds explained, the only thing left to do is to start placing your wagers. Good luck and happy playing.