Most people have probably heard of ‘odds mena’ (Greek odds), which is a widely-used betting system in Greece and Cyprus. Many might also have heard of ‘lay betting’ (or ‘betting the runner gets a certain number of yards’), which is when you place a wager on the outcome of an upcoming sporting event, rather than just selecting a side. While the terms may be new, understanding how they work is not. In this article, we will explore how betting odds, also known as gambling odds, work and the differences between them. We will also review the key points you need to know before you start gambling on sports events!
How Do Betting Odds Work?
Odds mena works by taking the point-spread of two sides in an event, and then applying some simple mathematics to it. For example, if you compare the point-spread between the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers (the two teams competing in the 2018 Super Bowl), you get the following betting odds:
Falcons (-7) | Packers (+7)
This means that the Atlanta Falcons are seven points lower than the Green Bay Packers, or – to put it another way – the betting odds for the Super Bowl 2018 are as follows:
Bet on the Atlanta Falcons to win +7 | Bet on the Green Bay Packers to win -7
To understand how these numbers work, you need to know a few things about how points are awarded in games of sport. When you wager on a sporting event, your goal is to predict the winner of the game. To do this, you need to look at the point-spread (also known as the ‘over/under’ or ‘point-difference’) between the two teams. The point-spread is the number of points that one team is expected to score, minus the number of points that the other team is expected to score. For example, if you wager on the Atlanta Falcons to win, and they score seven points, you would win your bet. However, if the Packers score 10 points, you would lose your bet. This is because you wagered on the Falcons to win, and they did not score the points you expected them to. In this circumstance, the betting odds would then be:
Bet on the Atlanta Falcons to win +10 | Bet on the Green Bay Packers to win -10
To find the point-spread for any two teams you can enter the following formula into an online converter:
(Team A’s score) – (Team B’s score) = point-spread
For example, the point-spread between the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts is -3. This means that the Houston Texans are expected to score fewer points than the Indianapolis Colts. If you wanted to wager on the game, you would need to do so using this information.
Why Do We Use Betting Odds Instead Of Handicapping?
Odds mena is a form of gambling that was originally designed for simplicity and practicality. Instead of having to do all the math yourself, you can simply input the point-spread and relevant odds (whether you are betting on a team, or individual players) and get a quick and easy win/loss record.
Another key benefit of using Odds mena is that, as we mentioned above, this system was designed to minimize the human element. While it is always fun to follow the games and highlights during the season, trying to figure out the score of a football game can be difficult when there are so many variables that can affect the outcome. Even worse, some games are affected more by random chance than by anything else. For example, many people will remember the 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Despite having two of the best teams in the league, the odds of the Cavs winning the series were actually 25/1. This is because the odds calculation took into account the fact that the Warriors had a 15-0 run in the first quarter of the series. As you can imagine, this is a fairly common occurrence in professional sports, which is why many bookies (or ‘gamblers’) use betting odds.
When Do We Use Betting Odds And When Do We Use Handicapping?
Odds mena should be used whenever you want to place a wager on the outcome of an event, rather than just choosing one side. The beauty of the system is that it allows you to use it for any sport or game you want. You can use it for single competitions (such as horse racing or tennis), or you can use it for entire seasons to get an idea of the outcomes of particular sporting events. And remember, the results are always presented in an easy-to-digest format, which makes them extremely appealing to people who are new to betting or who just want to quickly get some money in on the fun.
Based on this, you can see that we often use odds mena when:
- We want to place a wager on the outcome of an event (e.g., a horse race or the Super Bowl)
- We want to place a wager on the performance of an individual player (e.g., Stephen Curry vs. James Harden in the 2017 NBA Finals)
- We want to get an idea of the true point-spread in a game (e.g., the 2018 Super Bowl)
- We want to compare the point-spread between two teams (e.g., the 2017 NFL Championship)
Key Things To Remember When Using Betting Odds
While odds mena is a great tool to have in your arsenal, it is not an exact science. This is why you need to always keep the following things in mind when using this system: