In the last few years, online sports betting has become extremely popular due to the convenience of placing bets from the comfort of your home or office. However, for those new to the game, calculating sports betting odds can still seem like a daunting task. In this article, we will discuss the basics of how to calculate sport odds so that even the casual fan can take advantage of the excitement that comes with sports betting!
The Basics Of Sports Betting
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of how to calculate sports betting odds, it is essential that you understand the basis of how to place a wager in the first place. Much like in the traditional world of gambling, there are several key terms that you need to know before placing a bet on sports. These terms include the types of wagers you can place, the odds, and the meaning of profit and loss when betting on sports.
Wager Type:
Wagers can be categorized into three types:
- Action: This type of wager allows you to select which team you think will win the game. The odds for this type of wager are known as action odds. For example, if you think the San Francisco 49ers will beat the New York Giants by three points, you can wager on this with an action wager. You are not choosing the total score here but which team you think will win the game. If you think the over/under on total points is going to be enough to cause a large enough profit or loss, you can place an action wager on this. Remember, though, that if you choose the under, you may lose more than you would if you had chosen the over. For example, if the 49ers were to score 10 points and the Giants only manage three points, you would lose the entire action wager as the Giants would have won the game.
- Boxing Match: This type of wager allows you to choose which two players you think will battle it out for supremacy. The odds for this type of wager are known as boxing match odds. For example, if you think Floyd Mayweather and/or Conor McGregor will fight in a boxing match, you can wager on this with a boxing match wager. You are not choosing the winner here but which two boxers you think will engage in a fight. If you are new to boxing, chances are there will be several boxers that you do not know much about but, as the name suggests, these odds are based on the popularity of the two involved in the fight. If you are not sure which boxer is the greatest of all time, you can choose either one and use this type of wager. Remember that there are several key points to keep in mind when choosing this type of wager:
- Under/Over (or Half/Full): This type of wager gives you the option of whether the game’s final score will be below or above your selected total. For instance, if you think the over/under on the total number of touchdowns will be high enough to cause a large enough profit or loss, you can place an under/over wager on this. In essence, you are saying that you think the total number of touchdowns will be high enough to cause a large enough profit or loss. If you think the under is going to be the case and you choose this option, you are saying you think the final score will be less than your selected total.
- Choose Your Fight: This type of wager gives you the opportunity to pick the type of fight you want (boxing match, action, or betting on the outcome of the fight). Remember that you can only select one fight type for each sport and cannot mix the two types in the same wager. However, if you are a hardcore fight fan and have several favorite fights to place a wager on, you can create several accounts for different sports and choose your favorite fight types for each one.
Profit/Loss:
The last thing you want to do, especially if you are new to betting or sports, is to bet on a game you do not understand. For instance, let’s say you have just read an article about the New York Jets and you want to place a wager on this upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. First, it is essential that you learn the significance of the terms profit and loss. Let’s say in this scenario the Jets win the game and you earn $100 from the bet. Your profit in this case is $100 and your loss is $0. Remember that in most cases (not all) your loss will be minimal since you are essentially betting on the favorite. However, if the Steelers were to win the game, your loss would be $100 since you chose the opposite team! In other words, if you want to learn more, take a look at this article on sports betting basics for beginners and know that you can get started on your journey to understanding the basics of sports betting with minimal risk!
Odds: The Basics Of Calculating Sports Betting Odds
To make things a bit more comfortable for those new to the game, every sport has an odds section that discusses the likelihood of one team winning the game based on various factors. For example, if you want to bet on the New York Jets against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the upcoming game, you can click here to access their odds page. Here you will see that the Jets have an odds of 4.0 to 1.0 (meaning there is a 4.0 chance the Jets will win the game) while the Steelers have an odds of 16.0 to 1.0 (meaning there is a 16.0 chance the Steelers will win the game).
Before explaining how to calculate these odds, let’s discuss some very basic math. If you ever played the lottery, you may be familiar with the concept of odds. When playing the lottery, you are basically choosing numbers between one and 26. However, instead of simply choosing a number between one and 26, you can modify the odds to reflect a larger number. For example, if you want to modify the odds of the lottery to reflect a 5x multiplier, all you have to do is change the odds from 26 to 1 to 25 to 1 to get the desired effect! In essence, when using multipliers with lottery odds, you are simply choosing numbers between one and 25 but the winnings are based on the original odds of 26 to 1!
The same concept holds true when calculating sports betting odds. When calculating these odds, you are essentially choosing teams or players that you think will win the game. However, instead of simply choosing one team or player, you can use odds modifers to make your choice more precise. Let’s pretend you want to bet on the Pittsburgh Penguins against the New York Rangers in the upcoming NHL game. Here you can see that the Penguins have an odds of 10.0 to 1.0 (meaning there is a 10.0 chance the Penguins will win the game) while the Rangers have an odds of 2.0 to 1.0 (meaning there is a 2.0 chance the Rangers will win the game).
With the basics of placing a wager and calculating sports betting odds out of the way, let’s discuss how to perform the calculations. For the sake of simplicity, we will assume that you want to bet on the game’s outcome and not choose a fight or boxing match. In this case, you should use this formula:
WIN / (PAGE TITLE): How to Calculate Sport Betting Odds
In the example above, you see that we used the terms WIN and PAGE TITLE. What exactly are these terms? Well, WIN is short for win or winning. Essentially, this is the outcome you are choosing. For example, if you are choosing the Steelers over the Jets, WIN would be a TIE (tie). On the other hand, PAGE TITLE is the name of the website/page where you are doing the calculations. In the case of the above example, the website or page you are on is oddsageway.com so PAGE TITLE would be oddsageway.com.