Whether you are new to sports betting or just want to learn more, it can be difficult to know where to start. There are so many betting odds to understand, and they can seem quite complicated. If you want to be able to make the right and consistent bets in the future, then it’s worth learning how to interpret and analyze sporting odds. In this article, we will discuss how to read and understand sport betting odds so that you can place better bets in the future.
The Basics
When you first start reading sports betting odds, it’s important to understand a few basics. The first and most important thing to note is that odds are always presented in numerical terms. For example, a 3-to-2 shot at winning a £10 bet would be expressed as ‘3.0 to 2.0′, as a decimalised form. The second thing to keep in mind is that the decimal point always separates the odds. So, in the previous example, you would have 10 odds ranging from 2.0 to 3.9, with the decimal point in the middle.
To further illustrate this, if you were to enter an odds range, such as 2.0 to 3.9, into a sportsbook, you would see the two sides of the bet displayed with 2.0 and 3.9 next to them. The decimal point would not be displayed, as it would in a simple 2 to 3 bet.
Odds Converter Apps
It’s often useful to have a way of quickly and easily converting odds between different formats. Fortunately, there are applications available that can do this for you. Some of the more popular ones are listed below.
- BettingAdvisor
- MyBookie
- William Hill
- Bet365
- PaddyPower
- Intertops
- Venus Sports
- BetConstructor
You can download these apps directly into your smartphone or tablet, or access them online via your browser. Once you have them on your device, all you have to do is open up the app or site and enter the odds you have been given in either fractional or decimal form. The app will then do the rest and present you with the converted result. If you find that this feature is useful, then these apps may be worth having on your phone or tablet.
Odds and Exponents
When dealing with odds, it’s important to remember that they are always a positive number. Therefore, if you are given odds of 2.0, then that means you will win 2.0 units of whatever it is you are betting on. The decimal point is there in case you want to convert the odds to a fractional form. It is not to be confused with the exponent, which is a number after the decimal point that indicates a power of ten of how much you will win or lose on the bet. Exponents can range from 0 to 9, with 2.0 being the standard case. For more information, check out this useful site: https://bettors.com/exponents.html
Common Odds
Most bookmakers and betting exchanges will list the most common odds for various sports and events. It’s usually a good idea to learn these as they can sometimes help when placing a bet. For example, if you are putting a £10 bet on a UFC fight and receive odds of 4.0, then that means that based on the typical payouts, you would win £40 back if you were to select the winning fighter. If you were to take the fight as it stands, you would lose £10, so in total, you would lose £30. However, if you knew that the odds of winning were typically about 1.5 to 1, then you would know that you had a good chance of winning and would not necessarily need to select the fight just because it was the cheapest one available.
Conversion Tables
It can be useful to have a table or chart that converts odds between different formats. For example, if you want to convert 2.0 to 3.0, then you can use the following chart:
- Odds
- Fractional
- 2.0
- 3.0
- Decimalised
- 100.0
- 200.0
- 300.0
- Power
- 100.0
- 0.5
- 1.0
- 1.5
- 2.0
- 2.5
- 3.0
As you can see, the odds first decrease and then increase as the decimal point is moved to the right. If you have difficulties remembering these values or if you just want to quickly check the result of a bet without having to enter the odds manually, then it can be helpful to look them up in a table like the one above.
Reading odds can be quite difficult. However, once you get the hang of it, it becomes quite easy. Just be sure to practice entering the odds into the different applications and sites that you encounter. Once you do that enough, it will eventually become second nature and you will be able to enter the odds with ease whenever you want. Then there will be no more excuses for missing out on any opportunity because you could not understand the odds presented to you.
- 2.0
- Fractional