When you place a wager on sports or any other kind of betting, there are two key terms you need to understand – ‘plus’ and ‘minus.’ These are simply short-hand ways of referring to the chances of the event occurring. When you hear someone talking about the spread of a sports match or the over/under on the total number of goals in a football game, that’s when you know they’re speaking of odds. Knowing how to calculate these numbers and how to use them is essential if you want to enjoy the casino experience without risking your bankroll.
Odds Basics
If you’ve ever taken a basic statistics course in school, you’ll remember learning about odds. When you have more than two choices, odds are always expressed as a fraction – for example, a 2/1 fraction means there are twice as many possibilities of something happening as there are of it not happening. To illustrate this, assume you are betting $100 that the temperature will be above 75 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday at noon. Your $100 will be divided into two equal-sized wagers. One will be that $50 ($100 x 2/1) that the temperature will be above 75 degrees Fahrenheit at noon on Friday. The other will be that $50 ($100 x 1/2) that the temperature will be below 75 degrees Fahrenheit at noon on Friday.
This is how you calculate the odds when there are only two possible outcomes. The more choices there are, the more complicated the fraction becomes. Let’s say you put $100 on the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. Your funds will be split into five wagers – one for each quarter. The first one will be that the Seahawks will score at least three touchdowns. The second will be that they will win by a certain amount of points. The third will be that the game will last at least three hours. The fourth will be that the temperature in Seattle will be above 75 degrees at noon on Friday. The fifth will be that it will be below 75 degrees Fahrenheit at noon on Friday.
The interesting thing about these odds is that the chances of all five happening are very slim. On the other hand, the chances of at least one of them happening are quite high. If you look at it the other way around, the chances of all five happening are about equal to the chances of one of them happening. When you bet on sports, you are essentially placing a wager on which event will happen first – in this case, which touchdown will be scored by the Seahawks.
Now that you understand odds and how to use them in betting, it’s time to take a look at how to interpret them and how to use them properly. When calculating the odds of an event occurring, you need to keep in mind the following factors:
The Line
When you hear someone speak ill of the betting line, they are referring to the opinion makers who provide the odds – the bookies. The line is what the bookies are offering on the outcome of an event. It is always expressed as a percentage, and it is very common for the line to be changed multiple times during the afternoon or evening of a big game. The line is constantly in flux as soon as someone places a bet, so be sure to check the latest odds before making any wagers.
Odds Change
Odds change is key in today’s sporting world. Just check any sportsbook (that is, a bookmaker) website on any given day and you will see that the line is always changing. This is one of the primary reasons why odds are so important in sports – they can change frequently, which means you are always playing a form of catch-up gambling. The best thing about taking the time to learn how to use odds and do your own research is that you are not affected by this volatility. The key to being a successful gambler is learning to control your emotions and play only when you’re feeling lucky.
The Money Line
As the name implies, the money line is all about the total amount of funds wagered. It is important to keep in mind that this number can change frequently as more money comes in or goes out – it is a constantly fluctuating number. Another key point to keep in mind is that the money line is used to compare the odds of two or more teams or individuals competing or playing against each other. You use this number to calculate the winner of an event. For example, if you bet $100 that the Atlanta Falcons will win the football game between them and the Los Angeles Rams, your $100 will be broken down into two parts. One will be comparing the Falcons to the Rams, with the other comparing the home team (the Atlanta Falcons) to the visiting team (the Los Angeles Rams).
This is why when you hear someone speak of the “Moneyline,” they are referring to the odds that determine the outcome of the game between two opposing teams. For example, the Kansas City Chiefs are a professional football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They compete in the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The team’s colors are red, white and blue. They wear white at home and red on the road. Their primary logo is a chief wearing an ornamental hat and holding an arrow in his hand. He is aimed at an eye with a blue football in front of him. This is presumably to indicate that they are watching the football like a hawk.
As mentioned above, this team competes in the AFC – the American Football Conference – which is part of the National Football League. The AFC is the equivalent of the English Premier League in soccer (or the N.F.L. for U.S. sports fans). It is the second-largest league by total membership after the N.F.L. However, it is the third-largest when you take into account its teams in regard to size – that is, the number of fans, players and coaches combined.
The Over/Under
An over/under is usually used when comparing the total number of points that will be scored in an upcoming sports game to the total number of points the opposing teams are typically expected to score. This is especially common in NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) football where the total number of points is typically greater than in the N.F.L. When you hear this type of wager mentioned, it is a good idea to look it up in the dictionary to see what it means. This is important, as often times the line for an over/under can fluctuate quite a bit. For example, on December 10, 2019, the over/under for the University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball game against the University of Pittsburgh was set at 77 points. The final score was 88–78 Penn. In the over/under world, these kinds of wagers are also referred to as “Total Goals” or “Total Wins.”
The important thing to keep in mind is that when betting on the over/under, you are making an educated guess as to how the game will go. Just like with any other type of betting, if you want to be successful, you need to learn how to use odds properly and learn how to calculate them. Luckily, that’s what this article is all about!