When betting on sports, especially when doing it online, odds can seem like they’re everywhere. From the TV commercials that pop up during the game, to the banners that appear when you visit a betting site, chances are you’ll see odds thrown around frequently.
While it’s normal for fans to want to know the odds of their favorite team winning, betting ratio is a metric that experts and gamblers alike turn to when analyzing games and putting together lineups. Simply put, betting ratio is the amount of money wagered on a game compared to the amount of money the sportsbooks would consider winning the game. For example, if $100 is wagered on a game and the sportsbook’s take is $150, the betting ratio is 50%.
It’s a simple enough concept, but understanding how it’s calculated and what it means can help provide some context to the numbers that frequently pop up on sports betting websites.
How Calculating The Betting Ratio Works
The concept behind calculating the betting ratio is pretty straightforward; you just need to know the odds of the game. For example, let’s say you’re watching the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians play in a one-game, winner-take-all showdown. The betting line for the game is currently:
Cubs -110
>Indians +110
According to our experts at OddsChecker.com, the odds of the Cubs winning the game are 11/10, meaning that the payout if the Cubs win is going to be 10 euros (approximately $13.20) for every 10 euros ($13.20) wagered. The Indians, on the other hand, are 7/10, which means that if they win the game, they will win 7 euros (approximately $8.80) for every 10 euros ($13.20) wagered. Using these odds, we can calculate the betting ratio as follows:
$13.20 wagered on the Cubs – $8.80 win = 50% betting ratio
In the above scenario, the betting ratio is 50% because 50 euros (approximately $6.40) was wagered and 44.2 euros (approximately $5.60) was won by the Indians. In some cases, you’ll see online betting sites list the implied odds as a way of illustrating the betting ratio, but it’s usually more accurate to look at the odds reported by the bookmaker since they are the closest to reality.
Why Are The Odds Important?
Knowing the odds of a game is important for a few reasons. First, if you’re betting, you’ll want to make sure you’re not wasting your money. By wasting your money, we mean laying down money on a game you believe in despite the fact that the chances of your team winning are minimal. In the above example, if the Indians’ chances of winning were just as good as the Cubs’, you would have put 50 euros (approximately $6.40) on the under, or you would have lost your 50 euros (approximately $6.40).
On the other hand, if you were hoping to win 45.2 euros (approximately $56.00), you would have placed a bet worth 45.2 euros (approximately $56.00) on the Indians.
The second reason why knowing the odds is important is to ensure that you’re not being fooled by someone who is trying to scam you. If you’re not familiar with the concept of online scams, let us introduce you to them. In online scams, a scammer will often attempt to trick you into parting with your money. One of the ways they do this is by pretending to be a part of an online community, such as a social media network, that you’ve joined. The scammer will then try to get you to click on a link that takes you to a “partner site”, which is actually a fake site constructed by the scammers to look like a real one. Once you’re on the “partner site”, the scammer will try to get you to open an account with them, or buy a product they’re trying to push.
In the above example, the scammer would have you believe that the Indians are a good team and that they will beat the Cubs. However, if you look at the betting odds, you’ll see that the Indians are actually a very weak team, which the scammer is exploiting.
Another way that online scammers try to trick you into giving them your money is by using fake bets and fake payouts. In the above example, a scammed version of the site would display an imaginary win for the Indians and a win for the Cubs, even though the betting odds clearly state that the Indians are not going to win.
Knowing the betting odds will also help you figure out if a game is a good investment, or if you should instead look for another game based on your analysis of the current betting situation. If you’re unfamiliar, our experts at OddsChecker.com also give you an indication of how much money you’ll need to spend to make sure you win back your investment, which is generally a good idea since you’re not always going to win.
For instance, if you’ve put down a $100 bet on the underdog Cubs and they win, you’ll win your $100 back plus 50% of the winnings on the game, or $150. However, if you’d rather win $150 on the Indians, you’ll need to put down another $100 to win $150, which leaves you short. In this case, you’re better off looking for another game.
What Is The Most Common Way For Gamblers To Bet?
As we mentioned above, one of the most important things for gamblers is knowing the betting ratios of their favorite teams. If you’ve never been a gambler, you might be wondering what is the most common way for them to bet. Fortunately, you can find the answer to that question easily by looking at the various types of sports betting accounts that are offered by the different sportsbooks. So, let’s have a look at what the most popular ways for gamblers to bet are:
- Moneyline
- Over / Under
- Heads Up
- Proposition
- Past Performance
As you can see above, the most common way for gamblers to bet is through a bookmaker, which is basically an online sports betting shop. This is due, in part, to the fact that betting through a bookmaker is fairly simple and offers the most options for different betting styles. With a bookmaker, you typically place your bets and make them disappear, which for some is all the engagement they need. As far as the types of bets that are available through a bookmaker, they can be a little confusing to someone who is new to betting, so let’s take a look at each one individually.
What Is A Moneyline Bet?
A moneyline bet is exactly what it sounds like – a bet on the winner of a particular team (or player) versus an opposing team (or players). So, in the above example, the Cubs are the “+” sign and the Indians are the “-” sign. If you want to bet on the Cubs, you would go with them and if you want to bet on the Indians, you would place the opposite bet. The moneyline bet is the simplest type of bet to understand because all you have to do is find the team you like and the team you hate and place your bet.
This type of bet is generally the most popular one among gamblers since it takes the least amount of work, and it leaves the most room for wagering. If the line is closer than 10 points, the difference is marginal and it’s generally not worth the time and effort to bet on this type of game.
Over / Under Bet
An over / under bet is a bit like a moneyline bet, except the spread is added to the number. So, instead of having a winner-take-all scenario, as you do with a moneyline bet, the bettor wins the amount of the wager plus or minus the spread. For example, if the over/under is set at +5 and the line is Chicago Cubs -110, you would win a total of 10 euros ($13.20) if the Cubs win and you lose 5.2 euros ($6.60) if the Cubs lose. The over under bet is typically popular among recreational gamblers who like to mix it up with some bookmaking when they’re on the go. This type of bet comes in many different variations, so finding the right line can be difficult. Moreover, someone who is new to betting might find it hard to understand why someone would bet on an event that is not head to head, like a baseball game versus an NFL game, for example.