You might be familiar with the saying ‘curiousity breeds contempt’ and the converse ‘contempt breeds curiosity’. When it comes to sports betting, which is all about probabilities and odds, curiousity can lead you to ask questions like ‘What does O and T mean?’
You see, when you place a bet on a sporting event, you are actually placing a wager – a bet on the outcome of the game. You have two possible outcomes: wins and losses, and the bookmaker will give you the best odds on those outcomes. So if you’re betting on the outcome of a football game, O might mean that the home team will win and T means that the visitors will win.
Odds are just a way of expressing the probability of an outcome, and there is a formula that allows you to easily understand the meaning of odds in relation to sports betting:
- O – Odds of the outcome
- T – The Moneyline
- Money – The amount of money you are willing to risk on the bet
Let’s take a quick look at each part of that equation:
- O – The chances of the outcome
- T – The selection or the team you are betting on
- Money – The amount you are willing to risk
Odds are usually given as odds-on odds or fractional odds. As a beginner in sports betting, you might not fully understand what these terms mean, but you can take comfort in remembering that they are simply ways of saying that the oddsmaker is offering you a chance to win a certain amount of money. You will learn more about odds and probabilities as you continue your sports betting journey.
Odds Of The Outcome
The chances of the outcome of an event are usually given as a fraction or a percentage. For example, imagine that you are betting on the Superbowl and you believe that the New York Giants will beat the Denver Broncos. In this case, the chances of the Giants winning are given as 5/2, which means that you have a one-in-two chance of beating the Broncos. In other words, you have an excellent chance of winning! Just remember that these odds are always subject to change, so be sure to check the latest odds before placing a bet.
The Moneyline
The moneyline is the most basic part of any sports bet. It refers to the matchup between the team you support and the one that you are betting on. If you are backing the New York Giants and you think that they will beat the Denver Broncos in the Superbowl, your moneyline would be:
Giants -110 Broncos +110
This means that you are placing a wager of $110 on the Giants to win the Superbowl and your money will be on the table if they do. Keep in mind that the bookmaker is taking the opposite side of your wager and that this is a common practice in bookmaking to create a ‘funnel’ effect, which means that all of the bets flow towards the middle. In this case, the bookmaker is saying that they think the Giants are an excellent chance of winning and that they can get you to spend $110 on them. Remember: the moneyline is the only part of the equation that the bookmaker cares about. The O and T parts are just a means of calculating the winning chances.
The Amount You Are Willing To Risk
This is the most important part of any betting decision and it is based on how much you are willing to risk on any one bet. You place a bet, you win or lose the bet, and you either keep or give the money you won. The amount you are willing to risk is shown in the table below:
- Win: Your initial investment (plus commission)
- Loss: Your initial investment (minus commission)
If you are not sure how much you are willing to risk on a particular bet, it is a good idea to look at similar bets that you have made in the past. You can also contact the bookmaker directly and ask them how much you should wager on any particular event. Just keep in mind that the bookmaker will try and up-sale this number to you and that you should not be afraid to put a little bit of a ‘betsquid’ in your shell to protect your money!
There are two parts to your risk assessment. The first is how much you are willing to risk on any one bet and the second is how profitable the bookmaker thinks the activity is going to be. In general, if you are looking at a particular bookmaker, you will find that their risk assessment is more than reasonable and that there should not be any problems with risking your money on their activities. On the other hand, if you are looking at an offshore betting site, you might want to be a bit more careful as some of these sites specialise in up-selling bets to you. The key to staying safer than safe is to use a known and trusted source for your sports bets and to always use a VPN to keep your personal information secure.