Sports Betting Odds: Guide All about Sports Gambling

Sports betting is now accessible to billions of people across the world. Many people are gambling in different markets and sporting events. These include the NBA, English Premier League, NFL, AFL, Olympics, and La Liga, among others. Whenever there is a sporting activity happening in a place around the world, there are high chances that someone is already betting on its results.

Noteworthy, dealers from across the world understand betting differently. So, the odds are displayed and expressed differently in different locations of the world. Some are in the form of multiplications, others in percentage, and others by addition. As you’ll find out in the next few minutes, the odds are largely influenced by the Las Vegas betting odd systems.

So, What Are Odds?

Odds are the probability of a team or athlete winning a contest over their opponent. Let’s take the case of a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Justin Beiber (hypothetical). The odds will be against JB in all ways here because he’s less experienced than Mayweather. So, the betting companies will make sure that they lure people into betting for him by increasing his odds. Odds here are the amount of money that a dealer can win.

Probability

Fundamentally, casinos give players the ability to predict the results of a sport. Several occurrences are expected in a Football/Soccer match, for instance. The apparent outcomes are a draw, a win or a loss. But also, modern bookmakers have included other results such as goals for each team, goals before half times, number of goals scored, red cards, substitutions, penalties and many more.

The probability of the outcomes depends on a wide array of factors. These include team strength, number of injured players, the athlete’s records and form, the position of the team or athlete in the comparison table as well as the history of the two rivals. The stronger team that has a high chance of winning is the favourite, while the weaker side (underdog) has a low probability. Likewise, underdogs have the highest odds, while favourites have low odds.

Players win when the outcomes they wagered for is replicated in the sporting event. The beauty of sports betting is that no one – not even the experts at the betting company- can be sure of the outcome until the game is complete.

Types of Odds

A significant key to your success is being able to tell the different kinds of sports betting odds. You must know how the odds work and how to read them. In short, you should be literate in the language of sports betting. Failure to understand odds means you don’t know how to use the betting tools provided. Fortunately, it’s quite easy to understand the odds. We’ll take you through the various odds below.

American Odds

The American odds are popular with the US sportsbooks. The American sports betting odds usually work differently for favourites and underdogs. Sometimes, these odds are just called Moneyline odds.

When you bet on a favourite, you will see the amount that you have to risk if you were to win $100. Let’s take the case of a few NBA chances.

Lakers are -220 to win Saturday’s game.

So, you would have to place $220 to win $100. In total, you’ll get the money you wagered, plus the winnings. Thus, in total, you get $220+$100=$320.

However, when placing a bet for an underdog team, the display is a little different.

Let’s say Chicago Bulls are the underdogs with odds of +350.

This means that once you place $100 as your bet, you’ll earn $350 if the underdogs win. Plus, you will get your stake back. In total, you’ll receive $350+$100=$450.

Then, in case you find the letters PK alongside the odds, it means there’s no favourite or underdog. So, all you have to do is pick the winner without any consideration of the point spreads.

The Fractional Odds

The fractional odds are common in Britain, and thus, they are also referred to as the British Odds, Traditional Odds or UK Odds. Fractions represent them.

For example, in the EPL, Chelsea is taking on Portsmouth this Sunday. Portsmouth has odds of 5/1. So, if Portsmouth wins, you’ll receive five times your odds. Thus, if you place a stake of £50, you’ll receive 5 x £50=£250. You’ll also get your stake back, which means you’ll win a total of £300.

Likewise, if you are betting on Chelsea, then your odds will be 1/5. Thus, you’ll take home £1 for every £5 bet. Therefore, if you wager £50, you’ll receive £10 extra cash and a total of £60 if your team wins.

Decimal Odds

Decimals are the primary way of representing odds in the rest of the world, literally. Decimal Odds, in the UK, are often referred to as European odds. Europe, Australia, Canada, Africa, and many other places use decimals. Decimals are easy to understand, and the majority of online sportsbooks prefer them. They are often a representation of the fraction in decimals.

Let’s take the case of Barcelona playing Villa Real at Camp Nou this Wednesday. The odds are 2.50 for Villa Real. So, if you wager $100 in support of Villa Real and they win, you’ll get 2.50x$100=$250.

Las Vegas Odds

Sports betting odds are all made in Vegas. The Nevada city’s reputation in terms of being a world’s leading fun joint has attracted everybody- especially gamblers. Las Vegas hosts some of the world’s most famous casinos, but also, the people who actually control casinos in the world!

Whether you are placing your sports bets in a mortar and brick casino or on the internet, be sure that the bookies in the Sin City are influencing the odds. Well, we cannot just ignore that the city tends to have experienced folks when it comes to betting. However, it also happens that Las Vegas has the benchmark for odds for different events.

It’s not always true that every casino in the world will have the exact odds as those in Vegas- but the variation is minimal. The odds are usually fashioned to favour the house and at the same time let players win. Vegas odds attract more gamblers due to their lucrative nature. Thus, they are loved by casino bookies too!