Sports betting odds indicate the team's chance to win. There are three types of sports odds.
In the United States, it is standard to use the American odds format (shocking!). Each bet will always have a plus (+) or minus (-) in front of a number greater than 100. Take for example how the following moneyline bet odds would be displayed for the following sporting event: Chicago Bears -196.
- Moneyline or American odds (-110)
- Fractional or UK odds (5/1)
- Decimal or European odds (2.5)
- Moneyline Odds Also known as American. Used by most US bookmakers. Based on a straight single bet (on a single outcome, without a points spread) If the moneyline is positive, the amount quoted is the amount you would win on a $100 bet.
- American Odds are the default odds at American sportsbooks. These odds are based on winning $100 for a given bet. Betting a Favorite: The odds for favorites will have a.
- Betting Odds & Chance. To first understand what betting odds are, we have to first understand the concept of chance. Chance is the likelihood of an event happening. It is often expressed in percentages, also referred to as the probability. Let's roll a dice. Rolling a dice yields a probability of 1 out of 6 for each outcome.
- The Moneyline Bet Odds Explained. Moneyline bets are easy to place since it’s just betting on the team to win (or teams to draw) so there isn’t much difficulty in placing them. As with all other bets using American odds, the team with the negative sign in front of their odds is the favorite and the team with the positive value is the underdog.
A big advantage of using online bookmaker, besides betting on sports events taking place anywhere in the world, is the possibility to choose the betting odds you prefer, so you won't have to convert them manually. But still we will explain them all.
American odds
American odds work differently for the favorites and the underdogs. The odds for the favorite express how much money you need to risk to win $100. For example, if the odds are -170 you have to bet $170 to win $100 and collect a payout of $270. The American odds for the underdog show how much money you would win if you risk $100. If the odds are +400, you would win $400 for a $100 bet and receive a total payout of $500.
Fractional odds
Fractional (traditional, UK) odds are often used in horse racing. They show how much you would win, relative to the wager. For example, odds 1/5 show that you would win $20 on a $100 bet. The odds 10/1 express that you would win $1000 on a $100 bet (payout $1100).
American Betting Odds Explained
Decimal odds
Decimal odds are widely used in Europe, Australia and Canada. They are the easiest to understand because you simply have to multiply the value of your bet with the decimal odds and you will get the total payout (bet+winnings). For example, if the decimal odds are 2.5 and you risk $100, you would receive $250 in total payout (2.5*$100).
How To Read Line Odds
Odds comparison
The table below shows you how percentage chance, American odds, fractional odds and decimal odds are expressed to mean the same thing.
| Chance of Winning | American Odds | Fractional Odds | Decimal Odds |
| 20% | +400 | 4/1 | 5 |
| 80% | -400 | 1/4 | 1.25 |