Let’s start at the start. Sports betting odds are kind of like a preview of a game’s outcome. They tell you which team is favored to win and how much you could net if you bet on them. It’s like a sneak peek into the future, guided by stats and expert opinions.

Odds show the payout on a bet. They can be in different formats, like decimal, fractional or American. Each type gives you a hint on your potential winnings. Higher odds mean a bigger payout, but with a riskier bet.

Not really, it just depends on what you’re used to. In countries where horse racing is deeply embedded, usually fractional odds are used. But they deliver the same thing at the end of the day. Use whichever odds you can get your head around easiest. Usually online sports books will let you switch between different odds types, so it’s easy to find what you suits you best.

Shop around! Different sports books offer different odds. Check various sportsbooks and you can get better deals. It’s like comparing prices before buying anything else. One place we find to be pretty consistently good value is bet365. And with this bet365 bonus code, new players can get even more bang for their buck.

Also known as moneyline odds, American odds are predominantly used in the US. They show you how much you need to bet to win a certain amount. They also have a plus (+) or minus (-) sign beside them, indicating who are the underdogs and the favorites.

In American odds, the minus sign shows you the amount you need to bet to win $100. For example, if the odds are -150, you need to bet $150 to win $100. Meanwhile, the plus sign shows you how much you win if you bet $100.For example, if you see +200, you’ll win $200 if you bet $100.

You might sometimes see +/-100. In this case, it’s an even money bet. You stand to win the same amount you wager.

To calculate your payouts for favorites (-), divide your bet by the odds (then multiply by 100), to see your profit. For underdogs (+), multiply your bet by the odds (then divide by 100), to see your payout.

In the UK and Ireland, you might see fractional odds used more frequently. Even though they look different, they work in much the same way as American odds. With fractional sports betting odds, odds like 1/5 indicate a favourite. It means you win $1 for every $5 bet. Meanwhile, odds such as 5/1 indicate an underdog, so in that case you’ll win $5 for every $1 bet. And even odds are easy to spot, showing up as 1/1 or simply “evens”.

To calculate your winnings, multiply your stake by the numerator and then divide by the denominator. For a $10 bet at 3/1 odds, your profit is (10×3)/1 = $30.

And then you’ve got decimal odds, which are really closely related to fractional odds. All you have to do is dive the numerator by the denominator and add one. For example, 3/1 becomes 4.00 in decimal form.