Betting Odds

How Do Betting Odds Work: Types & Tips

Sports betting is becoming an increasingly popular pastime in America. If you’re also planning to start your betting journey, it’s important to understand the odds. You should have a good understanding of the various types and be able to read odds and interpret the various formats they come in.

What are Odds? Sports betting Odds Explained

The oxford dictionary defines odds as the ‘ratio between the amounts staked by the parties to a bet.’ This ratio is usually based on the expected probability of either action occurring. For instance, take odds of 5 to 1. These mean that the bookmaker (first-party) stakes five times the amount staked by the bettor (second party).

Types of Betting Odds

There are three main types of betting odds.

Decimal Style Odds

Decimal odds are the most common types of betting odds globally. They typically use decimals to represent the ratio. For example, a sportsbook using decimal odds for an NHL game between Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames;

Boston Bruins

1.9

Calgary Flames

1.5

So, whatever amount you wager on Boston Bruins, you will receive x1.9 if they win. Similarly, if you wager on Calgary Flames, you will receive x1.9 of the bet amount if they win.

The favorites coming into a match usually have smaller odds in decimal odds.

Fractional Odds

These are also known as British odds. They are written as fractions and are quite popular among Irish and British sportsbooks. Using fractional odds in a basketball game between Suns and Mavericks;

Suns

5/4

Mavericks

3/2

For every four dollars, you bet on Suns, you win five if they win the game. Similarly, for every two dollars you bet on Mavericks, you win three if they win the game. So, if you wagered $10 on Mavericks and they won, your payouts would be $15 ($10 x 3/2).

Moneyline Odds

All major sportsbooks in the United States use moneyline odds. This is why they are also known as US or American odds. Unlike other types of odds, moneyline odds are based on $100. They typically indicate how much money you need to wager to win $100 or what potential profit $100 will bring you if you win.

Odds for a tennis match between Rafel Nadal and Andrey Rublev may look like this;

Rafael Nadal

-120

Andrey Rublev

+160

In the above matchup, Rafael Nadal is the favorite to win. Favorites typically have a negative (-) sign in front of their moneyline odds. In this case, you have to wager $120 to win $100 if Nadal emerges victorious.

On the other hand, Andrey Rublev is the underdog, shown by the positive (+) sign. If you wager $100 on him and he goes on to win the match, you will win $100.

The difference between the two odds can be summarized as follows;

The favorite’s odds (-) show you how much money you need to wager to win $100.
The underdog’s odds (+) show you how much money you will win if you wager $100.
How to find the best betting odds?

One of the biggest determinants of betting success is the ability to find good betting odds. It’s a must-have skill for any serious handicapper.

One of the easiest ways to find good sports odds is by comparing odds from different sportsbooks. Before any given match, go through different sportsbooks covering the game and wager with the one that has the best odds.

When searching for odds, you will notice that sportsbooks will have different odds for the same scenario. Don’t be fooled by enticingly high odds. In your quest for high payouts and winnings, you’ll come across several shady sportsbooks online. These often have the most irresistible of odds. But since they are operating illegally, there is no guarantee that they will pay you your winnings.

Therefore, you want to stick to legal sportsbooks in the United States. But with so many available, which should one go with? Here at Betsperts, we only recommend US sportsbooks. And we have found time and time again, that BetRivers, FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars offer the best betting odds.

What is Value in Sports Betting?

Another common term among odd hunters in betting is ‘value.’ This can either be positive or negative. A positive value exists where the probability of winning is greater than that reflected in the odds. On the other hand, a wager has a negative value where the probability of winning is less than the odds suggest.

Generally, if you want to make the most money, you need to find positive value.

Types of Sports bets explained

The most common types of sports bets include the following;

Moneyline

Moneyline bets are quite simple. In a match between two teams/players, the bettor predicts who the winner will be. They back one team; if their prediction is correct, they win the bet. And if it isn’t, they lose.

Spread

A spread is a wager on the point/goal difference between competing teams/players. These bets spread the risk, allowing you to back the underdog and still win even if they lose the game. Take a basketball point spread, for instance;

Suns

-5.5

Mavericks

+5.5

The Suns are the favorite to win while Mavericks are the underdog. The Suns need to win the game by at least 5.5 points to cover the spread. On the other hand, Mavericks must win the game or lose it by no more than 5.5 points to cover the spread.

Thus, you can wager on Mavericks and still win your bet even if they lose (as long as it is not by more than 5.5 points).

Totals

Totals are wagers on the final score of a match. Depending on the sport, this can be a bet on the total goals or points scored, or the total games scored. Bettors wager on whether the final score will go above or below the totals. This is why totals are also known as over/under bets.

Total odds vary depending on how often teams score in the sport. For instance, total odds can be as high as two hundred in basketball, while in hockey, they rarely go above 5.

Basketball;

Over 200.5

-110

Under 200.5

+110

hockey;

Over 4.5

+110

Under 4.5

-110

Futures

These are prediction bets on mid to long-term events. For instance, you can bet on;

Who will win an upcoming professional sports tournament,
Which soccer player will score the most goals of the season,
Which NBA team will win the championship,
Which football player will have the most interceptions,
Which team will win the super bowl
Which player will win the MVP award, etc.
Prop Bets

Prop bets, also known as fun bets, are wagers on random events during a game. These events don’t necessarily impact the outcome of the game. A good example of a prop bet is a wager on which team will have the most attempts on goal in a hockey game.

Betting Odds Explained

What affects sports betting odds?

Betting odds tend to change as we move closer to match week/gameday. This is called line movement and can be caused by;

Injuries and other changes to the lineup

When key players get injured, the probability of their team winning a match reduces. Thus, the odds will change to reflect that fact. The same will occur in the case of illness, arrest, suspension, or any other happenings that put key players out of the lineup.

Media stories

The media sometimes runs stories that will affect the outcome of a game. For instance, transfer speculation may affect the concentration of players, making them more likely to lose the game or not dominate as much. Sportsbooks know this and will often react as fast as possible to try and change the odds.

How people bet

The betting public will also impact the odds. This is because sportsbooks are trying to make money from both sides of a bet. So, if people overwhelmingly bet on a particular outcome, sportsbooks try to direct the action to the other side of the bet.

Take an NFL match between Seattle Seahawks and Las Vegas Raiders. The moneyline odds five days before the game may look like this;

Raiders

+120

Seahawks

-110

But as the game approaches, the sportsbook realizes that too many people are betting on the Seahawks. So, they may end up with too much money on that side of the bet. To try and balance things out and prevent this from happening, they need to adjust the odds. Thus, they will make the Raiders’ odds more enticing and the Seahawks’ odds worse to get more people to back the Raiders. The odds now become as follows;

Raiders

+160

Seahawks

-140

New bettors will now be greeted with attractive Raiders odds and discouraging Seahawks ones. As a result, most of them will lean towards the Las Vegas Raiders and probably back them with their money.

What and how to bet futures odds?

Future bets require bettors to make predictions on an upcoming season/tournament. When making such bets, you need to consider the performance of teams/players in past seasons/tournaments. Have they been declining, or are they on the ascendancy? In team sports, you should also look at the caliber of new signings and their expected impact on the team’s performance.

What are the best betting sites for odds online?

Since online sports betting became legal in many states, we’ve seen an increase in the number of online sportsbooks operating in the country. If you don’t know which ones to go with, here are our top recommendations

BetRivers Sportsbook