Betting odds

Bookmakers set odds for events based on many factors. With the ability to read them we can easily determine the probability the bookmaker gives for certain situation to take place. The problem is different bookmakers let punters place their bets in few formats: Decimal, Fractional, Moneyline or Malaysian to name the most common. Every format has different formula, but overall they are telling us the same thing - what do bookmaker think the possible outcome will be, and how much money can we win on a bet. But to know our chances we need to learn how to read, and convert the odds.

Fractional Odds are also known as UK Odds, because they are predominantly used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Walking through London’s high street of bookmakers you would see fractional odds adorning the walls of some of the most prominent bookies in the world.

Fractional Odds are extremely simple to calculate because, surprise, they are given in fraction form.
The denominator (2nd number) is amount put at stake, while nominator (1st number) is how much your wager will yield. Let’s say you wager at 10/15 fractional odds. For every £150 put on stake, your potential net profit would be £100. If you win, your wager also returns to you, leaving you with £250 (£150 original wager + £100 profit).

   10   /   15              10  +  15  =  25         
Profit / Stake (combined gives us Return)
 

Decimal odds are mostly used in Europe outside of UK, and are simply telling us how much we'll win if the bet comes through. Decimal odds are really just the decimal value of a bet’s fractional odds plus one. The reason why this kind of odds is popular is because the punters have no need to calculate their return. All they have to do is to multiply the wager by the decimal odds given by the bookie, and they have the win amount calculated. 

What about the chances to win? Basically, lower decimal number means higher chances for the team to win the match. In reverse - higher decimal number is given to team with lower chances. Let’s take hypothetical odds for Team A taking on Team B:

Team A - 1.300
Team B - 4.000

If you bet £100 on Team A, you can potentially get £130 in return.

Odds x stake = return
1.300 x £100 bet = £130.00
This contains your initial £100, so the profit is £30.00.

If you placed a £100 bet on Team B, the potential return would be £400.

4.000 x £100 = £400.00
(£300 profit plus the stake of £100)

Moneyline odds are favoured by United states bookies and because of that are sometimes called American Odds. There are two possibilities: The figure quote can be positive, or negative. Moneyline refers to odds on 2-way outcome of a match with no consideration to a point spread.

Positive figures are representing the underdog, and show how big the profit will be for a $100 wager.
A +130 odds mean that the wager of £100 would have a potential win of £230 - initial £100 and the profit of £130.

Negative figures on the other hand are representing favourite, and they tell us how much money must be wagered to win £100.
A -150 odds mean that the wager of £150 would be needed to get a £100 profit resulting in total of £250 return.

Malay Odds are expressed as either positive or negative and are related to a set base unit. They are similar to US odds (Moneyline) but have inverted values, which means that positive US odds are negative for Malay, and negative US odds are positive for Malay.

If something has a 50% chance of winning it is written as 1.00 in Malay odds. This represents even money. If you placed a bet of £100 on event at 1.00, then you would win £100 and get your initial £100, which gives a £200 of total return.

Positive figures represent a probability of over 50% chance of winning and mean that you will need to put on stake more than you receive in profit.
Odds of 0.65 indicate, that you would make a profit of 0.65 units for every 1 unit wagered, so betting £100 on odds 0.65 would return £165 of which £65 is profit.

Negative figures represent a probability of under 50% chance of winning, and mean that your net profit will exceed your stake
Odds of -0.50 indicate that you would make a profit of 1 unit for every 0.50 units wagered, so betting £100 on odds -0.50 would return £300 of which £200 is profit.

For positive odds
£100  x 0.50    = £50
Stake x Odds  = Profit

For negative odds
$100  / -0.50    = £200
Stake / Odds   = Profit

What if some bookmaker doesn't provide us with odds format of our liking? Worry not, we provide you with this ready to use odds conversion chart. Not only will you quickly switch from one format to another, but also estimate the chances of certain bet to succeed and yield.

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