A Guide to Telling the Online Betting Odds Apart

People who are new to internet bookmakers often ask one question above all others. What are the numbers next to the teams or events and what do they mean? Deciphering these online betting odds may seem difficult at first, but once you understand how they are displayed and what they represent, you will soon discover that calculating your risks is actually quite simple.

American

The American display system simply lists, for example, two teams with a number beside each. For example, if you see Atlanta Younglings -110 and Georgia Oldsters +110, then this means that you will need to spend $100 to win $110 if you bet on the Younglings, which are the underdogs represented by the minus (-) sign. However, if you choose to put your money on the Oldsters, you will need to spend $110 in order to win 100 because they are the favorites represented by the plus (+) sign.

Fractional

Fractional online betting odds were once the most common, but this is no longer the case. In a nutshell, to spot them, just look for a fraction! As another example, if you see the Tampa Redheads with a 7/1, then this means you will need to first come up with the multiplier. To do it, divide the top number by the bottom number. This means that for this example 7 divided by 1 is still 7 so this is your multiplier. As such, if you bet $100 on the Redheads and win, you'll get a return of $700.

Decimal

The final type of online betting odds to familiarize yourself with are the decimal options. These are represented a bit differently. For instance, if you see the Dubuque Brunettes with a 5.00 beside it at an internet bookmaker, all you have to do is multiply the amount you are going to stake by this number to determine the amount you will win if you make the right prediction. This means that if you stake $100 and the Brunettes win, you will earn yourself a nice $500 profit.

In the US, and particularly in land-based locations commonly referred to as off-track betting, the odds are displayed using the American style. In Europe, Canada and most other parts of the world, the decimal system is the most commonly used. Fractional representation is still used by some sites, but it is not nearly as common as it once was.