If you want to come out on top against the bookies it is vital that you understand the fundamentals. When it comes to sports betting there is nothing quite as fundamental as the odds that the bookies offer. Unfortunately, betting odds can prove very confusing. That’s especially true for people who are new to betting.

That’s where this article comes in. We’re going to explain exactly how betting odds work, how they are set and the differences in the ways they are displayed. After taking in all the information below, you will be much better equipped to set about making some profit.

What Do Betting Odds Represent?

At their most basic, betting odds tell you two things:

Instantly convert betting odds in any format. Supports decimals, fractions, American odds. The tool will also tell you how likely the event is to occur to help you know what your chances of winning are. Plus when you're away from a computer or mobile, learn how to manually convert the odds. New depositing sport players only. Min deposit £10, minimum wagering on sport £20, req qualifying bets at min odds 1/1, offers valid for 14 days; max one £10 free bet per customer, paid as bonus token with min 4/5 odds req. Selected payment methods.Tournaments run every Friday at 00:00 CET until Thursday 23:59 CET. For example: In the case of 1/10 short odds (1.10 in decimal form), you could win £1 for every £10 you bet. Therefore, a winning £10 bet would result in £1 in winnings, amounting to a return of £11 (your £1 winnings plus your £10 stake). How to read betting odds. Betting odds are most commonly presented as a fraction or a decimal in the UK.

1. How much you stand to make should the selection win
2. The probability of the selection winning

Take this example. If you were looking through the weekend Premier League fixtures and saw a team had fractional odds of 2/1 (that’s decimal odds of 3.0) you would know that you stand to win £2 in profit from every £1 that you stake should the team win. You’d also know that the bookmaker who set the odds ranks the team’s chances of winning as one in every three times the game is played.

If you saw a team had fractional odds of 8/13, you’d know that for every £13 you stake, you will win £8 or profit and that if the game was played 21 times in total, the bookies think the team would win 13 times and fail to win eight times (what is known as the implied probability).

Working out an implied probability percentage from fractional odds is simple. You just divide the stake by the combined sum of the two numbers which make up the fractional odds. In the case of 2/1 the equation looks like this:

1 / (2+1) = 0.33 or 33%

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For odds of 8/13 this is the equation:

13 / (8+13) = 0.62 or 62%

That’s how the maths works but when it comes to the actual odds that bookmakers set, it’s a little more complicated.

How Do Bookmakers Set Their Odds?

The basic business model of a sportsbook is fairly uncomplicated. Bookmakers set the odds and take bets on an event. When that event ends they pay out everyone who backed the winner and then keep the rest for themselves.

But, consider the following horse race.

As you can see, the combined implied probability of the selections above is 100%. From a bookmaker’s perspective that is a big problem. That’s because, presuming they’ve got the same amount of liability on each selection, they’d never make any money as they’d have to collect and payout the same amount.

So, the bookmakers will build something called an overround into their odds. Here’s a real example of a match odds market from a football match:

With an total implied probability of 101.7%, the bookmaker who set those odds is guaranteed to make a profit of 1.7% assuming that they have the same amount of liability on all three selections. Of course, it rarely works out that the bookies manage to spread their liability evenly but you need to know that when you look at a betting market you’re not simply looking at a reflection of how the bookies think the event will pan out. There’s much more going on behind the scenes.

Armed with this knowledge of how the bookmakers set their odds, you can concentrate on finding value. That is, finding a bet where you believe the odds (and therefore the implied probability) is too big. If the bookies think that a side has a 50% chance of winning but you think they’ve got a better chance than that, that’s value.

The Difference Between Decimal and Fractional Odds

You will have seen above that we’ve spoken about both fractional and decimal odds. They are just different ways of conveying the same information but they do add another layer of complexity.

All the major online bookmakers will shows their odds as both fractions and decimals so it’s important that you understand just what they are showing and how to switch between the two. Thankfully, it only requires simple maths.

To go from a fraction to a decimal is as easy as dividing out the fraction and adding one. Here’s how that looks for odds of 2/1:

(2/1) + 1 = 3.o

And using our second example from above, 8/13, it looks like this:

(8/13) + 1 = 1.62

If you want to go from decimal odds to fractional odds is similarly simple. You just minus one from the decimal odds, turn that number into a fraction and reduce it down to it’s simplest form.

Let’s take decimal odds of 4.5, this is the equation:

4.5 – 1 = 3.5
35/10 -> 7/2

If the decimal price is 1.25, you convert it into fractional odds like this:

1.25 – 1 = 0.25
25/100 -> 1/4

Here’s a list of some of the most common fractional odds and their decimal equivalents (for a more in-depth list click here).

High Odds Predictions

Key Terminology

When reading betting advice or searching for a value bet on the bookies’ websites you’ll come across some key terms relating to betting odds. To round up our article on betting odds, we’ve covered the most widely used terms to ensure you don’t get confused in your search for winners.

Stake – The amount of money that you place (or wager) on a specific bet.

Price – The price of a bet is simply another way of referring to the odds. You can either say that a football team can be backed at odds of 2/1or that their price is 2/1.

Odds On & Odds Against – Two of the key terms that you’ll hear when it comes to betting odds are ‘odds on’ and ‘odds against’. These terms refer to whether a price is greater or lower than evens. Any price above evens is known as odds against, while anything below evens is odds on.

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Short and Long Odds – If something is described as being short odds it means the price is low. A long odds shot will provide you with a bigger win but is much less likely to win.

Last week, we went over how to read sports betting odds and covered the most common items you'll see on a betting board inside a sportsbook (or on your screen with your online sportsbook). These included point spreads and totals. When betting these choices, you will almost always see -110 listed with them. If you don't know what that means, don't worry - we're covering that today and it's not nearly as complicated as it looks. Whether you're brand new to betting, have placed some bets but have disregarded the -110, or live outside the United States and are unfamiliar with American odds, you'll be an expert in no time after reading.

The -110 listed is the actual odds given for these bets, and the odds determine how much you win based on the amount of your wager. This is why the odds are often called the price of a bet. When you see -110 odds, you need to bet $110 to win $100. Of course, you don't need to literally bet $110; that is just the ratio of the amount bet to the amount won. You can bet $11 to win $10, $20 to win $18.18, etc.

For those that live outside the United States, this may look even more strange since -110 is in American odds format. In Decimal odds, which is common in Europe, -110 translates to 1.91 odds. I'm not going to dive into Decimal odds (or other formats) since this article is about American odds, but the Decimal system is pretty straightforward. The odds listed represent a bettor's total return for a winning wager as you simply multiply the odds by the amount you wish to risk. If someone risks $100 at 1.91 odds and win, they receive $91 plus their initial $100 risked ($91 + $100 = $191).

Getting back to the American format, -110 is the standard odds for even* propositions (i.e spread and totals bets). Spreads and totals odds may vary slightly from this number, but in general this is what you will see. For reduced juice sportsbooks like 5Dimes, you will see -105 instead of -110, but the concept is still the same.

*Betting $110 to win $100 obviously is not an even bet. The extra $10 (or 10%) is the sportsbook’s commission, also known as the vigorish or juice. This commission is reduced to 5% with 5Dimes and other reduced juice books, but this commission is found everywhere. You are given this back when you win, but is obviously kept by the house when you lose.

Here is an example of a betting board with NBA lines:

As you can see, -110 is shown next to each spread and totals bet. This would definitely look confusing to someone that has never bet on sports, but now you know it is simply the price for each bet. To determine how much you will win on a bet, you can divide your bet amount by 1.1:

$ Bet / 1.1 = $ W0n ($110 / 1.1 = $100)

For those not good at math, you can also do the reverse. If you want to know how much you need to bet in order to win a certain amount, multiply what you want to win by 1.1

$ To Win * 1.1 = $ Needed to Bet ($100 * 1.1 = $110)

As you can see, understanding the -110 in sports betting is pretty basic once you realize what it represents. You can also apply this knowledge to other odds as well, such as the money line. This kind of bet is different because you are betting who will win the game straight-up, which causes the odds to be different for each game (instead of -110 for everything).

For example, the Golden State money line above is listed at -340 odds. Using the same principles we just discussed, $340 needs to be bet in order to win $100. Again, this is just the bet to winnings ratio - $34 will win $10, $17 will win $5, $20 will win $5.88, etc. This may seem unfair at first but it is logical. The Warriors are by far the best team in the league and have a much better chance of winning the game. Therefore, sportsbooks even this out by placing the odds at a high price for bettors to win a little.

If you wanted to bet the underdog Orlando to win the game, their money line odds are +280. Whenever a '+' is listed for odds, the number after it is how much you will win for betting $100. So in this example, a $100 bet would win $280 if the Magic win the game. This definitely seems like a way better deal than betting $340 to win $100, but remember that Orlando has a small chance of beating the best team in the league. Some bettors may see value in this, but you should never blindly bet an underdog - or any side for that matter (just talk to the thousands that bet on Conor McGregor last August).

I hope this article helped explain what -110 means and how to better understand sports betting odds. If you have any unanswered questions about reading odds or sports betting in general, feel free to send me a message. You can also subscribe here to receive new blog posts like this and other updates to Fast Break Bets via email. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

-Stephen