Alex D 2019-04-21T09:06

How to Read Odds

How to Read Odds

All gamblers have a personal preference on how to understand how to read odds, and this comes down to the way that these odds are presented when a bettor first visits the betting website. Some people prefer fraction odds or ‘British odds’ as they are also called.

However, some punters prefer to use the decimal odds. Most people stick to the process that they have learnt how to bet with. Most of the online betting websites start with the fractional odds available, but if you would prefer to change that to decimal odds, it is straight forward on most bookmakers’ websites.

Fraction Odds

The easiest way to understand odds is through the fractional viewpoint. For example, a market may have a bet at the odds of 10/1. The number on the right presents how much the punter must put on the stake to win the number on the left. If the punter raises the stake, then the winnings will be more.

A punter could put £10 on them odds, and they would receive £110 from the bookmakers. The additional £10 comes as the stake is returned as part of the winnings.

What are decimal odds?

Decimal odds or continental odds are widely used in Europe, Canada and Australia. The big difference between fraction odds and decimal odds is that the person betting has already paid out his/her stake, and if he/she should then win they would receive the stake back as well as the winnings.

So to put it simply, if something was 20/1 in fractions, the decimal odds would then be 21.0. If the fractioned odds are 1/20 then the decimal odds would be 1.05 when the odds are even money, they are quoted as 2.

Other Variations of Odds

Along with the two forms of betting odds that we have briefly spoken about, there are also more varieties. This third option is called either Moneyline or American odds. This is also another simple explanation; these odds are typically used for Moneyline betting.

When the number is positive, it will represent the amount that would be won from a bet of $100. For example, if something was +100 and you placed a $100 bet on this, you would win $200. Fractioned odds of 20/1 would be simply +2000. However, when the number is negative, it would refer to the amount that you would need to wager to win $100.

How to Change Odds

Most betting sites are very user-friendly, meaning that navigation through their websites is straightforward. This includes changing between the ways that the odds are presented. Should you wish to change from fractional to decimal odds, you should typically first look towards the top of the page- just below the login and main selection menus.

Then you should locate where is says ‘Odds’, and you will find this next to the time on the right-hand side and next to the ‘language’ tab. From here you can press the ‘Odds’ tab and will see that a drop-down menu appears with the three options of ‘Fractional’, ‘Decimal’ and ‘American.’ Here you select the ‘Decimal’ option, and within a few seconds, the whole page full of odds will immediately change.

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