An overview over how bookmaking works, how they set the odds, explanation of american, fractional and decimal odds, and more on betting odds. In this betting guide, you will learn how odds are displayed. Betting odds come in three formats – American odds, fractional odds and decimal odds. Wondering how betting odds work? Our guide to sports betting odds gives you all the information you need to confidently place bets on your favorite sports! The odds will change as the race draws nearer to the post time because the bookies make adjustments in accordance with how. Betting $10 on the 49ers.
Odds change for a couple of reasons, but, once again you need to understand how sportsbooks make money. Essentially a sportsbook looks to have an equal amount of risk bet on all outcomes of the wager. That is the ideal result for them. To ensure this, they adjust the odds to make a bet more attractive to the side with fewer bets.
Let’s take our example of coin flipping again, to keep things simple. Let’s also assume we have 5 bettors all looking to bet $100.
Heads Odds | Tails Odds | Heads Wins | Tails Wins |
---|---|---|---|
Bet 1 | -110 | -$91.92 | $100.00 |
If we look at “Bet 1” (below), the first bettor risks $100 on Heads for a chance to win $91.92. From the sportsbook’s point of view they are at risk of losing $91.92 on a Heads win, or retaining $100 on a tails win. Not ideal for a sportsbook since they look expect to make money on every event.
Heads Odds | Tails Odds | Heads Wins | Tails Wins |
---|---|---|---|
Bet 1 | -110 | -$91.92 | $100.00 |
Bet 2 | -110 | $9.08 | $9.08 |
When Bet 2 is placed on Tails, the sportsbook gets an ideal outcome: no matter who wins, the book pays out $91.92 using the losers money, and retains $9.08 itself.
Heads Odds | Tails Odds | Heads Wins | Tails Wins |
---|---|---|---|
Bet 1 | -110 | -$91.92 | $100.00 |
Bet 2 | -110 | $9.08 | $9.08 |
Bet 3 | -110 | $108.08 | -$83.84 |
When Bet 3 is placed the sportsbook will likely not make an odds change to the -110, and they will still be available. By choosing Tails again, the risk to the sportsbook is again in the red. If heads wins, the book will have only one bettor to pay, but 2 losers and therefore would win $108.08. if Tails wins they are at risk $83.84. Definitely not what the sportsbook wants, but you’ll notice that the the overall risk is going down versus after Bet 1.
Heads Odds | Tails Odds | Heads Wins | Tails Wins |
---|---|---|---|
Bet 1 | -110 | -$91.92 | $100.00 |
Bet 2 | -110 | $9.08 | $9.08 |
Bet 3 | -110 | $108.08 | -$83.84 |
Bet 4 | -110 | $208.08 | -$175.76 |
Bet 4 is where the sportsbook would get concerned. A third Tails bettor means they could potentially lose $175.76. Remember that the sportsbook isn’t gambling. They are expected to make money. That is why they would look to make an odds change to try to even out their risk.
Heads Odds | Tails Odds | Heads Wins | Tails Wins |
---|---|---|---|
Bet 1 | -110 | -$91.92 | $100.00 |
Bet 2 | -110 | $9.08 | $9.08 |
Bet 3 | -110 | $108.08 | -$83.84 |
Bet 4 | -110 | $208.08 | -$175.76 |
Bet 5 | +180 | $28.08 | -$75.76 |
Betting Odds Explained 101
To do this the sportsbook releases a line that is favorable to Heads, in this case, around +180. That means that a $100 bet on heads pays $180. On coin flipping, take those odds all day! For the book, that means that if Heads wins, they still have $28.08 profit and if Tails wins, the risk, though still negative is a lower -$75.76.
You can see that as this trend continues, eventually the sportsbook takes no risk and takes profit regardless of the result.
Something to keep in mind about this example is that it is unusual to see lines move with only a small number of bettors or dollars, but you can see that after thousands of people bet on a single event eventually profit is guaranteed and predictable.
Top 5 CS:GO Betting SitesIf you approach CSGO betting in the right way, you can make some money from it. However, before you even try to do this, you will need to make sure that you have some understanding of how betting odds work. Making an error and betting on the wrong odds can be costly, so it’s important you understand them inside and out. The idea behind betting odds is simple in that they imply the chance of how likely something is going to happen. For example, the decimal odds of 2.00 suggest something has a 50% chance of happening. At these odds, you will double your money if your bet wins.
Let’s Start With Probability
If you want to drill down into the most basic level of betting odds, then you need to look at probability. This is how probable something is to happen. For any given event, there are a number of possible outcomes, even something as a simple rolling a dice, which has 6 different faces, and therefore 6 different possible outcomes. This means that rolling a “one” has a probability of 16.67%.
Fractional Odds
Betting odds are most commonly displayed as a fraction on betting sites rather than a percentage. For example, you might see “9/1”. A calculation is used in order to work these odds out. For the purpose of explanation we’ll show 9/1 as A/B. This calculation is:
- Probability (%) = B / (A+B)
So, if you had odds of 9/1 then the calculation would be 1 / (9+1) = 0.10. This means there is a 10% chance that an event will happen. Not all odds are presented as something / 1. Therefore, if you see odds of 1/4 then the calculation tells us that there is an 80% chance of that event happening.
Fractional Odds Winnings
It isn’t only probability that these odds are used to calculate, but they are also used to show how much you are likely to win if the event does happen. This calculation is a bit simpler, all you need to do is present the odds as A/B and for every B that you bet, you will win A, plus your stake.
What Are 11/10 Odds
Decimal Odds
Betting Odds Explained 10 11 Odds
Although fractional odds are the more traditional approach, more CSGO betting sites are starting to use decimal odds. Although, these are still not quite as common, they are more likely to be seen on betting exchanges. The calculation for decimal odds is:
- Winnings = (odds * stake) – stake
An example of this is:
- 9.0 odds (9.0 * £10 stake) -£10 stake = £80 winnings
Decimal odds can be easier to understand, and many betting sites give you the opportunity to only present your odds in this way. It really is down to personal preference as to which odds format you choose. Just make sure you understand how much you are risking in relation to how much it’s possible you can win. Hopefully now you understand betting odds and their various formats. Good luck with your CSGO bets!