It is undeniable how betting culture has naturally attached itself to the sport. One can make various bets depending on the sport: which team wins, which player will score the most, and others.
Before the game begins and before anyone can place a bet, betting organizers or experts will already lay out their predictions, telling a likely outcome and who the game will be in favor of. They will also give out the material ubiquitous to every betting event: the odds. This article discusses sports odds and how significant it is when you bet.
The Odds
The odds are a material used for sports betting. Oddsmakers create it for sports events. Its form may vary, especially as it has different types and may depend on the sport used. The odds reflect how much you have to bet on and how much you can win. There are three types of sport odds: decimal odds, fractional odds, and money line odds. The following are how to read these odds, as well as examples.
Decimal Odds
Decimal Odds are the type of odds that directly reflects your profit, reflected in decimal format. This is often used in countries such as Canada, Australia, and the continent of Europe. Since these odds immediately show the profit you can receive should you win, this is considered the easiest to understand.
For example, the odds of a player winning a tennis match reads 2.00. Therefore, if you wagered $100 on that player, you would get $200, giving you a profit of $100, in addition to the $100 return.
Decimal odds can also indicate who the favorite or the underdog is. Most of the time, betting on the favorite gives the least profit, and betting on the underdog gives the most profit. But, of course, this is assuming they win.
For example, imagine two competitors in an MMA match. Fighter 1 has the odds of 3.50, and Fighter 2 has the odds of 1.50. Therefore, betting $10 on Fighter 1 will give you a total of $35 with a profit of $25, and Betting $10 on Fighter 2 will give you a total of $15 with a profit of 5$. With this, we can assume that Fighter 2 is the favorite and Fighter 1 is the underdog.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds are the type of odds that reflect how much you can win for how much you spend. This is reflected by putting a dash or a hyphen between the numbers. This is popular and often used in Britain.
The setup looks like this: two numbers, often one or two digits, are separated by a dash or hyphen. The left number represents your profit, and the correct number represents how much you have to wager to get the profit.
For example, imagine a race between 2 players. Player 1 has the odds of 5/4, and Player 2 has the odds of 8/2. If you bet 4$ on Player 1, you will gain a profit of $5, plus receive your $4 back, giving you a total of $9. On the other hand, betting the $2 on Player 2 will give you a profit of $8, and, with the $2 return, you get a $10 total.
Moneyline Odds
Moneyline odds are the type of odds that is popular in America. It reflects how much you need to spend or how much you can gain, depending on which player is the underdog and the favorite. The underdog players are indicated with a plus sign, and the minus sign indicates the favorites.
If you bet on the favorite, you must bet on the indicated number to win $100. On the other hand, betting on the underdog will require you to wager $100 to win the indicated number.
For example, let us look at the odds for the July 26 game between the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics. For the entire game, The Astros have an odds of -250 and are the favorite, and the Athletics +190, indicating that they are the underdog. To bet for the Astros, you need to wager $250 to get $100. If they win, you get a total of $350. To bet for the Athletics, you need to wager $100 to get $190; upon winning, you get $290.
The Importance of Reading the Odds
There are two reasons why reading the odds matters.
You want to know how much to spend and gain. For example, when looking at the odds of a game you are betting for, and if you bet to win more money, then you need to compute the odds and see how much it would take to spend and win and if it will be worth it.
The Odds may indicate the winner. As the odds are made considering varied factors, there is a considerable possibility that whoever is the favorite will win, especially in 2-person sports. If you want to increase your chances of winning, you could bet on the favorite.
To Conclude
The odds are the material that helps predict the game’s outcome and shapes the outcome of your betting. So it helps to keep an eye on them as much as possible before and during the game to make the most out of your wager.
