Before you even think about placing a bet, you have to decide the potential outcome of the money you stake. Whether you like to put wagers on horse racing, Blackjack, or football, each bet comes with odds from your chosen sport or casino game. One of the first steps you need to take is learning how to work out odds in betting. It’s simple enough once you get the gist of it and we will help you.

It might even be your first time gambling online. That’s no worries as we will walk you through it with baby steps. First of all, you need to understand the odds so you know whether it’s worth betting or not. The bookies create them to let you know how much you stand to win in any particular game. The higher the odds, the less chance you have of success. Most bookies demonstrate these odds in one of two ways. Either through the traditional term which looks like a fraction. Or the more modern version that many casinos and sportsbooks are beginning to use. The examples can be found below. In this article, we will discuss which is the best option for you and how they differ on your strategy to beating the bookies.

If you bet $40 on Pittsburgh (-130), your equation would look like this: Cross-multiply to get 130x = 4000, and then solve for “x”. Therefore, if you wager $40 on Pittsburgh, you will win $30.77, and your payout would be $70.77 (your original wager plus your winnings). The chance of winning is 4 out of 52, while the chance against winning is 48 out of 52 (52-4=48). Entering A=4 and B=48 into the calculator as 4:48 odds are for winning you get. For 4 to 48 odds for winning; Probability of: Winning = (0.0769) or 7.6923%. Losing = (0.9231) or 92.3077%.

Gambling Odds Explained

How To Work Out Odds In Betting to Win

The aim of the game with any bet is to win a return on your original stake. Nobody wants to give money away for the sake of it, right? Therefore, you need to understand the probability of your success in any bet you place. How likely will it happen? These sorts of questions help you to make an informed decision. If it offers very little return, is it worth the risk? A low-risk game will have odds such as these:

• 1/1 – meaning, for example, you bet £1 to get only £1 in return as well as your bet (50% chance it could occur)
• With examples like Betfair that use decimals, 1.25 = (1.25 x £10 stake) – £10 stake =£2.50 winnings
• 1/4 – even less chance it would happen, telling players very little chance of occurring

See how they differ? Many players prefer the latter method now because it tells you what your stake will be as well as the return. With common fraction odds, you have to work out the return i.e 9/1 odds with a £10 bet is £90 return plus £10 bet.

Which is the Preferred Method?

How To Betting Odds Work

Of the two methods, the decimal option for odds is easier to understand in our opinion. In addition, it already tells you what you would bet as well. More casinos and sportsbooks now adopt this method like Betfair to attract the modern customer. However, because some like to stick to tradition, fraction odds are still used on many websites and mobile apps. Because you can not just see winnings with decimal odds but also your bet amount, it’s often now the preferred choice if available.

How To Determine Gambling Odds

As a player, you just have to pick based on preference. A lot of websites let you choose now which one you prefer in-game. For example, knowing the odds as quickly as possible is important to react to live chances during a game of football. When you recognise the probability of success and understand how to work out odds in betting quickly, it makes a world of difference. It all comes down to whether you like tradition or an easier method. Unless you’re a maths whizz, it’s much easier to understand how much your 6 pound bet will return on 4.75 odds compared to 8/3.