Understanding the Odds Tutorial

Basically there are four ways that an online sports gambling establishment will specify odds. They are American, Decimal, Fractional, and Horses (because this is the way horse racing odds are generally expressed). We will give a brief explanation of each type in this Tutorial.

American style odds:
So called "American style odds" are expressed in terms of a "-" for favorites and a "+" for underdogs.

For example, if you see "-120" listed as the odds on the team you are interested in betting on, this tells you that you must wager $120 dollars in order to win $100 (Or risk $1.20 to win $1.00, whichever makes more sense to you). If you see "+110," this means that for every $100 you wager, you stand to win $110.

So when a sports gambling establishment refers to a "dime line," they are referring to the differential between the favorite and the underdog. So if the favorite is listed as "-120" and the dog is listed as "+110," then this is a dime line due to the fact that favorite bettors are risking .10 more per dollar than the underdog bettors stand to get back. As you can see, this is how a sportsbook makes it's money. This differential is often referred to as the "juice" or "vig."

Decimal odds:
Most European sportsbooks use decimal odds by default. Calculating your winnings using decimal odds is simple. If you wager $100 at 2.31 odds, you will receive $231 ($100 x 2.31) if you win (which includes your original $100 wager). If you wager $100 on 1.75 odds you will receive $175 if you win (which includes your original wager).

Fraction odds:
Some European sports gambling establishments express odds in fractions. In such cases, the win amount is listed first. So a line listed as 9/10 would give you $9 of winnings for a $10 winning bet. .

Horses odds:
In horse racing, odds are generally expressed in the form of x to y (or x - y). You are risking y in order to win x.

For example, if you see 10 to 1, it means that you are risking $1 in order to win $10, or $100 in order to win $1000. Conversely, if the odds are 1 to 10, it means that you have to wager $10 to win $1, or $100 to win $10.

These are the basic ways that odds are expressed at sports gambling establishments online. Odds are not at all complicated when you know the basics, and the basics as listed here should be sufficient to get you started gambling online.