Good Betting Odds
How do betting odds work? When something is just as likely to happen as not, it is given even odds. These are presented as 1/1 in. If something is statistically less likely to happen, it is given long odds. This means you have the potential. If something has a. Let’s say you bet $10 on the Vikings moneyline at -200 at one sportsbook. If you win your bet, you pocket $5. If you went line-shopping and found the same bet for -175 at another sportsbook, you would pocket $6, $1 more. Understanding betting odds allows you to decipher between good and bad odds. How to Read Betting Odds. There are three different ways in which sports betting odds can be displayed. Despite all being presented differently, the above examples all translate to the same. Free bet applied on first bet of £10 or over. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out bets won’t apply. Payment method restrictions. GB customers only. 30 days to qualify for £20 matched bet. Max free bet a customer can receive is £20. Offer available 1st-7th Feb 2021. One Free Bet offer per customer, household and IP address.
- Betting odds tell you how likely an event is to happen
- They also tell you how much money you will win
- However, at first, they may seem confusing and complex
- Our comprehensive guide takes you step-by-step to explain them
If you’re new to betting, one of the first things you should do is learn how betting odds work. It’s critically important because it allows you to understand how likely an event is to happen, and what your potential winnings will be. At first, it may appear confusing, however, read our guide and let us explain it to you.
In gambling, odds represent the ratio between the amounts staked by parties to a wager or bet. Thus, odds of 3 to 1 mean the first party (the bookmaker) stakes three times the amount staked by the second party (the bettor).
What is Probability?
The most basic level, betting provides you with the ability to predict the outcome of a certain event, and if your prediction is correct, you will win money. For any given event, there are a certain number of outcomes. Take rolling a dice for instance. If someone rolls a dice, there are six possible outcomes. Therefore, if you bet that the person rolls a ‘one’, there is a 16.67% chance that will happen. What betting odds merely do is present how likely the event is to happen. Bookies most frequently in the UK do this as a fraction, i.e. 4/7, whilst the vast majority also offer the ability to view them as decimals. Again, let us talk you through them. All will become clear.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Probability
Whenever you see two numbers separated by a trailing slash, i.e. 10/1, this is known as fractional odds. From this, you can calculate how likely a given event is to happen with a calculation. For ease of explanation, let’s replace the numbers with letters i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Here is the calculation: Probability (%) = B / (A+B).
- 9/1 can be calculated as 1 / (9 + 1) = 0.10– There is a 10% chance that the event will happen.
- 4/1 can be calculated as 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20 – There is a 20% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/1 can be calculated as 1 / (1 + 1) = 0.50 – There is a 50% chance that the event will happen.
- 1/4 can be calculated as 4 / (4 + 1) = 0.80 – There is a 80% chance that the event will happen.
Hooray! We’re making progress. Given a fraction, we can now tell how likely (the probability) what we’re going to bet on will happen. Now let’s figure out how much money can be won using betting odds.
Using Betting Odds to Calculate Winnings
Betting odds allow you to calculate how much money you will win if you make a bet. Let’s use the same examples as before, with the same replacement of numbers for letters, i.e. 4/1 becomes A/B. Quite simply, for every value of B that you bet, you will win A, plus the return of your stake.
- 9/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £9.
- 4/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £4.
- 1/1 for every £1 you bet, you will win £1.
- 1/4 for every £4 you bet, you will win £1.
What About Decimals?
Decimals are far more common on exchanges, such as Betfair, but all leading betting sites do give you the option to view betting odds in this format. They are an alternative to seeing betting odds in the fraction format, and in our opinion, are easier to work out. Here is the calculation: winnings = (odds * stake) – stake. Let’s illustrate it with some examples
- 9.0 can be calculated as (9.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £80 winnings.
- 4.0 can be calculated as (4.0 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £30 winnings.
- 2.5 can be calculated as (2.5 * £10 stake) – £10 stake = £15 winnings.
- 1.25 can be calculated as (1.25 * £10 stake) – £10 stake =£2.50 winnings.
You can use our bet calculator to help you calculate winnings.
USE BET CALCULATOR
Decimal Odds Versus Fractional Odds
In truth, one isn’t better than the other but there is certainly a trend emerging towards decimal odds. Historically fractional odds were used in the UK, especially on racetracks and on the high street. There are two key differences. Generally, decimal odds are easier to understand. Based on this, there has a movement to attract more people to horse racing by making it more accessible to the average punter. Ten years ago, if you were going to Cheltenham, all the odds would be displayed as fractional odds. Now, they’re largely all in decimals. Don’t hesitate to check out our exclusive Premier League Betting Offers !
The second difference between the formats is that fractional odds only represent winnings, and do not include the returned stake compared to decimals which do include the stake. The transition from fractional odds to decimals largely kicked off with the growing popularity of the betting exchanges such Betfair. For odds to change slightly, it’s really difficult to marginally increase or decrease the probability without creating large fractions which are hard to compute for the punter.
Use Our Tool to Convert Betting Odds Into Your Favourite Format
Our odds converter toolwill allow you see odds in whatever format you like . Not only that, but it’ll tell you how likely the selection is to win!
In Summary
Betting odds represent the probability of an event to happen and therefore enable you to work out how much money you will win if your bet wins. As an example, with odds of 4/1, for every £1 you bet, you will win £4. There is a 20% chance of this happening, calculated by 1 / (4 + 1) = 0.20.
Next steps
What Are Good Betting Odds
That’s it! Hopefully, that clears up betting odds. You should now have the knowledge to read betting odds, understand how likely it is to happen, and how much you stand to win.
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The Kansas City Chiefs went 14-2 in the 2020 NFL regular season and finished first in the AFC, earning the coveted first-round bye. As the defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs are primed to repeat thanks to an explosive offense and a defense that deserves more credit than it gets. Below, I make the case for the Chiefs as my prediction to win the 2021 Super Bowl LV, along with other NFL playoff picks and best bets.
Kansas City Chiefs year in review
Sports Betting Odds
The Chiefs absolutely rolled through the regular season with their only real stumble coming in Week 5 against the Raiders – a shocking 40-32 loss at home. Their other loss came in Week 17 when QB Patrick Mahomes and most key starters got the week off to rest for the playoffs.
Despite resting their starters in the season finale, the Chiefs still finished sixth in scoring, first in yards, first in first downs, first in passing, third in touchdown passes and first in plays per drive. It was yet another season dominated by Mahomes and the offense, scoring at least 21 points in all but one game.
Defensively, the Chiefs deserve more credit than they’ve gotten, too. They allowed 38 points to the Chargers in Week 17 and finished 10th in points allowed and 16th in yards – both of which were lower than they should’ve been due to the backups playing on Sunday. Where Kansas City must be better is in the red zone, ranking only 14th offensively and 32nd on defense.
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Why the Kansas City Chiefs will win the 2021 Super Bowl
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:53 a.m. ET.
It’s easy to like the Chiefs as a Super Bowl contender, even at the low +240 odds. They had the best record in the regular season, are the reigning champs and are mostly healthy heading into the playoffs. Few teams in the NFL can keep up with this offense when they really put the pedal down, which is a massive hurdle for opponents on its own.
The AFC isn’t exactly loaded this year, either. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense is underwhelming, the Tennessee Titans defense sorely lacks talent, the Baltimore Ravens can at times be one-dimensional, the Indianapolis Colts are inconsistent and the Cleveland Browns are once again dealing with COVID-19 complications. That leaves the Buffalo Bills as the biggest threat to Kansas City in the AFC.
Fortunately, the Chiefs won’t face the Bills in the divisional round, as Buffalo will have to win two games to potentially meet the Chiefs in the NFC Championship. The Chiefs will face the lowest remaining seed in the conference after this weekend, which in a worst-case scenario will be the fourth-seeded Titans, or in a best-case scenario will be the Colts (who face Buffalo this weekend).
The Chiefs have a better chance than any other team to win the Super Bowl, and it all starts with Mahomes. A quarterback who rarely has an off day, combined with two of the best pass-catchers in football (WR Tyreek Hill and TE Travis Kelce) make Kansas City dangerous. It’ll just come down to whether an opponent catches them on a bad day.
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Chiefs Wire:
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