Combining gambling skills and expertise in a particular sport is a great way to make some money on the side. More experienced bettors can often predict the outcome of specific matches, and their potential earnings depend entirely on the odds that bookies offer. Therefore, odds are probably one of the essential aspects of betting.
Bookies will usually make sure that there are good bets on all possible outcomes to even out the risk. If you want to have an advantage, it is essential to learn how NFL odds are different from NBA odds, for example. It would help if you knew how odds work to use them properly.
American Odds
Placing a minus or a plus sign before a number is one way to represent betting odds. In the industry, this is referred to as the American odds representation. The minus sign shows how much money you need to bet on a particular team to win. Usually, the number is above 100 and is a good indication of whether a competitor or group is expected to win.
In contrast, when you see a plus sign that precedes a number, it will indicate that the team is considered an underdog and show how much you’re going to win if you bet $100 on that team. The winning bettor collects both the amount placed in the bet and the prize amount in both cases.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are another popular way that bookmakers use to express the odds. Usually, you will notice this system being used in Continental Europe. The method is pretty straightforward; the stated number is represented in decimal points, and the betting amount is included in the odds, too.
In other words, if you have odds of 2.5 on a particular winning team and you bet $10, you will gain $25 if the team you bet on wins. The odds always need to be above one in this system to ensure that bettors can make money.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds are primarily used in England. Usually, they are written as six to five or 6/5. The first number represents the amount you’ll win if your bet equals the second number. At first, the system could seem complicated.
To make it clear, let’s say you have odds of 12/4 on a particular horse win. You, as a bettor, would need to place $4 as a bet, and if your horse wins the race, you will get $12 in return. If you happen to win, you will get $12 you won and $4 that you placed as a bet. Both the amount won and the amount bet needs to be returned if you happen to succeed in this system.
Point Spreads
Various types of games allow for sports betting. More often than not, you will find that you can bet by how many points a particular team will win, not just who or which team will win. These are referred to as point spreads. Usually, odds for these are stated as a minus or a plus number. However, the system is not the same as the American odds.
For example, say you have an NBA game, want to play point spreads, and see that the odds are +9. This means that the underdog team needs to lose by at least nine points for you to win the bet. On the other hand, if the points spread is -9, the favored team needs to win by at least nine points.
Over-Under
This is a betting system that can only be used if the game being played has kept scores. A bettor can place bets on the total number of points scored in the game, no matter which team scores how much.
An under 170 bet in an NBA game could only be won if both teams score less than 170 points when their final results combine. In some cases, you can bet on individual phases of the game and many points a particular player will score.
