Blog 26 Nov 2020 1,373

What Are Odds? How Do Odds Work in Betting?

Odds in simple terms are ratios. The odd for an event is the ratio of the number of times an event occurs to the number of times it doesn’t occur. If you need to understand in layman language, then it goes like this – suppose Man City wins 5 matches against Chelsea for every 4 matches it loses against the same club, then, the odds in favor of Man City are 5:4. The probability of Man City winning the match is 5/11. The probability of Man City losing the match is 4/11.

A word about Arbitrage Betting

For understanding the extended meaning of odds, it is essential to know the definition of arbitrage betting. The idea is simple. When you place multiple bets on all possible outcomes associated with an event, where you use various combinations of odds and stakes, strategically, you can win a profit, irrespective of any outcome. This whole process, in short, is known as arbitrage betting.

In the example cited at the beginning of the article, suppose you bet for Man City winning and losing the match. There will be an outcome. The chances of winning a profit would be independent of the outcome. Arbitrage betting is an excellent way to ensure a sustainable parallel stream of income.

Betting odds in a nutshell

In simple words, it is centered on the probability of tasting success in a specific case involving an outcome or series of outcomes, determining the total amount of money you could win. You can either seek technical help from betting platforms in understanding the dynamics of betting odds or toil alone to gauge the depth of the concept. Profit Squirrel is a wonderful service provider that assists you technically to understand the functioning of betting odds.

Common betting odds

In order to bet, it is obvious that you must be able to read the sporting odds. You can watch video tutorials of Profit Squirrel to understand the process in a detailed manner. Broadly speaking, there are two major categories of sporting odds – decimal odds and fraction odds. As the terms suggest, the odds reflect the chances of winning/losing through decimals or via a fraction. Most of the betting platforms in the UK use either of these two odds. There is another prominent category of odds, known as the American odds, popular in the US market.

Reading betting odds

Reading betting odds is not a difficult task. A simple example will show you the fundamental way of doing it. Suppose the odds for an outcome associated with a specific event are 5/1. It means for every pound you invest, if the outcome happens, you win 5 pounds. There is about a 16.66% chance of the outcome to take place. The percentage here is calculated by dividing 1 by summation of 1 and 5, i.e. 6.