How to interpret decimal odds in sports betting

If you’re already a bettor, or if you want to start betting, one of the basic things you have to learn to understand is the odds. The odds describe how likely it is for an event to happen, for example, Real Madrid winning their next La Liga game against Barcelona. But instead of writing this as a probability, e.g. 50%. It is shown as odds instead because this makes it easier to calculate how much money make if you win your bet. For example, if you win a bet of 2.00 in odds, then you double your money. €100 x 2.00 = €200. There are several odds types and the one we just showed you is called decimal odds. Next, Oddshero will explain to you everything you should about decimal odds, which is also known as European odds.

5 Key Takeaways about Decimal Odds

1. Decimal odds are the most used odds type around the world and especially in Europe.
2. Decimal odds are just a different way of writing the probability of a team winning.
3. The relationship between Probability (P) and Decimal Odds (O) is P = 1 / O.
4. Decimal odds show how much gross profit you make if you win a bet, for example, if you bet €100 x 2.00 in odds, your gross profit would be €200.
5. Decimal odds enables you to calculate how much money you make if you win a bet. Profits = ( Stake X Decimal Odds ) - Stake. Example: (€100 x 2.00) - €100 = €100 Profit.

What are odds in a sports bet?

Wikipedia says: “Odds are a numerical expression, usually expressed as a pair of numbers, used in both gambling and statistics. In statistics, the odds for or odds of some event reflect the likelihood that the event will take place, while odds against reflect the likelihood that it will not. In gambling, the odds are the ratio of payoff to stake, and do not necessarily reflect exactly the probabilities”.

So, in simple words, odds are the way to measure the probability of a future event, like who is going to win a football match.

What are decimal odds?

Decimal odds are also known as European odds, but this format is also used in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Singapore. Anyway, decimal odds indicate the ratio of the payout, including the original bet. For that reason, the decimal odds of an outcome are equivalent to the decimal value of the fractional odds plus one.

The relationship between decimal odds and fractional odds

Fractional odds, is a common way to show the odds in the United Kingdom, especially when we talk about horse racing. This type of odds is used in several sports in the UK, particularly for football. Knowing fractional odds will make it easier to explain how decimal odds work.

Let’s talk about a specific match example, Liverpool faces Manchester city this Sunday. The whole world will be watching this game, even those who aren’t fans of any of these clubs; because it could decide who wins the English Premier League this year.

At the moment, Liverpool is dominating the competition. They’re still unbeaten and now the reds have the chance to extend their advantage over Manchester City to 9 points if they win. City on the other hand has suffered a couple of defeats since the league started, and injuries have smashed their defense. Hence, we could take Liverpool like favorites. What’s more, they play at Anfield, a great atmosphere awaits.

The odds at the moment of writing, are 17/10 on a Liverpool victory. So, from this fraction, we can calculate the decimal odds. All we have to do is solving the following equation. We divide the fraction to obtain a decimal value. Then we add 1 to the decimal value and we have the decimal odds of Liverpool winning.

17/10=1.7+1=2.7.

So the decimal odds for a Liverpool win over Man City are 2.7, but what does this mean?

So, let’s suppose you want to bet €10. To know how much you can win if you bet on Liverpool getting the three points, you should multiply your stake size of €10 with the odds (2.7). Then you know how much money you will make if Liverpool win the game.

€10 x 2.7 = €27.

Your gross profit would be €27 if you bet €10 on the current odds (2.7). Your net profit would be your gross profit minus the amount you bet, so €27 - €10 = €17. Since you won the bet your original stake was returned + the net profit of €17.

Key Takeaway

Decimal odds are easy to understand and enable you to know how much money will make if you win your bet. At Oddshero, you will read the odds in the decimal format, as they are the most intuitive odds type to understand and because it is easy to convert decimal odds to probability. If you are used to a different odds type, do not worry, we support those as well and take care of the conversion between them for you.