Understanding Sports Betting OddsAt first glance, understanding sports betting odds can certainly seem overwhelming. Although once you get it down, you'll recognize them for life. We'll take you through what you need to know to become a better educated sports handicapper.
When it comes to understanding sports betting odds, it's another one of those factors that is very important because you have the control to search for the best lines available. I can't stress enough how vital it is to take advantage of the things you have power over when it comes to wagering on sports. You can do the research, utilize a handicapper, know everything there is to know about a certain division, but if you don't have a good understanding of sports betting odds then you'll have no idea if the bet is worth making. Once you learn how to read the odds, you'll never have to learn them again. When you do have a good grasp, it's extremely important to shop around different sportsbooks to find the best odds on the games you're wanting to bet. Understanding sports betting odds is a crucial aspect when it comes to wagering on sports as you will quickly find out. There are mainly five different types of odds depending on how you look at it. The most popular are: The other two are not used as much but they are: Let's take a look at understanding sports betting odds in more detail.
Against the Spread OddsThis is far and away the most common type of line and you'll need to learn how to read them when it comes to understanding sports betting odds. These are used to bet both basketball and football. When you're betting "against the spread", you aren't betting on which team will win but rather which team will cover the spread or how much a team must win or lose by.A point spread is set by oddsmakers to give both teams an equal chance of winning (at least in theory). For a full explanation of how sportsbooks actually set lines, check out our NFL betting lines page. In sports, when two teams play against each other, one team is usually better than the other. If all you had to do was pick the winner then it wouldn't be that difficult because all you'd do is bet on the better team. However, since there is a point spread involved, this makes it much more equal. Let's take a look at a real world example that will help us at understanding sports betting odds. If you were to look online or in the paper, it might look like this: (112) Atlanta 180o -110 The numbers in parenthesis identify the game. They are used by the sportsbook to keep track and mean nothing in betting terms. Atlanta and Cleveland are the two NBA teams playing. The 180o is the total that is set for the game (we'll talk about these odds below) and the -110 means you would need to risk $110 to win $100. The -11 is the point spread that Cleveland is favored by and the -110 are the odds for the point spread (risk $110 to win $100). If you bet on Cleveland and they win the game by 12 or more points then you would win your bet. However, if they win by 10 or less (or lose), then you would lose your bet. The same goes for Atlanta. If you bet on Atlanta and they lose the game by 10 or less (or win the game out right) then you would win your bet. If they lose by 12 or more then you would lose your bet. However, if Cleveland wins by 11, then the game is a push and all bets on both teams would be refunded. The standard odds for a point spread are -110, as shown above. This means you would risk $110 to win $100. Although you can bet any amount, it's just that $110 to win $100 is simple to calculate. You can bet any amount but you'll still get 11/10 odds. It's important to know when it comes to understanding sports betting odds that the extra money you have to put up (the $10 between $110 and $100) is called the vig/vigorish or juice. This is basically the sportsbooks commission if you lose the bet. If you win the bet, then you'll get your original wager back, $110, along with the $100 that you won. If you lose the bet, then you will lose the original $110 that you risked. The vig/juice and point spreads can vary from sportsbook to sportsbook and from game to game, so it is extremely important to shop around at different sportsbooks to make sure you're getting the best price for the game you're wanting to bet. This is a very important aspect when it comes to understanding sports betting odds.
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How The Point Spread is MadeIt's good to know how the point spread is made in relation to understanding sports betting odds. I would say that the majority of sports gamblers don't know how the point spread is determined or the actual process of making the spread. The biggest misunderstanding of point spreads is that they represent the linesmakers prediction of how much one team will beat another team. This really isn't the intent at all.In theory, the point spread is designed to get equal amounts of money on both teams playing each other. In reality however, there's much more to understanding sports betting odds than just equal action. For a full explanation of how lines are set, check out our NFL betting lines page. The opening line is created by oddsmakers, most notably Las Vegas Sports Consultants (LVSC), and then sent out to the sportsbooks. There are a number of different factors that go into creating a point spread i.e. power ratings, injuries, weather, etc. Once the betting lines are released to the public, they may go up or down depending on how much money is wagered on a particular side. The more money that is wagered on a one side, the more the line is adjusted to entice more action on the opposite side. For instance, let's say the opening line of the Lakers/Suns game is the Lakers -6. If more money is coming in on the Lakers than the sportsbook is comfortable with, then they will start to increase the line to -6.5, -7, and so on to draw more money on the Suns to even out the action. Just remember that a point spread isn't a prediction in which the oddsmakers think the favorite is actually going to win by that many points, it's simply designed to draw in equal amounts of money on both sides so the sportsbook can make a profit.
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Money Line OddsMoney line odds are by far the most common in the United States and represent another important aspect of understanding sports betting odds. They can and are used in every sport, most notably baseball and hockey. Money line results are determined by the straight up winner of a game or event. If you're betting on the money line, you're betting on a team or individual to win. It's just that simple.Money lines can be used for any sport but are primarily used for sports where the margin of victory is to small that it would be very difficult to create a point spread. Most common sports include baseball, hockey, boxing, tennis, golf, and auto racing. Money line odds may look a little confusing at first but they're really pretty simple to read. Oddsmakers set the money line so that more money must be risked on the favorite and less money on the underdog in order to entice bettors for both sides. Let's take a look at another example that will help us at understanding sports betting odds in more detail: (108)Tampa Bay +140 10o -120 The numbers in parenthesis are simply used to identify the game. They are used by the sportsbook to keep track and mean nothing in betting terms. Tampa Bay and the NY Yankees are the two teams playing. The 10o is the total that is set for the game and the -120 means you would have to risk $120 to win $100 if you bet on the over. The actual money line odds in this example are the -160 and the +140. This means that if you were to bet on the NY Yankees, you would have to risk $160 to win $100 because they are the favorites (again you can bet any amount you want). If you were to bet on Tampa Bay, you would risk $100 to win $140 since they are the underdogs. This is what is known as a 20 cent line (160-140=20). When it comes to understanding sports betting odds, put in the time to find a sportsbook that offers 10 cent lines because they give you more of an advantage. The favorite will always have a - (minus) by it while the underdog will have a + (plus) or nothing by it. However, sometimes you'll just see a "100" by the name which means the bet is for even money (bet $100 to win $100). The larger the favorite becomes, the bigger the spread between the money line odds. Take a look at this example of a heavy favorite: San Francisco +250 The reason for the increase in the spread between the odds is that sportbooks typically only make money when the underdog wins. A sportsbook wants an equal amount of money on both sides to guarantee a profit (obviously this isn't realistic). The sportsbook knows they will get plenty of action on the favorite, but they also must get enough money bet on the underdog to cover any potential losses if the favorite wins. Let's take a look at another example using the same teams above. Almost all of the time more money is going be bet on Arizona because they are the heavy favorite. If a sportsbook takes $10,000 worth of bets on Arizona, they hope to receive $3333 ($10,000/the odds on Arizona(-300 or 3)) worth of bets on San Francisco. If this were the case and Arizona won, then they would take the $3333 that was wagered on San Francisco to pay off the Arizona bettors which would result in a push for the sportsbook. However, if San Francisco won, then they would take the $10,000 from the losing Arizona bettors to pay off $8332 ($3333 x the odds for San Francisco (+250 or 2.5)) to the San Francisco bettors and keep $1668 for a profit. I cannot stress enough how important it is when it comes to understanding sports betting odds that you shop around for the best lines.
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Total(Over/under) OddsAn over/under bet is a bet that is made on whether the combined points between the two teams playing will go over or under the total that is set for the game. You can either bet that the total will go over or or that the total will go under. It's really just that simple. Let's take another look at our first example that will help us with totals(over/unders) when it comes to understanding sports betting odds:(112) Atlanta 180o -110 The total for this game is 180 as listed above with the odds being -110. To win a bet placed on the over, the combined score must be more than 180 points. To win a bet placed on the under, the combined score must be less than 180 points. If the combined scored is 180, then it is a push and all wagers are returned to the bettors. For basketball and football totals, most of the time odds are -110. If more money is coming in on the over, then the total will be adjusted up (.5, 1, 1.5 points etc) to entice more money to come in on the under to balance things out. However, if more money is coming in on the under, then the total will be adjusted down to entice more money on the over. Again, the sportsbooks want an equal amount of money on both sides so all they have to do is collect there vigorish. Baseball and hockey totals are very similar but do have some differences. Since scoring is so much lower in baseball and hockey, linesmakers simply can't adjust the total by .5, 1, 1.5 points etc. What they will do is increase the odds from -110 to -120 and up. Once the odds get to around -150, then the total will be adjusted by a half point. Totals are very important when it comes to understanding sports betting odds. It's not surprising to have bettors only focus on totals because they believe they're an easier bet to win.
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Fractional OddsFractional odds aren't as common as the previous three but I still feel there good to know when you're trying to get a good grasp of understanding sports betting odds. They are mostly used for horse racing. A fractional odd would look like this: 5/1. This means for every dollar you bet, you'll win five in return.Odds of 1/5 mean that you would have to wager five dollars to win one dollar. A lot of times futures odds in sports (i.e. who will win the superbowl) are expressed in fractional odds.
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Decimal OddsMostly used in Europe and Australia, decimal odds can seem a little confusing at first. The easiest way I can explain how to read decimal odds is to convert them from fractional odds.5/1 odds in decimal odds would be 6. You would take 5 divided by 1 and then you'll always add 1. 1/5 odds in decimal odds would be 1.20. You would take 1 divided by 5 and then add 1. I would suggest always trying to use money line or fractional odds. Although the last two types of odds are aren't as common as against the spread, money line, or totals, they're still
important to know when it comes to understanding sports betting odds.
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