An Overview of How Betting Odds Work

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If you have ever watched the NFL or UFC or practically any other sport, you have likely noticed them talking about Las Vegas odds for the game or fight.

This is the world that we now live in - the betting world, where billions of people around the world place bets every year.

Gambling is getting more and more integrated into TV broadcasts as online gambling companies look to expand their reach. They are entire TV channels devoted to betting, and most TV networks have signed deals with gambling companies.

In this article, we'll give you an overview of betting odds and how they work.

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You've likely wondered what a number like +145 or -115 means.

Let's go over that right now - if you want a more indepth breakdown, please visit our American odds page here.

If you see a number with a + in front of it, that means that the team or fighter or whatever is an underdog (unless it is +100, which means that they are even money to win).

So, what do all of these numbers have in common?

+245
+175
+800

They all mean that the team/fighter is an underdog.

The bigger the number, the bigger of an underdog that they are.

For instance, let's say that a team is a +800 underdog.

This means that for every $100 you bet on them, you would win $800 in profit back.

If you have an underdog of +175, this means that you would win $175 in profit from a $100 bet.

This is the easiest way to figure it out - if you see a + number, the number represents the amount of profit you would win from a $100 bet.

If the amount you wager is smaller or lower, the same ratio applies - so, a $50 bet would pay out $400 in profit if you were to bet on a +800 underdog.

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On the other side of the equation - the "minus" number. For instance:

-145
-220
-1600

All of these numbers mean that the team or fighter is a favorite.

The bigger the number after the minus, the bigger of a favorite they are.

How do you figure out how much money you'd win from these numbers? It's simple:

The number is the amount that you would need to bet in order to win $100 in profit back

So, let's say that you have an odds number of -1600.

This means that you would need to bet $1600 in order to have a chance of winning $100 back.

Or, in the case of -145, you would need to bet $145 in order to have a chance of winning $100 back.

These are called "American odds".

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Now, let's look at decimal odds, which is the same thing, just expressed different.

Decimal odds tend to be more popular in Europe.

If you see decimal odds of 2.00 or less, this means that the team/fighter is a favorite (or even money if the number is 2.00).

If you see decimal odds of more than 2.00, this means that the team/fighter is an underdog.

So, in order to understand how much money you would win from a wager, let's look at a few examples:

1. 1.95.

In this case, the team is a slight favorite to win.

If you bet $100 on this outcome and won, you would win $95 in profit back.

2. 3.00.

In this case, the team is a fairly big underdog.

If you bet $100 on this outcome and won, you would win $200 in profit back.

If you want a quick and easy way of calculating your potential profit, simply subtract 1 from the number and then multiply by the size of your bet.

For instance:

3.00 - 1 = 2

2 * $100 = $200

or

1.95 - 1 = 0.95

0.95 * 100 = $95

These are decimal odds - if you'd like a more indepth write-up, please visit our decimal odds page here.

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If you would like an easy calculator to use to calculate your potential profit, please use our odds calculator.

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Fractional odds aren't really used anymore, but if you would like an overview, please visit our fractional odds guide here.