To dive into the world of sports betting, knowing the strategies to adopt is a good thing. However, you also can’t get away with it if you don’t understand how sports betting works.
One of the things you need to do to do that is understand what odds are.
It designates a probability that determines your chances of winning as well as your potential gain. It is determined by the betting operator taking into account many criteria.
Multiplied by the amount of your bet, it calculates the amount of your potential gain. Therefore, the higher the odds, the higher the amount of your win will also be if your prediction turns out to be correct.
For example, if you bet 100 euros on odds of 5, you will win 500 euros if the bet passes.
This also means that the probability estimated by the bookmaker is 20% (1/20*100). Indeed, the odds are above all probabilities.
Here is what you need to know about the odds in order to best interpret it before placing your bets
As explained above, it indicates the level of probability of the outcome of the sporting event. The higher the odds are, the more unlikely the outcome of the event.
Minimum rating and maximum rating. The minimum threshold is 1.01. This indicates that the outcome of the event is almost certain.
On the other hand, there is no imposed maximum. It is common to find odds of more than 1000 but in practice these are almost impossible events.
Fixed odds and odds for mutual bets. Fixed odds means that they are determined at the time your bet is registered. On the other hand, in the case of pari-mutuel betting, which is mainly used in horse racing, the odds are determined according to the total volume of bets registered.
The thing to remember is that it is in your best interest to compare the different odds displayed by the betting operators before registering your bet. Such a strategy will allow you to find the highest odds for a probability in your favor.