Understanding Football Odds: A Simple Guide for Curious Fans

Are you keen to place some bets on football? If you are, it’s important that you understand what odds are and how they work. When it comes to betting online for any kind of sport, knowing what you’re doing is key. Once you know the betting basics, you’ll have no problems placing wagers and enjoy your sports betting experience.

What Are Football Odds and How Do They Work?

Every sports bet has odds. There are three main ways they’re represented: moneyline, decimal and fractional. Here in the UK it’s the fractional format that’s the most common. Odds indicate how much your bet stands to win if it’s successful. With fractional odds, the number on the left represents your payout, while the number on the right represents your bet.

To give an example, let’s say there’s an Arsenal vs Manchester United match. You visit an online sportsbook and the bet for Arsenal to win has odds of 2/1. Let’s say you want to wager £10.

The 1 in the 2/1 odds is your bet. The 2 is your winnings. Since 2 is double 1, your winnings are double your bet. Therefore, you would win £20 if Arsenal beats Manchester United. When a bet wins, your original wager is returned to you, so your total payout would actually be £30 (your £10 wager plus £20 in winnings).

If the number on the left is less than the one on the right, your winnings will be lower than your wager. For example, if the odds for Manchester United are 1/2 and you bet on them, 2 would be your £10 and 1 would be the winnings. 1 is half of 2, so the winnings would be half of the wager, which is £5. If you bet on Manchester United and win, your total payout would be £15 (your £10 wager plus £5 in winnings).

Is It Necessary to Calculate Payouts?

With any kind of sports betting, there are lots of numbers and calculations involved. Thankfully, you don’t have to do any complex equations or anything like that. This is because when you join an online sportsbook, the software does everything for you. When you go to place a bet, after typing in your wager you’ll be shown immediately exactly how much money you stand to win if the bet is successful.

Why Odds Matter

Odds don’t just show you how much you stand to win, they also give a rough idea of how likely something is to happen. With fractional odds, there’s a simple calculation you can do to work out an event’s probability.

Simply take the number on the right and divide it by the sum of the two numbers, then times by 100 to get a percentage. Using odds of 9/1 as an example, you would do 1 divided by 10, which is 0.10, then times it by 100 to get 10%.

Therefore, if a bet has odds of 9/1, you can say that the bookmakers (who decide the odds) think the bet has a 10% chance of winning. Generally speaking, the more you stand to win from a bet, the less likely the bookmaker thinks it will win. Conversely, the less your winnings are, the more likely the bet should win, at least according to the bookmaker.

Finding the Best Odds

There are loads of online sportsbooks where you can place bets on football. At a typical betting site, there are many options available for football events of all levels, from major international tournaments to local matches and everything in between. Football is the biggest sport in the UK, and there’s no shortage of betting options.

If you’re going to bet on football, you’ll want to place bets with the best odds. After all, if the odds are good the winnings will be too. One thing you’ll notice if you visit lots of sportsbooks is that the odds aren’t always the same. The odds for Liverpool to win against Newcastle United might be 5/1 at one sportsbook and 6/1 at another. Of course, you would go for the 6/1 bet because it would give you more winnings.

You should therefore join an online sportsbook that has competitive odds. When odds are competitive, they give punters a slightly better deal, i.e. higher winnings. Not all sportsbooks have competitive odds. Some prefer to attract and retain members by focusing on promotions and bonuses instead.

Speaking of which, it can be worthwhile taking advantage of these because they can make your bets more valuable. Sportsbooks sometimes give better odds for certain bets as part of a promotion; they even give out free bets or cashback that you earn on your losses.

Don’t just join the first online sportsbook you come across. Do some research to find a site that has great odds and regular promotions.