Do you love sports? Do you love making bets on sports? If so, you’re in luck! This is the complete guide to understanding online sports betting odds and using them to your advantage. In this article, we will discuss what betting odds are, how they work, and how to use them to make money on your favourite sporting events online. We’ll also cover some common terms and phrases that you’ll encounter when betting on sports. If you’re a novice or an expert, you’ll find something useful in this article.
A Brief Introduction to Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is a popular pastime for many people around the world. It’s a great way to add excitement to your favourite sporting events, and it can also be quite profitable if you know what you’re doing. In order to place bets on sports online, you’ll need to find a reputable online sportsbook Malaysia that offers good odds and lines on the events you’re interested in betting on. A respectable sportsbook will need you to open an account and deposit money into it after you’ve chosen one. Your bets will then become valid!
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move on to the meat of this guide: understanding online sports betting odds!
What Are Betting Odds?
Betting odds are simply a way of expressing the probability of something happening in a sporting event. They allow you to compare the likelihood of different outcomes occurring, and they also allow bookmakers to set their lines. The most common type of betting odds is as below explained.
Decimal Odds
As the name suggests, decimal odds are the most straightforward kind of odds to comprehend. They represent the amount of money you will receive for every $100 you bet. So, if you see odds of “odds of XYZ”.
As an example, let’s take a look at the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Warriors are big favourites to win, therefore their decimal odds would look something like this:
Golden State Warriors: Decimal Odds = 0.75
Cleveland Cavaliers: Decimal Odds = 2.0
This means that for every $100 you bet on the Warriors to win, you would stand to make a profit of $75 if they were successful.
Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win, you would make a profit of $200 if they were to pull off the upset.
As you can see, decimal odds allow you to easily compare the potential profits of different bets. They also make it easy to calculate how much money you stand to win or lose on a given bet.
Fractional Odds
Also known as British Odds or Traditional Odds, fractional odds are most popular in the UK and Ireland. Unlike decimal odds, which represent the amount of money you will receive for every $100 you bet, fractional odds express your potential profit as a ratio of your total stake. So, if you see odds of “odds of XYZ”.
We may use the Golden State Warriors vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals as an example. The Warriors are heavy favourites to win the series, so their fractional odds might look something like this:
Golden State Warriors: Fractional Odds = 0.75/1
Cleveland Cavaliers: Fractional Odds = 2/1
This means that if you bet $100 on the Warriors to win and they won, you would make a profit of $75.
Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win and they pulled off the upset, you would make a profit of $200.
As you can see, fractional odds can be a bit more confusing than decimal odds. However, if you get the hang of them, they’re really straightforward.
Implied Probability
Implied probability is simply the probability of something happening, as implied by the odds. It’s a way of expressing odds in terms that are easier to understand. We may use the example of the NBA Finals to illustrate this point. Warriors are big favourites to win this series, therefore decimal odds may look like this:
Golden State Warriors: Decimal Odds = 0.75
Cleveland Cavaliers: Decimal Odds = 2.0
This means that for every $100 you bet on the Warriors to win, you would stand to make a profit of $75 if they were successful.
Similarly, if you bet $100 on the Cavaliers to win, you would make a profit of $200 if they were to pull off the upset.
As you can see, decimal odds allow you to easily compare the potential profits of different bets. They also make it easy to calculate how much money you stand to win or lose on a given bet.
Types of Online Sports Betting
Now that we’ve covered the basics of betting odds, let’s take a look at some of the different types of bets that you can make!
Moneyline Bets
The most common type of bet, a moneyline bet simply requires you to pick who will win a given match-up. For example, in the above NBA Finals example, you could place a moneyline bet on the Warriors to win the series.
Point Spread Bets
Any wager in which you choose whether a team is going to win or lose by a certain margin is called a “point spread bet.” For example, let’s say that the Warriors are playing the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals with a point spread of -11. This means that you would need to pick whether the Warriors will win by more than 11 points or whether the Cavaliers will lose by less than 11 points.
If you pick the Warriors to win by more than 11 points, then you are “betting against the spread.” If you pick the Cavaliers to lose by less than 11 points, then you are “betting with the spread.”
Over/Under Bets
An over/under bet is a wager in which you pick whether the total score of a given match-up will be above or below a certain number. For example, let’s say that the Warriors are playing the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals with an over/under of 217. This means that you would need to pick whether the total score of the game will be above 217 points or below 217 points.
Proposition Bets
To put it another way, the proposition bet is a bet on anything other than the outcome of an individual matchup. For example, you could place a proposition bet on whether LeBron James will score more than 30 points in the game. You may use this type of betting in every sports betting such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parlays
It’s possible to combine many bets into one using a parlay. For example, you could place a parlay bet on the Warriors to win the series and LeBron James to score more than 30 points in the game.
Final Words
If you’re interested in learning more about sports betting, be sure to check out our other sports betting guides! Now that you know the basics of betting odds, you’ll be able to make informed decisions when placing your bets.
Happy gambling!
