Sports betting is prevalent in India; the main reason is the possibility of winning large sums. Some people make many small wagers. They are mainly betting for recreation and get excited by the chance of winning. Others make big bets, but these are very careful ones and only engaged in after meticulous research. These bettors usually bet to get a substantial income.
However, either of these groups may not know the inner workings of the payout system. They don’t have to understand as the software automatically does it for them. However, it would be interesting to know how these payouts work.
Different Types Of Odds
Sportsbooks give payouts in sports betting as odds. There are three types of odds: fractional odds, decimal odds, and Moneyline odds. Which of these types you will see depends on where you are and what kind of game you are playing. Therefore, understanding different types of odds will enable you to gamble wherever you want.
Fractional Odds
If you see odds displayed with a slash like 9/1, 2/1, etc., you see fractional odds. Here, you will get the number on the right that shows the amount you bet, and the number on your left tells the amount you will win. So, for example, if you bet INR 1, you will get INR 9. And if you bet INR 10, you will get INR 90. There are also other more complicated fractional odds, for example, 10/4. Here, if you bet INR 4, you will get INR 10. But what if you wanted to bet INR 100? Then to know the payouts, you have to divide by four and multiply by 10. So in the case of INR 100, you will get INR 250 (100/4 * 10).
Decimal Odds
Examples of decimal odds include 2.5, 1.1, 3.2, etc. To know your payouts, you only have to multiply the decimal with your bet amount. For example, suppose you plan to bet INR 100 on 2.5 odds. Then the payout, if you win, will be INR 250 (2.5 * 100).
Moneyline Odds
These odds are also known as the American odds, as they originated in the US. Moneyline odds are usually for the games where you bet on one of the two teams. Further, of the two teams, one is the favorite, and the other is the underdog. A sportsbook favorite is a team that has a higher chance to win. Therefore, they are safe to bet on but offer lower payouts. The underdog is the other team with a lower win probability. Betting on underdogs is risky but offers a high reward.
The Moneyline odds are as follows
Favorite Team (-150): Underdog Team (+300)
As seen above, a favorite team will always have a negative number beside it. In the above example, -150 means you must bet INR 150 to get INR 100. Similarly, an underdog will have a positive sign associated with it. The +300 in this example means you will get INR 300 if you bet INR 100.
Many roulette online betting websites offer the odds in all three modes.
Payouts and implied probability
Once you know the payouts and the stakes, then you can calculate implied probability. It tells the win percentage of a particular team according to the bookmaker. However, these are not the absolute win percentages calculated by the sportsbook. Instead, they slightly adjust the probabilities and then convert them into odds. So, whatever may be the outcome, the sportsbook always makes an income. You can calculate implied probability by dividing the amount wagered by the total payouts.
The examples of calculation of implied probabilities are below. You can calculate them from any odds.
- Odds: 9/11
- Implied probability = 11/(11 + 9) * 100 = 55%
- Odds: 3.5
- Implied probability = 1/(3.5) * 100 = 28.5%
- Odds: +300
- Implied probability = 100/(300 + 100) = 25%
As you can see, the lower the probability, the higher the odds and vice versa.
Different types of bets
The payouts in sports betting depend on the odds and the types of bets. Here are a few types of sports bets you can place.
Moneyline Betting
This betting is the simplest of its kind. First, you only have to pick either a favorite or an underdog. Then, as described above, you will get paid according to the Moneyline odds.
Point Spread Betting
In point spread betting, your team has to win by a certain margin. You usually see this betting when the skill level between the favorite and the underdog is enormous. Therefore, it encourages bets on the underdogs. For example, if the world number 1 faces an unseeded player in tennis, point spread betting would be popular. The sportsbook may offer a wager where you can bet on either player. But the wagers on the world number 1 will only get paid if they win in straight sets.
Over-under Bets
Here, you will bet that the score made by one of the teams will be over or under a specific number. It is an advanced-level bet, and you should only attempt the betting after getting considerable experience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sports betting payouts are easy to calculate once you understand the odds. These odds can be either fractional, decimal, or Moneyline. You can calculate the implied probabilities in each case, which are different from the actual win percentages. This difference enables the bookmakers to earn independently of the outcome.
Read Also: What Is a Good Strategy to Adopt for Profitable Betting on Virtual Sports?
