Before going any further, we’ll go through the basic knowledge for anyone involved in the sports betting industry. For some of you, the following information is something you already know, but for those who might be totally new to the sports betting industry, this is important information you must know and understand before moving forward.
If you’re already a seasoned sports bettor and know all of that, you can skip to the next section.
In the next pages, we’ll go through the following:
1 – How to read the odds and the different formats
2 – How to calculate your wagers
3 – How to open accounts with different sportsbooks
Those three aspects of sports betting need to be perfectly clear in your mind before you can think of profiting from betting on sports. Don’t worry; we laid it all out so that you’ll understand all of it easily.
This section will also explain the procedures to open accounts with sportsbooks and transfer money in and out of them.
There are three main ways you’ll see odds posted depending on where you are in the world: US odds which use the + / - signs like +200 or -200, UK odds using fractions like 2/1 and EU odds using a decimal format like 3.00. They all mean the same thing but are just expressed differently.
For a given event, with the US odds at +200, the UK format will be 2/1 and the EU format 3.00. They all mean that for a $100 bet, you’ll get $200 in profit plus your $100 stake for a total of $300.
With the opposite US odds at -200, the UK format would be 1/2 and the EU format would be 1.50. For making a profit of $100, you’ll have to bet $200 getting a profit of $100 plus your $200 wager for a total of $300. You’re getting the same profit having to put up twice as much.
It all comes down to the fact that for making the same profit on a given game, it will cost you more if you’re betting on the favorite team instead of the underdog. At Sports Betting Reinvented, we’re not bothering with the fact that a team is either favorite or underdog. That’s not a part of our algorithm but you still have to clearly understand how to deal with the odds for either side for calculating your wagers.
During the course of the season, you’re putting wagers on favorite or underdog teams in accordance to either the picks generated by our algorithm or your own generated picks so it’s important to know exactly how these two possibilities are treated.
Most sportsbooks will allow you to display the odds in the format of your choice but there are a few of them only showing one or two of the three. We’re explaining each of them here and also how to switch from one to the other.
We show you how to manually calculate the transfer among them but that’s only for you to understand the process. We’re giving you a free website address at the end of this section where you can enter any odds in a certain format and the software automatically gives you the value in the other two formats.
USA odds
They use the <Plus> and <Minus> signs for expressing who is the favorite team and who is the underdog. <Minus> being for the favorite and <Plus> for the underdog.
These odds are also treated differently. In the case of the favorite team, the number after the <Minus> sign is what you have to wager for making a profit of $100. Odds at -145 mean you have to put up $145 for making a $100 profit. You obviously get your stake of $145 back for a win.
You sure don’t have to put a wager for making $100, you can decide for any profit you want to make in the event your selected team wins. Sportsbooks have some minimums like $1, $3 or $5 per game.
For the underdog team, the number after the <Plus> sign is what you get for a $100 bet. Odds at +145 mean you’ll make a $145 profit for wagering $100 and also getting back your stake of $100 back with a win.
In short, the number after the minus sign is what you have to wager for earning $100 and the number after the plus sign is the amount you’re getting for a $100 wager.
UK odds
The fraction they’re using is the multiplier for calculating your profit. Using our previous numbers, for odds at USA +200, UK odds are at 2/1. The multiplier is 2 divided by 1 = 2.0. If you put up a $100 stake, you then profit 2 x $100 = $200 plus your $100 stake.
They sometimes come up with funny fractions like 11/5. It looks strange but it’s still the same principle. If you’re wagering $100, you’ll just apply that fraction to your wager and get:
11 x $100 = $1,100 / 5 = $220. A wager of $100 at 11/5 will give you $220 plus your initial wager of $100.
For USA odds at -200, UK odds are 1/2. The multiplier is 1 divided by 2 = 0.5 so, if you’re wagering the same $100, your profit will be $100 x 0.5 = $50 so, for getting the same $100 profit as in the above example, you’ll have to put in a wager of $200.
EU odds
The decimal number they’re using is the total money you’re getting back (wager + profit) for the wager you’re putting in. With the decimal at 3.0 (UK 2/1 and USA +200), when you’re placing a $100 wager, you’re getting 3.0 x $100 = $300 back in total. That’s exactly the same thing as with the other 2 types of odds described above. You’re wagering $100, you get a $200 profit plus your $100 stake which is your $300 total.
For decimal at 1.50 (UK 1/2 and USA -200) placing a $100 wager will get you $100 x 1.5 = $150 back in total, a $50 profit plus your stake of $100. You then have to put $200 for making your $100 profit ($200 x 1.50 = $300 – your $200 stake = $100)
It’s pretty easy to switch between the 3 different ways of presenting odds. I’ll explain you how but you don’t really need that. The URL we’re giving you at the end of this section automatically does it for you.
Transfer UK odds to EU decimal
If you want to transfer UK fractional odds in EU decimal, all you have to do is turn the fraction into decimal and add 1. If UK odds are 2/1, you take 2 divided by 1 which is 2.0 and adding 1 for getting EU 3.0. In the other UK 1/2 example, 1 divided by 2 = 0.50 + 1 = EU 1.50.
Transfer EU odds to UK fractional
As you’ve guessed, you just do the opposite. Subtract 1 and turn the result into a fraction. EU 1.50 – 1 = 0.50 which is 1/2.
As long as you know how to transfer UK odds to EU back and forth which is pretty easy, you only have to learn transferring USA odds into one of those two and make the easy transfer from there if you need. Don’t forget that it’s a lot more convenient using the converter at the URL below.
Transfer USA odds to EU decimal
We’ll go with the transfer to EU because it’s the odds format which is used the most among all bookmakers.
For USA odds with a plus sign (underdog team), you divide that number by 100 and add 1 to the result.
EU decimal = (Positive USA odds / 100) +1
Let’s continue with +200.
200/100 = 2 + 1 = EU odds of 3.0
For USA odds with a minus sign, (favorite team) it’s a little bit more complex.
EU decimal = (1 / ((Negative USA odds / 100) x -1)) + 1
Using the -200 odds.
You start with the interior of the parenthesis. -200 / 100 = -2
You multiply by -1: -2 x -1 = 2
You put 1 over the result: 1 / 2 = 0.50
You then add 1: 0.50 + 1 = 1.50
There you go. You now know how to transfer odds in different ways manually. These are straightforward and relatively easy, but when having internet access, just click on the following Link:
You’ll even have an odds conversion chart below the automatic converter. This is the best and easiest odds converter we’ve found.