When you download and open the Betway app, you’ll be greeted by a series of mysterious numbers related to various outcomes of sporting events. Mysterious, that is if you are new to betting. Seasoned punters are familiar with the concept of “odds” listed by bookmakers that express both how probable a certain outcome is and how much money you’ll win if you bet on it.
Read on if you want to learn what those numbers mean and how they are calculated.
The Odds
The term “odds” has two meanings. One of them expresses the probability of something happening, while the other, the amount of money to be made if someone bets on one outcome or another. In the case of sports betting, the word means both of the above at the same time.
There are various formats in which the odds can be displayed. The Betway app lets you choose the one that you prefer. The American or “moneyline” odds tell you how much you’ll win if you wager $100 on a certain outcome or, if there’s a negative sign ahead of them, how much you have to wager to win $100. The European or “decimal” odds represent the amount you can win for every dollar wagered (e.g. 20 cents on a dollar in the case of odds of 1.2), while the British, aka “fractional” odds, express the ratio of profits to be made.
At the same time, the odds express the probability of one outcome or another. As a general rule, the smaller the amount that can be made by wagering on one outcome, the “safer” the bet is – as in the more likely for the outcome to become reality.
How are the odds calculated?
When two football teams with a major difference in their “strength” meet in the field, it doesn’t take a mathematician to tell that the “stronger” one is much more likely to win. When things are more balanced, things become a lot more complicated. Still, bookmakers always come up with odds that express the chances of each party winning in a pretty accurate way.
Bookmakers don’t have a big crystal ball in a back room with a fortune teller sitting in front of it. What they have are oddsmakers – specialists whose expertise allows them to predict the outcome of sporting events. And, of course, huge piles of data.
There are countless factors that can influence the outcome of a football match. Whether a team plays at its home stadium or away, whether a player is injured or freshly back after a break, whether an official has a record of being especially strict, even the time of the day and the weather on matchday can influence the result. The oddsmakers have to calculate the probability of not only the outright winner of a football match but the odds of each individual player scoring and scoring first in a game and a bunch of other betting options covered in the Betway app.
Based on the probabilities calculated by these specialists, the bookmakers set the odds – the payouts for each possible outcome.
Conclusion
So, if you are thinking about getting in the betting world then it is very important to understand all the odds and interpret all the odds carefully. You just need to master the popular odds to make sure how the house wins. The betting can only be considered as a good opportunity if the outcome of the probability accessed is greater than the implied money and assets.
Furthermore, the odds on display never reflect the true probability of an event occurring (or not occurring). The payoff on a win is always less than what one should have received if the odds had reflected the true chances. This is because the bookmaker’s profit margin is included in the odds, which is why the house always wins.