Different Odds Display Styles

2005-03-30

Often when you visit a site and have a look at the odds, they can vary in style considerably. The 3 main styles used are decimal, fractional and moneyline.

Fractional

Fractional odds, sometimes called UK odds, British Odds, or in the UK, traditional odds are represented as fractional number, hence the name fractional odds. This format is widely used in the UK and Australia.

Odds of 4/1 (read "four-to-one" or "four-to-one against") would mean that you stand to make £40 on a £10 stake. If the odds say 1/4 (read "four-to-one on") then you will make £2.50 from a £10 stake. Odds of 1/1 are called evens and you will win exactly your stake.

The fraction represents your winnings (read "profit"). To calculate your winnings, you multiply your stake by the fraction. This will be your profit. To calculate your total payout from the bookmaker, you add your original stake.

For example: Say the odds are shown as 4/1 and you put down a £10 wager and you won. To calculate how much you have won, you do:

£10 x 4/1 = £40

Now £40 is how much profit you have made. To calculate your total payout from the bookie, you add your stake, like so:

£40 + £10 = £50

So in this case if you won, the bookie would hand you back £50, £10 of which was your original stake.

Decimal

Decimal odds, sometimes called European odds or continental odds, are our favourite way to display and work with odds. It allows easy comparison with other odds with a simple glance. This format is widely used in Europe and Canada. Decimal odds are also favoured by betting exchanges because they are the easiest to work with for trading.

Decimal odds differ from fractional odds as they represent your total payout and not just your profit. It includes your original stake and your winnings together. Evens would be quoted as 2.

To convert fractional odds to decimal, you take the fractional number and convert it to decimal by doing the division, then you add 1. For example, the 4/1 fractional odds shown above is the same as 5 in decimal odds. While 1/4 would be quoted as 1.25.

Doing the same example above, say the odds quoted are 5.0 and you put down a £10 wager and you won. To calculate your return you just multiply your stake by the odds, like so:

£10 x 5.0 = £50

So £50 is the amount you will get back, to calculate how much profit you made on this bet, just remove your original stake.

£50 - £10 = £40

In this case your profit is £40 and the total payout is £50.

Moneyline

Moneyline odds are favoured by American bookmakers so they are often referred to as American odds. Moneyline odds are shown either as a positive or a negative number and usually with a currency symbol. It is safe to ignore the currency symbol as it plays no part in the calculation.

Moneyline is similar to fractional in that you shows your profit if you win the bet. To calculate your total payout, add your original stake.

If the number is positive, it shows how much money will be won with a wager of 100 units (units being whatever the currency symbol is). If the number is negative it shows how many units you will need to wager to win 100. A positive value is shown if the odds are better then evens and negative is shown if worse. Evens can be represented by either $100 or -$100.

To convert moneyline to decimal odds it depends on whether it's positive or negative. If it's positive, you divide by 100 and add 1. $400 moneyline is the same as 5.0 in decimal odds. If the moneyline is negative, to convert, first remove the negative symbol, then instead of dividing by 100, you take 100 and divide it by the moneyline amount, then you add 1. For example, -$400 moneyline is 100/400 + 1 in decimal, or 1.25.

To calculate your profit from a £10 bet that won on moneyline odds of $400:

First step is you divide your stake by 100: £10 / 100 = 0.1

Then you take this number and multiply it by the moneyline amount: 0.1 x 400 = £40

This £40 represents your profit on this bet, to calculate your total payout you add your original stake like so:

£40 + £10 = £50

So in this case your profit is £40 and your total payout is £50.