Depending on which part of the world you live in, the format of sports betting may vary.
We have already discussed what odds are and why they are used. In this post we will explain the two other formats, namely, American and fractional. We will end by explaining what "risk" is and why it is important to take risk into account.
Odds are also know ass decimal. If you don't know what odds are then go to our previous post, which describes odds entirely.
What is the fractional format?
If you ever had math in high-school , then it is likely you know what a fraction is. To be more precisely as possible we quote wikipedia on what a fraction is " fraction (from Latin fractus, "broken") represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, a fraction describes how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, eight-fifths, three-quarters. ". To make it more simplistic, lets say you have a whole cake if I cut the cake in half you got two halves of the cake. The fraction of this is example is 1/2, meaning there are two pieces and each person gets one piece.
So how do you calculate with the fractional format?
This is relatively easy you just do the following: Money you are betting multiply with the fraction and that's your profit. Unlike odds, fractional lets you calculate your profit right away. This makes the fractional format easier to use for betting. For example:
Scenario: You are betting 100$ on a team with odds of 1.45, which has a fractional format of 4/9.
ODDS calculation of profit
100$1.45=145$
Profit=145-100=45$ of actual profit*
Fractional calculation of profit
100$(4/9)=45$ of profit*
As you can see fractional formats are relatively easier when calculating for the profits. However, most people prefer odds, because they are easier to comprehend.
American format
Beginners struggle with the American format, especially if you are not into math then this one is annoying at first sight.
American odds are unsurprisingly the default format used in America. They start either with a positive or a negative sign, e.g. -225, or +170. A negative number indicates the amount you must bet to make $100 profit (or the equivalent in your chosen currency) and a positive number indicates how much you might profit if you bet $100 (again, this would be the equivalent in your chosen currency).
So how to calculate with the American format?
One tip to keep in mind is that when you see a negative number on your team that means your team is the favorite. When you see a positive sign on your team this means your team is not favorite of winning.
There are two scenarios for calculating using American format.
Scenario 1:
If there is a negative sign; such this -225, this means that if you put 225$ (or your currency) you will make 100$ of profit(or your currency).
scenario 2:
If there is a positive sign; such this +170, this means that if you put 100$ (or your currency) you will make 170$ of profit(or your currency).
So, always check whether there's a negative or a positive sign
The three formats are just measurements, they do not differ in value from one another. They will give you the same profit. The difference is in the way you calculate your profit.
RISK
When you are investing or betting your money, you have to be aware that there is a possibility that you will loose your money. The phenomenon behind loosing your money is called risk. If you are betting 100$ on a team that has odds of 124.0 then this means you will most likely loose your money (The risk is high). If you bet on a team that has odds of 1.02 then we can assume that you will most likely win (The risk is low). However, in real life you might still loose even when you have low risks. There are a few situations when a bet has no risk at all ( meaning you will not loose money). However, this means that you will probably make little profit to none.
What's next?
There are different strategies for betting, which take risk into account. We will start in two days explaining some strategies. We will dive into some details, but remember we will no cover everything. We will move into the next segment around next week. If after this segment you still want to know more about strategies and how to manage your profits and losses, just vote for the next segment to be a part two of sports betting.