How To Gamble On Sports

The VegasInsider.com Sports Betting 101 Odds feature is your ultimate resource to understanding 'How to Read Odds.'

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Once you understand the odds, then you'll be more prepared to make a bet and more importantly, win your bet! Odds are easy to understand but there are different formats and once you become familiar with all of them, you can choose your preference.

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Sports betting is taking off across the United States. Since the end of the federal prohibition on sports wagering, several states have legalized sports betting. Providers in these states are already offering betting odds on all of your favorite events.

But if you’re new to sports betting, all the information may seem a bit overwhelming. You may be wondering how to read odds, or even how do odds work? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Check out our guide and have all of your questions on betting odds explained below.

How to Read Betting Odds

Betting odds are a measure of how likely or unlikely a sportsbook finds an event to be. The more likely an outcome is, the less you can make wagering on that outcome. Conversely, betting on the less likely outcome correctly pays much better.

Learning how to read odds is the foundation of developing a successful sports betting strategy. So how do odds work anyway? Let’s break it down in the next section with the basics of betting odds explained.

How Do Odds Work?

Betting odds are determined by a number of calculations factored in by sportsbook providers. Experts in sports betting know the answer to the question, “how do odds work?” and can use that information to decide which outcome the bookie considers more likely.

Learning how to read odds and what to use that information for will help you make successful wagers. Let’s take a closer look at some of these basic principles of odds.

Why Do Odds Matter in Sports Betting?

Betting odds matter because they tell you how much you could potentially win on a particular wager. Learn how to read odds correctly and you will be able to calculate what your exact return will be if your bet is correct.

Along with determining your payout, knowing the answer to the question “how do odds work?” will also give you some insight into how likely a sportsbook thinks a particular outcome is. There is more on that subject in the following section where we have implied probability and betting odds explained.

What’s the Most Commonly Used Format of Odds?

The standard format for printing betting odds varies depending on the sport. Football will most often be displayed with American odds, while soccer is more likely to show with fractional odds. However, on most American sports betting websites, you’ll have the option to display these odds in several formats, with American being default.

Read on to see an explanation of how to read odds in any of these formats. The variations can take some getting used to, but we’ll give you a breakdown on each format of betting odds explained.

How To Calculate Implied Probability Using Odds

By learning how to read odds, you can read between the lines and figure out how likely a particular sportsbook has determined an outcome to be.

Learning this method of how to read odds is a crucial skill in sports betting. By placing wagers on outcomes that you have determined are more likely than the sportsbook sees the outcome, you increase the value of your bets and increase your chance of getting a return on your investment.

The chance of a particular outcome occurring that a sportsbook has calculated is called the implied probability. To determine the implied probability, you must convert the betting odds into a percentage. See how to convert each format of odds to an implied probability in the following section, where you’ll see each type of the betting odds explained.

American Odds

American betting odds display with a plus or minus sign followed by a number. Negative numbers indicate the favorite, while positive numbers indicate the underdog. NFL games are one sport often listed with American odds.

How to Read American Odds

So how do odds work when it comes to the American format? As stated, a negative number means the bookie sees the outcome as more likely. The number gives you how much you would need to bet to win $100 in profit.

A positive number indicates the underdog. The number shown in the betting odds tells you how much you would win if you bet $100.

To figure out the implied probability from American odds with a positive number, use this formula:

Implied probability of an outcome = 100 / (positive American odds + 100)

But how do odds work for the implied probability on negative American odds? Follow this equation instead:

Implied probability of an outcome = negative American odds / (negative American odds + 100)

Calculating Payouts from American Odds

There are two different equations to calculate your payout with American odds. Calculate your winnings on a positive American odds payout, solve for x with the following formula:

100 / odds = wager / x

If the odds are negative, use this equation instead, where x represents your winnings:

Odds / 100 = wager / x

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds, as you might expect, display with one number over another number. The numbers are separated by a slash or hyphen. UK and Irish bookmakers favor this format, making it a common sight on soccer betting odds.

How to Read Fractional Odds

If you’re wondering, “how do odds work with the fractional format,” the top number indicates how many times a bookie predicts the outcome will fail. The bottom number shows how many times they expect it to succeed.

For example, if the Patriots are given 1/2 odds, the bookie predicts they will win the game two times out of three.

Determine the implied probability of an outcome using fractional odds with the following formula:

Implied probability = denominator / (denominator + numerator)

Calculating Payouts from Fractional Odds

Want to know how do odds work for payouts with the fractional format? Use this equation:

Winnings = wager x (numerator / denominator)

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds appear with a whole number followed by a decimal. This format is used in many sports internationally. You may see these odds on global events like the PGA tour, tennis tournaments, or the Olympics.

How to Read Decimal Odds

Seeing just a decimal number may seem confusing if you’re still figuring out how do odds work. However, this format is really the most straightforward when it comes to how to read odds.

The decimal shows how much profit is paid for every dollar on a correct bet. Favorites have a lower number, while underdogs have a higher number.

Here is the equation for calculating the implied probability on decimal betting odds explained:

Implied probability = 100 / decimal odds

Calculating Payouts from Decimal Odds

So how do odds work when it comes to payouts on decimal odds? Use this simple formula to calculate your winnings:

Your winnings = (wager x decimal odds) - wager

Types of Betting Odds

Now that you know how to read odds a little better, let’s take a look at the different types of wagers. So how do odds work when it comes to these different types of bets? Read on to see each type of betting odds explained.

Moneyline

A moneyline is one of the simplest kinds of betting odds explained in this guide. Here you are simply betting on a result of a match, whether that is one team winning or the game ending in a draw. As long as you pick the correct outcome, this bet will payout for you.

These bets can be found for any sport, but are most common in low-scoring games like baseball, hockey, or soccer.

Point Spread

Point spread bets are popular for many sports. With these betting odds, you are wagering on whether the favored team in a matchup will not only win, but win by more than the number of points that the provider is estimating. This estimate is called the spread.

You can figure out how to read odds with point spreads by taking a look at the number shown next to the odds. For instance, if you see Dallas Cowboys +7, you are betting on whether or not the Cowboys will win their game by more than 7 points.

Totals

Sometimes referred to as an over/under, these betting odds are wagers placed on whether the total score between both teams in a game will be higher or lower than what the provider predicts.

You place a wager on whether the total score between the two teams will be higher or lower than the total offered. Learning how to read odds like these and predicting what games will be high scoring are crucial skills as a sports bettor.

Parlays

All of the previous wager types are bets placed on single events. Parlays involve taking multiple bets and bundling them together. This increases the potential payout for each wager, but also comes with an added risk. If even one of your bets is incorrect, you lose the entire parlay wager.

Just like in all the betting odds explained in this guide, the higher your risk, the higher your potential payout. Use parlays to string together several bets and, with a little luck, you could be in for a big payday.

Teasers

Teasers are similar to parlays in the sense that they bundle multiple wagers together, affecting your overall betting odds. However, while parlays are for moneyline bets, teasers allow bettors to “tease” the point spread by a few points across the board, which can adjust your risk and make for a easier-to-hit multiple.

Futures

So far, the different types of betting odds have all been wagers on single events within the upcoming week or two. Futures are wagers placed on, you guessed it-- future events. For instance, you might place a future bet on the Red Sox winning the World Series or The Lakers bringing home an NBA championship ring.

Predicting these events so far in advance is difficult, so learning how to read odds like these can give you some of the most lucrative payouts in sports betting.

FAQ

Wondering how do odds work? Here’s a quick reference for some common questions on betting odds explained.

Are the odds different depending on the sport?

Odds may be displayed differently depending on what the standard is for a particular sport. Refer to our guide’s section on American, fractional, and decimal odds to see different types of betting odds explained.

So how do odds work in different sports? Though the format they’re shown in and the calculations that determine your winnings change, betting odds are always a measure of how likely a sportsbook finds an outcome.

How can I calculate my potential winnings?

Having knowledge about the raw math behind betting odds explained is useful, but of course you want to know about your potential payout too. But there’s no simple answer. Each different format for betting odds will have a different formula for calculating your winnings.

Check out the earlier parts of this guide to see the different formats of betting odds explained and learn how to estimate your potential winnings.

Who sets the odds for sports betting?

After all these complex calculations, it’s common to wonder how do odds work anyway? The truth is each individual provider sets their own odds, with the advice of expert statisticians and their data.

Because each provider will have different offers, it’s important to learn how to read odds. This way you know what to look for when you’re shopping around for the best odds.

Final Thoughts

Having these fundamental principles of betting odds explained is the first step to making successful wagers.

Following the tips in this helpful guide can take you from wondering, “how do odds work?” to understanding how to bet successfully. Remember how to read odds and the formulas for determining the implied probability from each. Once you have that implied probability, you can place your wagers accordingly.

There’s always luck and chance involved in sports betting, but understanding how to read odds helps you make an informed bet. If you believe an outcome is more likely than the implied probability, you have an optimal chance of winning a return on your wager.

Now that we have the different aspects of betting odds explained, the only thing left to do is to start placing your wagers. Good luck and happy playing.

How to Bet on Hockey

Hockey betting in the United States is far from the most popular sport in the land, but ever since the gambling capital of the country – Las Vegas – got a team in, the Golden Knights, in 2017, interest in hockey betting markets has picked up.

Betting on hockey is similar in concept to that of baseball lines, as hockey is predominantly a money line based sport with standardized point spread prices of -1.5 goals – like baseball is with -1.5 runs. Hockey betting odds are offered at every sportsbook, so finding the game you like is never tough, and if money lines aren't your thing, over-under totals in hockey are offered on every game as well, among other wagering potential.

Understanding Hockey Odds

As a money line based sport with so many similarities to baseball betting, understanding hockey odds follows a similar format. For example, you can have a game between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins where the Penguins would be listed as a -165 favorite on the money line. That means that a bettor would have to put up $165 to win $100 if they were to back Pittsburgh, and the total for that game would be somewhere in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 goals.

One key difference from baseball betting does focus on the point spread – otherwise known as the “puck line” in hockey odds – as the -1.5 number still offers juicy plus-money odds if it connects. That same Pittsburgh line might be +150 range on the -1.5 puck line, but the key difference comes with a fundamental strategical way in which hockey is played. A team that's losing a game late in the 3^rd period will pull their goalie at some point with a minute or two left, giving the team that's leading an easy shot at adding another goal. That suggests that puck line bets do hit more often then run line bets do in baseball as it's not like the fielders come off the field in baseball late in games. Something to definitely consider when you are learning how to understand all the nuances with hockey odds.

Best Hockey Betting Sites

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NHL Future Wagers

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Future wagers in NHL betting exist in a similar format to that of other professional sports offered at sportsbooks, as outcomes like who will win it all, who will win their division/conference, and season point totals are offered for hockey. Season point total wagers are essentially what other sports would classify as season wins – over-under props – but with the point system in the standings for hockey being a little different, a point-based system is just an all around better way to do things on the ice.

Stanley Cup futures odds are the ones that are posted the earliest leading up to an upcoming season, and the ones that are discussed frequently. However, with hockey being a sport where numerous upsets happen each year during a playoff campaign, and random luck being more of a factor in the sport then in other professional sports, staying away from the favored teams in the futures market isn't necessarily a bad idea in hockey. It's not like the favorites don't win, but considering the team that wins the President's Trophy – awarded to the team that finishes the regular season with the most points in the league, ie the best team – eight times in a 33-year existence, and only twice from 2002-03 through 2018-19, going a bit down the odds board in the futures market can be lucrative.

How to Bet the Stanley Cup Final

Stanley Cup Finals betting is one where bettors can treat the final series like that of the World Series or NBA Finals whereas they can look towards taking action on the series price – which team will hoist the trophy – and/or a game-by-game approach too. Stanley Cup Finals odds for the series price will change after each game is completed, so bettors should keep that in mind as well should their desired team fall short in Game 1 of the series. More of an underdog price on said team will be posted then, but there is always the fear of said team winning Game 1 and missing out on the pre-series line if you are to wait. It's a delicate balance that gets easier with experience.

NHL playoff odds throughout the spring are ones that offer plenty of wagering opportunities, and ones that culminate in the Stanley Cup Final line getting posted. Bettors with future wagers still live at that point have a question about “hedging or not” at that point – hedging would be to take the St Louis Blues to win the Finals when a bettor already has a previously placed bet on their opponent in the Finals – to assure themselves profit, but again, that's another situation that can be more easily addressed with betting experience.

How to Bet the NHL Playoffs

Betting the NHL playoffs can be done on a game-by-game or series price basis, and there are even prop wagers related to which team will win in how many games, and how many games a series will have.

With a full season of regular season data already in the stable by the time the NHL betting lines are released for the playoffs, bettors have to be aware that these numbers that the oddsmakers put out for their hockey betting lines during the postseason are theoretically as sharp as they've been all year. Sure, there are still things like luck and bounces to consider that seemingly derail at least one of the NHL's best teams early on in the playoffs, but NHL hockey odds during the playoffs need to be dissected thoroughly if success is to be had.

And for those bettors that live for the underdogs pulling off upsets, going for bigger scores on the hockey point spreads in the alternative lines and other variations of hockey odds that are offered during that time of year can prove to be bankroll boosters as well. Below are some of the best betting sites to begin your NHL betting career.

Popular Hockey Wagers

Given that it is the least bet North American professional sports league in the general US betting market, NHL odds tend to have limited popularity outside of the normal money line and total wagers. Puck lines are an extension of money lines in theory, so that's another popular betting option, but in a general sense, hockey bettors prefer to stick the staples of who will win the game (money lines) and how many total goals will be scored (totals) with their wagers on a given night in the NHL schedule.

NHL Money Line

Exactly as it sounds as it's a wager on who a NHL bettor believes will win the game outright. Money line prices are listed in the normal odds range that they are in any other sport where you'll see a team listed as a -140 favorite going up against a team that's listed as a +120 underdog. No spreads are needed to be worried about here as you just want to be backing the team that gets the win in the regular sense of the word.

NHL Over-Under

For years hockey totals were consistently released as a 5.5 number, but as scoring increased league-wide in the latter half of the 2010's, totals numbers have found a more consistent home at 6 and 6.5 for games on a nightly basis. All that means is whether or not you believed the combined score between the two teams will be over or under the posted total, it's as simple as that. For example, a game between Washington and Philadelphia that finishes 4-3 would cash an 'over' ticket on a total of 6.5, while a final score of 4-2 would see 'under' bettors smiling.

NHL Puck Line

The puck line has already been mentioned here, as it's a point spread for a hockey game that is almost always marked as a +/- 1.5 for the game. All that means is whether or not you believe the favorite on the money line will win the game by two goals or more (-1.5), or if the underdog will keep it a one-goal contest or even potentially win (+1.5). With the way goalies get pulled late in games for teams trailing, puck line bets can be a bit tricky to have consistency with – especially if you are backing the underdog at +1.5 – but at the same time, the underdog price (plus money) that's offered on the favorite to win by 2+ goals can be very rewarding.

NHL Grand Salami

The Grand Salami in hockey wagering is really simple and it's a great way to have action on every single game on a given night. Simply put, the “salami” is an over-under number posted on the total goals scored in all the games for a particular day. These numbers are based on how many games are being played that day and what the individual totals are for those contests. On a night where you've got six NHL games going all with individual totals of 6.5, the Grand Salami number would be somewhere around 40 total goals (6.5 X6 is 39).

2020 Grand Salami Betting Results

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Bettors decide whether or not to go over or under that number and individual over-under results for those games don't matter, just the total number of goals scored across the league.

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How do I Bet Hockey Parlays

Hockey parlays are the same as parlays in any other sport, as bettors combine at least two selections on the money line, total, puck line, or any combination of that and potentially other wagers, to try and score on a bigger payout. Perhaps there are two huge favorites listed at -265 or higher on the money line and bettors who are confident those particular teams will win but don't want to risk nearly $265 to win just $100 can parlay the two options together to get a price something much closer to even money to mitigate their risk or dollar value put up.

Again, all selections within a parlay have to be graded as winners (or pushes) for a parlay to be considered a winner – ones with pushes are graded at a reduced price as if that game wasn't even there – and that's the trade off with using this form of a wager.

What are NHL Prop Bets

Proposition bets in hockey can include a wide range of topics, from team results in a particular game/season to individual player statistical results in a specific game. For instance, every game will have individual prop bets available for the bigger names on the teams involved for things like goals scored, assists earned, points earned, and even combination bets of statistical categories like that.

Fantasy players that live and die by these individual statistical outputs with their fantasy teams each day/week will likely naturally gravitate towards these plays, but they can be a tough nut to crack long term given the randomness that the game of hockey brings overall.

How To Bet On Sports

NHL Live Betting and In-Game Wagering

In-game wagering for hockey is another betting avenue that's gained plenty of traffic in recent years and rightfully so. More and more live betting options are being offered on a wider scale at sportsbooks all across the country no matter what shop you use, and hockey betting is no different. From the first game of the season to the NHL playoffs, and all the way through the Stanley Cup Finals, in-game wagering can be an important tool in the tool box of a hockey bettor.

All sorts of in-game odds are offered for pretty much any particular hockey game, so if it's a Saturday Night with the featured Hockey Night in Canada games on, or those novelty outdoor games like the Winter Classic or Stadium Series rivalry games, there is never a shortage of live betting opportunities for hockey bettors to sink there teeth into. Heck, with the explosion of in-game wagering in the industry on the whole, even big time amateur hockey events like the Frozen Four or IIHF World Junior Championships offer plenty of in-game betting opportunities for hockey fans and bettors alike.

NHL Period Betting

Breaking down an individual hockey game through period betting is another betting avenue in the hockey marketplace that has gained plenty of traction in recent years, especially with the 1^st period betting odds on the money line and total getting more and more time devoted to content pieces.

All those are are individual money line prices for the 1^st period and the first period only, with over-under total numbers for the opening 20 minutes of play typically being set at 1.5 goals. If you believe a particular team is in a great spot to get off to a fast start, looking at backing them on the 1^st period ML and/or 'over' 1.5 1^st period goals is another way to diversify your portfolio on a particular game too.