A 1 in 500 chance of winning, or probability of winning, is entered into this calculator as '1 to 500 Odds are for winning'. You may also see odds reported simply as chance of winning as 500:1. This most likely means '500 to 1 Odds are against winning' which is exactly the same as '1 to 500 Odds are for winning.' When calculating American odds for minus odds wagers, you are calculating the odds for favorites, which returns less than even money in profits. So if we took the same example and gave the Boston Red Sox odds of -140, it would represent the fact you would have to wager $140 to make a profit of $100.

Welcome to the Sports Betting Odds section of The Sports Geek. If you are new to sports betting and don’t understand how to read betting odds (+150, -110, +2200, etc) we will lay it all out for you and help you learn how the betting odds work.

Few bettors use fractional odds for betting sports (other than horse racing), because the conversions to understand return are difficult. To calculate winnings on fractional odds, multiply your bet by the top number (numerator), then divide the result by the bottom (denominator). So a $10 bet at 5/2 odds is (10. 5) / 2, which equals $25. Converts an array or Excel range of US-style odds to decimal parlay odds. Example: US2Dec(-110,-110) ≈ 3.644628099.

Sports Betting Odds Explained

Many people don’t know how to read or calculate sports betting odds, so below we have done our best on explaining how betting odds work. The most common type of sports betting odds used in North America are the American style odds which we explain below.

American Style Sports Betting Odds

Most online sportsbooks will list their odds in what is called “American Odds”. There are a couple different versions of sports betting odds, but these American Odds are the most common odds used. Reading and understanding sports betting odds can bet a little confusing to beginners, so we have provided an example below using two NFL football teams:

American Odds

• Matchup Odds
• New England Patriots +120
• Pittsburgh Steelers -140

Calculating Sports Betting Odds

The number shown in the bracket represents the odds. The American Odds have two components to them, the first being the positive or negative sign, and the second being the number that follows the sign.

The sign in front of the number indicates whether placing a wager on that outcome will pay out more money then you have wagered or less money then you have wagered. If the odd is negative (-) it means that outcome is more likely to happen and placing a bet on that outcome would payout less than the amount you wagered, while a positive (+) odd shows that the outcome is less likely to happen and it would pay out more than the amount you wagered.

The next step is figuring out exactly how much the bet pays out, which is where the numbers in the odds come into play.

A listed odd with a – sign in front of it, such as the -140 in our example above, shows us how much money you would need to wager in order to win $100. So using the -140, this would show us that you would need to bet $140 in order to win $100 in profits. You can easily substitute the $100 bet for a $10 bet by moving the decimal place over one spot, showing us that you would need to wager $14 in order to win $10 in profits.

Examples:

A listed odd with a + sign in front of it, such as the +120 in our example above, shows us how much money you would win on a $100 bet. Using the +120 odds, it shows us that a $100 bet on that outcome would pay out $120 in profits. Again this can easily be converted into smaller or larger size bets. A $10 bet on +120 odds would pay out $12 in profits.

Examples:

Below is an example of NFL betting odds taken from an online betting site.

In this example you can see Los Angeles is listed at +130 ($100 bet pays $130 plus of course your original wager back) and New England is listed at -150 ($150 bet pays $100).

The great thing about betting online is that the online sportsbooks will do the calculations for you before you place your bet. You can click on the outcome or team you would like to bet on, and then input the amount you wish to wager and it will show you your potential pay out before you confirm your bet.

Ready To Start Betting?MyBookie and BetUS are my two favorite sportsbooks and make betting very easy. You will also get a Free Money Bonus at each sportsbook if you follow either link above.

Decimal Style Sports Betting Odds

Decimal style odds are used mostly in Europe, and are pretty easy to understand. To calculate the decimal style odds all you will need to do is simply multiply the amount you wish to wager by the decimal odds shown and you will get your payout. For example it may look something like this:

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on the USA at 2.40 you would simply need to multiply your $10 wager by the 2.40 odds (10 x 2.40) to find out that the payout is $24. It is important to realize that with decimal style odds it includes the amount you wagered, so to find out profits you would need to subtract your wager ($24 – $10) to find out your potential payout is $14 in profits.

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on Brazil you would again just multiply $10 x 1.55 to find out that you would win $15.50 total or $5.50 in profits.

Decimal style betting odds are very simple to understand, but you won’t see them displayed in many North American sportsbooks. With that said, most online betting sites will allow you to chose the style of betting odds you want displayed, with American odds set as the default.

Futures betting is picking the outcome of a future event, such as betting the NBA, NFL, or MLB champion before the season begins, mid season, or during the postseason. But before you place a bet on the futures at all, consider using a Futures Calculator. By doing so, you’ll receive the complete implied probability of the future market. You’ll also identify the sportsbook’s house edge, which is usually very high when all outcomes are entered.

Futures Calculator

To use the Futures Calculator make sure you enter all values in the futures market, not just the ones you intend to bet. After calculating you will see the House Edge on the future market and can decide if that edge compared to your odds are going to be worth the long term investment of betting futures.

Calculating Sports Odds

What Is A Futures Bet?

A futures bet is guessing a result that’s decided in the future. However, futures are specifically title events, not simply a game that’s days or weeks away. Examples of popular futures bets that take place in the US include:

• Winner of the NBA Finals
• Super Bowl Champions
• World Series Champions
• NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Champions

Futures odds are calculated based on the likelihood of a team or individual winning the title. As such, futures odds are constantly in flux, swinging wildly because of changing team members, injuries and trades, and a host of other factors.

Futures are normally presented at American sportsbooks with American odds (rather than decimal or fractional odds). The positive (+) number shows how much you’ll win with a $100 bet. The negative (-) shows how much you need to bet to win $100.

For example, the favorites to win the World Series at the start of the 2020 MLB season were the New York Yankees. If they were listed at +250, a $100 bet would pay out $250.

However, as the season progressed, the Los Angeles Dodgers became the favorite. By the time the postseason commenced, the futures odds on the Yankees winning it all increased to +1000 or longer while a bet on the Dodgers would be -250.

The goal of futures betting goes beyond making a correct guess. It’s identifying picks that make the potential reward worth the risk. That’s where the Futures Calculator comes into play.

What Is A Futures Calculator?

The Futures Calculator allows you to enter complete futures odds for multiple outcomes like NBA, NFL, and MLB future lines that contain every team. The idea is to give you the complete implied probability of the future market, not just the implied probability on a two-team event.

However, implied probability is the same in this context as any other: the odds of a payout without the sportsbook’s vig taken into account.

Generally, the futures calculator will indicate a very high sportsbook edge when all the outcomes are entered. The goal is to decide if that edge compared to your odds is going to be worth the long-term investment of betting futures.

What really sets the Futures Calculator apart from the other odds calculators is that you enter all values in the specific futures market, not just the lines you intend to bet. This will identify the complete implied probability, which is only determinable when you have every line added.

How To Use A Futures Calculator To Place A Sports Bet

As mentioned, you use a Futures Calculator by entering all values of the specific futures market. If you’re using it for odds before the start of the season, you’d be adding in the futures odds for every team. You then calculate the results to identify the implied probability for each pick as well as the total house edge.

Three Crucial Tips On Calculating Futures Bets

-110 Odds

It is important to note that -110 odds in a spread bet are very different from -110 odds in futures betting. Though the payout is the same, -110 odds in any more than two-way betting means that the implied probability is below 50%. That means that the sportsbook has an even bigger edge over you, and you need to take that into account.

Opportunity Cost

Another important factor to take into account is the investing principle of “opportunity cost.” In futures betting, your money will be tied up for an entire season. That means your sports betting budget will be limited until the futures come to fruition.

Of course, there’s a good chance that the team (or teams) chosen will be eliminated long before the title is decided. However, there’s also a good chance that the pick goes all the way to the championship game, tying up your investment all the while.

Would You Make More In Interest?

You should calculate the loss on interest you might have earned on that futures betting investment just sitting in a bank account. Though likely no more than 1%, that is another factor adjusting futures in the sportbook’s favor.

To make the decision to place a futures bet, you need to be sure that the payoff is exponentially more than the risk-reward of placing that same bet on a game that day or week.

Calculating Payouts From Positive Futures Odds

Positive odds (the number with the + symbol) is the payout potential for a $100 bet. For example, +200 would pay out $200 on a $100 bet, returning $300 to the bettor.

Calculating Payouts From Negative Futures Odds

Negative odds (the number with the – symbol) represents the dollar amount you need to bet to win $100. For example, -200 would pay out $100 on a $200 bet, again returning $300 to the bettor.

Looking for other calculators to use when sports betting? Check out:

What Is Line Movement?

Line movement is how the sportsbook’s odds shift depending on a variety of factors. If a key player gets injured, the futures odds will shift dramatically. If tons of bettors place a futures bet on a specific team, the sportsbook may change the odds in their favor. And the potential examples go on from there.

Not just with futures, line movement can help you determine the best possible moment to make a selection on a sports bet. But using the Futures Calculator on a regular basis can help you determine line movement, identifying better moments to bet as well as undervalued teams relative to the market.

Legal Online Sports Betting In The US

One of the most exciting prospects of legal online sports betting in the US is the ability to join several different sportsbooks from home. This gives bettors an easy way to compare the market and place the bets with the best odds.

Before, sports bettors were relegated to local bookies, illegal sites, or traveling to states where sports betting is legal. Now, there are more than a dozen states with legal online sports betting, and more are sure to join the party in the coming years.

Some of the states who recently legalized and launched online sports betting include Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

The top three best online sports betting platforms in terms of consistently competitive odds and robust market depth are DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and BetMGM.

However, when it comes to utilizing the Futures Calculator and finding the best potential payout, you’ll want to join as many as possible. A more obscure sportsbook could have a jaw-dropping line that’s double the more mainstream options.

Combining Online Sports Betting With The Futures Calculator

Betting futures according to best practice is time-consuming. Thankfully, you need to be patient to place a futures bet in the first place, so taking things a step further shouldn’t be too much of a jump.

You don’t need to join an online sportsbook to see their odds. So hold off on joining until you’re ready to place a wager, as some introductory promotional offers expire after the first 24 hours or seven days of opening an account.

The first step is using the Futures Calculator for each online sportsbook available in the state. Record the results, then compare and contrast the sports betting sites and apps against each other before placing a bet.

The benefit of recording the results is the ability to track line movement. If you use the calculator every week (or whenever there’s trade movement or games played), you can both identify the best sportsbook to place the bet as well as the right time to place the bet.

FAQs – Using A Futures Calculator

Yes, it is legal to use a Futures Calculator. A Futures Calculator is not a form of cheating. You could use a Futures Calculator while physically present inside a sportsbook, and we recommend that you do so. Unless you can do all that math in your head, a Futures Calculator is a simple and effective way to determine implied probability and the house edge.

Serious sports bettors should use a Futures Calculator before placing a wager on a futures pick. This will help you determine the complete implied probability as well as the overall house edge. You can also use a Futures Calculator to track line movement as well as compare various sportsbooks to see where you should place your bet.

Calculating Payouts Sports Odds

The easiest way to convert American odds to Fractional odds is by using an odds converter. There are many odds converters online, including here at Gaming Today.

Another way is to convert the odds manually. American odds in fractional form is 100/-number or +number/100. For example, -110 American odds would be 100/110, or 0.91/1.

Thanks to the internet, you can convert American odds to Decimal odds in seconds using the odds converter at Gaming Today. You can also convert the odds by hand. Simply divide the 100 by the negative number or divide the positive number by 100, then add 1. For example, +225 in American odds would be (225/100) + 1, or 3.25.

Calculating Sports Odds

The fastest way to convert betting odds to implied probability is by utilizing the odds converter at Gaming Today. You can also do so by hand using the following equation: negative odds / (negative odds + 100) * 100.

How To Calculate Odds Ratio In Sports

For example, the equation for -110 would be 110/(110+100) * 100 = 52.38%.

DraftKings Sportsbook. With the best quality app, excellent welcome bonuses and ongoing promotions, hyper-competitive, and robust market depth, the DraftKings Sportsbook reigns supreme as the best online sportsbook in the US. However, we highly recommend comparing every online sportsbook legal in your state before placing a bet to find the best available odds.