PROVIDING YOU WITH ALL THE BEST BETS
Bookmakers and punters alike are constantly striving to get the best possible odds for them on any given bet.
With every sporting fixture and betting market having many permutations, the world associated behind sports betting odds can be a little daunting for some rookie punters.
Odds service to provide a probability from which a particular result/event will happen and whilst bookmakers invariably come out on top, they try to offer odds that entice people to bet with them.
There are a multitude of factors that are considered by every sportsbook when contriving a set of odds on a particular sporting market, with every possible result needed to be catered for.
Every successful bookmaker has a team of odds spotters that have the job of generating the odds – in order to ensure punters still bet with a bookmaker and the sportsbook itself stands to make a profit.
Here is a guide as to how bookmakers select their odds:
Different Types of Odds
Depending on where in the world you are betting, developing an understanding of how each particular set of odds works is key and the bookies offers is a valuable resource for any punter learning their trade.
Fractional odds are most commonly used in the UK and they are displayed against the staked amount of money. For example, placing £1 on a 10/1 bet will return £11 if it wins – £10 represented in the win + £1 originally placed = £11.
European betting companies tend to offer decimal odds to their punters, with more specific odds often catered for and different winnings more commonplace. When shown to punters, decimal odds represent the amount one wins for every $1 bet placed. For example, placing $1 on a 10.00 bet would return $10 – a very method of betting.
American betting methods come in the form of money line odds – which often take the most getting used to. The odds for favourites are accompanied by a minus (-) sign, indicating the amount you need to stake to win $100. Meanwhile, the odds for underdogs are accompanied by a positive (+) sign, indicating the amount won for every $100 staked. In both cases, you get your initial wager back, in addition to any amount won.
Every reputable bookmaker will offer punters odds in their chosen discipline, with odds types often being generated depending on where in the world you are betting form. There is no benefit to betting in a certain way but familiarity with how each odds works is key.
Bigger the Event, Worse the Odds
Bookmakers have to go with the market trends in order to make money. The more money people place on a particular bet, the less money a sportsbook can offer as part of the pay out – as bookmakers are multi-million pound businesses.
Betting on a popular event such as the Grand National, the Champions League Final or the Monaco Grand Prix invariably yields pretty poor odds, as more punters than normal decide to bet on that event – due to the fact that it captures the imagination of the wider sporting public.
With that in mind, punters can nullify this tightening of the screw from bookmakers by either betting on the specific event early – in an attempt to negate all those jumping on the bandwagon or avoid betting on the main event but seek value in the associated markets.
Expert Opinion
Every successful sportsbook has odds spotters for specific sports – people who are tasked with keeping tabs on every team/player and updating their odds in every fixture they compete in.
In addition to these experts that work for sportsbooks, there are teams of betting enthusiasts that all provide odds and tips for punters to use to their advantage too. Betting with the avoidance of emotion is always helpful and taking on expert opinion can yield significant profits for all levels of punter.