You want to place a sports bet and you’ve come across the term odds. What now? What are odds?

In this case, these odds can specifically represent:

In other words: an odd is a quote that a bookmaker attributes to an event, result or market.

And, at the same time, it’s a way for you to know how much you can win by betting on these odds!

Okay, you understand the basic concept! How about we delve deeper into the subject and find out which bookmakers have the best odds ?

Bookmakers with the best odds

Knowing which bookmakers offer the best odds is crucial. The higher the odds, the higher your potential profit!

Some bookmakers, such as Bet365 and BetWay , offer promotional odds. In other words, they increase the value of the odds for some key games.

Betano , on the other hand, has Super Odds! Every day one or two events receive the best odds on the market.

22bet and 1xBet have very high and above – average odds on several events.

And they all offer quality sign-up bonuses for new bettors!

What are odds and how do they work?

The best way to understand exactly what odds are in sports betting is to look at practical examples.

Based on several factors, Bet365 has set the following odds for the Cayman Islands vs. Aruba event

Remember that odds represent:

• How much you can earn financially;
• The odds of these outcomes actually occurring.

In order for you to make the guess with the greatest chance of success, it is very important to understand these two representations of odds.

How to calculate odds in sports betting

As we said above, odds have 2 representations . The first and most important, of course, is to tell you how much you will win on your bets.

Let’s say you bet R$10 on Aruba to win. If your guess is correct, you will win R$10 x 1.06 = R$10.6.

How do you know, however, which outcome is most likely ?

All bookmakers work the same way: the higher the odds, the less likely the outcome.

That’s why profits are greater if we bet on less likely odds.

And if you want to know the real percentage probability of a certain result, the calculation is simple.

Using Aruba’s victory once again as an example, we would have:

• 1/1.06 = 0.94339 = 94.33%

All we did was divide 1 by the odds. We multiplied the result by 100, thus obtaining the probability of Aruba winning the match.

Now for the Cayman Islands chance:

• 1/81 = 0.0123 = 1.23%

And finally for the only missing result:

• 1/10 = 0.1 = 10%

Now we are faced with a curious case, to say the least. If you add up all the percentages above, you will see that the value is 105.56%. But how is it possible that we have 5.5% more in this calculation?

This 5.5% value is the profit margin that the bookmaker obtains on bets on this event.

How do bookmakers set the odds?

Let’s not kid ourselves: bookmakers are businesses and, as such, they need to make money for their business to function.

In this sense, the financial gains of the houses lie in the way they distribute the odds between the sporting events.

At this point we can talk about fair odds and presented odds .

To understand fair odds, we could think of a fight between 2 MMA fighters with the same combat history.

What would be the fair probability of each winning?

• Fighter A : odds of 2.0 = 50%
• Fighter B : odds of 2.0 = 50%

In the above case, it would be fair to think that both fighters have the same chance of winning. Which closes the total percentage at 100% .

What bookmakers do, however, is manipulate the numbers.

This is to allow bookmakers to earn a percentage of bets placed on sporting events.

The odds presented for this same fight, ensuring the house’s profit, would be:

• Fighter A : odd 1.90 = 52.60%
• Fighter B : odd 1.90 = 52.60%

In total, we would have a total of 105.20%. This 5.20% is the profit margin obtained by the bookmaker.

As we have seen, this practice is also common in events where there is a favorite to win.

Why is understanding this important?

Bookmakers do not offer the same odds. It is no wonder that this is one of the points to consider when choosing your betting site.

Especially if the profit margin is above 10%.

So, when looking at the odds at a bookmaker, don’t just go ahead and make your guess.

The above calculations are essential for making value bets .

Odds and value bets

A very common term among more experienced bettors is value betting . But what does it mean?

Value bets are those that have odds that reflect a lower probability in relation to the actual probability of the result happening.

Confused? Hold on, we’ll explain this!

To help you better understand how to perceive a value situation, let’s take a match between Team A (odds of 3.60) and Team B (odds of 2.05) as an example. The odds for a draw are 3.20.

Team A, given the current situation in the competition and the year, is better than its opponent. It even won the first leg 2-0.

The odds, however, define that Team B has a better chance of winning the match.

You, knowing the real history of both teams, know that Team A is the one with a real chance of winning.

So let’s say that:

In situations like this, we have a value bet on Team A winning.

• You analyze the data and see that Team A has a 40% chance of winning.
• But the bookmaker set the odds for Team A’s victory at 3.60
• In other words: for the house, the probability of Team A winning is 27.77%

You notice a gap in the house odds and realize that you have a better chance of winning than the house thinks.

Calculating the value of a bet

Calculating the value of a bet mathematically is very simple.

Imagine that the bookmaker is offering odds of 3.60 for Grêmio to win. But calculating the real value of this bet, according to its knowledge of the event, it turns out that the bookmaker is offering 44% more than the real value.

• Value = (Presented Odd x Actual Probability) – 100%

Soon:

• Value = (3.60 x 40%) – 100% = 44%

Promotional Odds

The house offers 3.60 odds for Team A to win. But calculating the real value of this bet, according to its knowledge of the event, it turns out that the house is offering 44% more than the real value.

A promotional odd is a quote in which bookmakers reduce their profit margins. This way, the bettor can earn more.

Several bookmakers offer this type of odds. Some call them promotional odds, others call them enhanced odds. The name may vary.

In the case of Betano, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, these are the Super Odds ! These are the best odds on the market .

Keep an eye on online betting sites, as it is common to find these advantageous odds, especially in football.

To finish

Knowing how odds work in sports betting allows you to be more successful. Not only will you make more profit, but you will also reduce your losses.

Especially when you learn to identify opportunities like value bets!

They are real opportunities for you to emerge victorious, but this is only possible if you know how to correctly interpret the odds offered by the house.

It becomes relevant to use your knowledge of the numbers, as well as the event you are betting on.

Bookmakers with promotional odds