How To Use Decimal Odds

If you’re a relatively new sports bettor, you might have found yourself a bit baffled by the odds types available from most betting sites.

It’s the norm in the UK for bookies to default to fractional odds, as they’re the traditional odds type for Brits, and therefore the type most of us are most familiar with.

You might have heard, though, that decimal odds can be easier to work with, and be wondering about how to go about using them. It’s worth taking the time to learn how to use decimal odds, especially if you’re making money through Matched Betting, which relies on easy comparison of odds.

In this article, we’ll talk you through everything you need to know about using decimal odds, including how they correspond to fractional odds, how to calculate your return, and why you might prefer to use them.

Types Of Odds

In betting, odds represent the amount someone can expect to win if their bet is successful. High odds indicate high profits, and a smaller chance of the bet winning, while low odds indicate lower profits, but a higher chance of the bet winning.

Because of this, odds can also be looked at as a representation of probability - though you shouldn’t assume that nothing but true probability determines the odds on an event.

Bookies also have a profit margin on the odds they set, and adjust them according to betting volume, not just likelihood, meaning that you can’t rely on odds to tell you how likely something is to happen.

There are three main types of odds used in the UK: fractional, decimal and moneyline, with fractional and decimal being by far the most commonly used.

Fractional Odds

The traditional odds format in the UK, and the one you’re likely to first encounter when you sign up with a bookie. Fractional odds indicate the amount you will win depending on your original stake, with the first number showing your winnings, and the second your stake. For example, odds of 2/1 indicate that for every £1 you stake, you’ll receive £2 in winnings if your bet is successful.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are also known as European odds, as this odds format is most popular on the continent. Decimal odds are the most straightforward; they come in the form of a number (often with decimal places, hence the name), which you multiply by your original stake to get your total return. For example, odds of 3 (the equivalent of 2/1 in fractional odds) indicate that you’ll receive a total return of £3 if you bet £1 (£2 in winnings plus your original stake).

Moneyline Odds

Moneyline odds are also known as American odds, as they’re used predominantly in North America. Compared to decimal or even fractional odds, they’re quite confusing, as they use two different formats depending on whether your bet has a better or worse chance of winning than 50%.

For a favourite (a selection that’s got a higher than 50% chance of winning), the odds indicate the amount you have to bet in order to win £100 (or, as they’re more commonly used in the US, $100). For an underdog (a selection that’s got a lower than 50% chance of winning), meanwhile, the odds indicate the amount of profit you’ll make if you bet £100.

For example, +200 odds means that if you bet £100, you’ll make £200 in profit if your bet wins. -200 odds means that you need to bet £200 in order to make £100 in profit if your bet wins.

If this sounds confusing, that’s very understandable - but don’t worry, you’re very unlikely to have any need to understand moneyline odds if you’re betting in the UK.

How To Calculate Your Return With Decimal Odds

Calculating your return is really easy with decimal odds - you simply multiply your stake by the odds in question. We’ll use a couple of examples to illustrate this:

1. You might decide to bet £20 on a draw between Ipswich and Crystal Palace in their upcoming match, at odds of 3.4.

Your total return is your £20 stake multiplied by 3.4 - so £68. This would be £48 in winnings plus your original £20 stake.

2. As more of a fan of horse racing, you place a bet of £15 on Sedbury, a relative long shot, to win the 18:00 at Wolverhampton, at odds of 17.

At odds of 17 a win isn’t hugely likely, but if your horse did make first place your total return would be £15 multiplied by 17 - £255. This would be £240 in winnings plus your original £15 stake.

3. You decide to have a punt at a horse racing accumulator, opting for the favourites at four races at Plumpton. This combination results in odds of 63.67, and you opt for a £5 stake.

In the event that all four of your horses win their races, you’ll make a total return of £318.38 - your £5 stake multiplied by 63.67*. This means you’d receive £313.38 in winnings plus your original £5 stake.

*In this particular case, the actual odds are 63.675, but they’ve been rounded down by the bookie in your betslip.

Free Bets

It’s important to bear in mind that the calculation is a bit different for free bets, especially if you’re Matched Betting. As a general rule, your stake is not returned if your free bet wins, meaning that your calculation to work out your return is a bit different.

For example, let’s imagine that your £20 bet on Ipswich v Crystal Palace was placed with a £20 free bet, rather than with £20 of your own funds. To work out your return, you still multiply your stake by the odds - but having done so, you deduct your original stake to get your return:

£20 x 3.4 = £68

£68 - £20 = £48

Your return from this free bet would therefore be £48 if your bet went on to win.

How To Calculate Implied Probability From Decimal Odds

Implied probability is, as it sounds, the likelihood of an outcome implied by the odds from a bookie. With just a little familiarity with decimal odds, you’ll start to get an immediate feel for the rough probability of an outcome from the odds you see.

After gaining a little experience of sports betting, most people will be aware that decimal odds of 2.0 mean that something has a 50% chance of happening - and they can therefore immediately gauge that anything with odds lower than 2 is more likely than not to happen, whereas something with odds higher than 2 is much less likely to occur (according to the odds they see - don’t forget, the bookies do manipulate odds to maximise their profits).

The great thing about decimal odds is that it’s incredibly easy to work out the exact implied probability of any odds. The formula to use is simply 100/odds, which gives you the percentage chance of your selected outcome occurring.

For example, for decimal odds of 4.0, you would do the following calculation:

100/4 = 25

= 25% probability

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to avoid maths altogether (and really, who wouldn’t?), most online odds converters will immediately calculate the implied probability for you.

Advantages Of Decimal Odds

• Ease of calculation. As we’ve hopefully made clear, decimal odds are by far the easiest to work with when it comes to calculating your returns, whether for a normal bet or a free bet.

• Smaller increments are possible. There are no limitations at all on how finely odds can be adjusted when you’re using decimal odds. Fractional odds, however, have more limited possibilities, with only a certain number of ‘standard’ fractional odds commonly used by bookies. In some ways, this is more a problem for bookies than it is for punters, but it does mean that you may be able to access more advantageous odds at betting exchange sites, which usually use decimal odds by default.

• At-a-glance odds comparison. It’s much easier to compare odds when using decimal odds, especially for newer bettors who might not be very familiar with the fractional odds format.

• At-a-glance impression of implied probability. Similarly, you’ll be able to gain an immediate idea of the implied probability of each outcome for an event when using decimal odds.

Why Decimal Odds Are Best For Matched Betting

• Odds comparison is crucial. Finding matching odds is, as you’d expect, integral to Matched Betting. If you’re using decimal odds, you can see immediately that odds of, say, 1.62 and 1.67 are pretty close - but that’s much, much harder to establish with their fractional equivalents, 8/13 and 4/6 respectively.

• Easy maths. You need to be careful to calculate your profits accurately when Matched Betting, and decimal odds makes this light years easier. Outplayed’s handy software does, admittedly, do the calculating for you - but it’s still based on decimal odds, so your life will be all the simpler if you choose to use decimal odds as well.

Do You Have To Use Decimal Odds?

No, you certainly don’t have to! If you’re a casual sports bettor, and especially if you’re not Matched Betting or using other value betting strategies, you might be more comfortable sticking with fractional odds if you’re already familiar with them. That said, if you are Matched Betting, you’ll definitely have an easier time if you’re using decimal odds, so we strongly recommend that you do so.

You should find an option to select your odds format on any bookie’s website. This may be in the Settings section of your account, all the way at the bottom of the page in the sports section, or sometimes near the top of your screen. Some bookies may have a wider range of odds formats than the main three, but you should always see at least fractional and decimal options.

Summary

Fractional odds may be the traditional format in the UK, but decimal odds are infinitely easier to use - and having reached the end of this article, you ought to be pretty expert in using them by now!

Whether you just place the odd sports bet for fun, use Matched Betting as a side hustle or strategically use value betting for profit, using decimal odds will make your life simpler and easier - with no real downside at all. Why not get started with decimal odds by having a go at Matched Betting today?