The bigger a positive number in moneyline odds, the longer the odds and the less likely it is that the team will win (according to the sportsbook, anyway). Sorry Jets fans, but that’s because this particular sportsbook has determined that they're much less likely to win. My $10 stake would return $28 to me if they win.Īs you can see, I get a much better return if I put my money on the Jets. When I bet $10, my bet slip shows a return of $14.40. Let's go for the New Orleans Saints vs New York Jets: If the odds are -200, you’ll need to bet $200, which would give you back your $200 plus a $100 profit.Īs an example, let's take a look at a moneyline bet, where you have to choose the winner out of two teams. When it comes to the negative odds, the number tells you how much you would need to wager to make $100. So, if you put $100 on at +100 you would get $100 in profit plus your $100 back, giving you a total return of $200. The number after a + sign tells you the amount you would win on a $100 bet. These odds are shown with either a + or – sign before them. US sportsbooks most commonly use moneyline odds (also known as American odds outside the US). How to Read Sports Odds: A Look at Moneyline Odds When you pick a line on a sportsbook and enter your stake, the payout will be stated on the bet slip straight away, usually including the original stake. Does that mean that you need to work out some numbers after all? It's worth noting that the odds don't tell you what you win in monetary terms as you'll also need to know the value of the bet. We're going to stick with the first kind - moneyline odds, which shouldn’t be confused with moneyline bets as that is the market for backing a winner in a match. On US sportsbooks, sports odds are generally stated as a number with a + or - symbol in front of them on sportsbooks outside the US, you might see odds stated in fractions or decimals. The odds are set by the sportsbook, based on how likely they think that outcome is. The short answer is betting lines tell you how much of your stake you'll win if you correctly predict the outcome of a sporting event. They're easy to read when you know how they work, and our guide on betting odds explained is here to explain exactly that, so let's get started. You don’t need to crunch numbers in a calculator or scrawl Einstein-style formulae across a giant whiteboard to get to the bottom of betting odds. Do you have to be a math genius to understand sports betting odds? The answer is no.

Online betting odds explained