Do you want to know what do American odds mean? Figuring out the various types of bet odds can be tricky for a beginner who is just delving into the sports betting world. This is primarily as the betting odds come in different formats, including decimal and fractional odds.
However, one thing is right. Figuring out how to beat a sportsbook the American way will give you an edge. If you are new to the odds, our experts team have put together this guide to help you. Keep reading!
What Do American Odds Mean Actually?
To answer the question “what do American odds mean”, they are simply one way to express odds. A pick’em listed as “pk” or “pick” or “pick’em”, depending on the sportsbook’s preference. There are 2 basic types: favorites and underdogs.
Favorites come with a “-” symbol that is attached. The higher the total value of the number, the better the chance bet will win. For instance, a -200 favorite has a better chance to win than a -120 favorite.
In addition, 200 is better than 120, so this is what we mean by total value, you ignore the “-” sign and take just the number when thinking about this. The underdogs come with a “+” symbol attached.
The higher the number, the bigger the underdog. So, a +200 underdog has a better chance to win than a +500 underdog. That is what do American odds mean.
How to Read the American Odds?
Figuring out what do American odds mean is important, especially for an American bettor. This is because it will give you an idea of what to expect by taking on a particular team. Therefore, knowing what the odds work together with how it will work is like the instrumental to understanding your potential payout.
Well, American odds always depend on the base amount of $100. They are represented by “+” or “-” symbols that are very important. When there is a (-) in front of the number or odds, the result is more likely to happen.
It is generally reserved for the favorite team, which has a higher winning chance of the game. Betting on this result will get you a lower amount than your bet if you win.
On the other hand, the (+) odd shows a lower probability of the result occurring. It is reserved for the underdog or the team with a low possibility of winning the game. When you bet on it and win, your payout will be more than your first bet.
Example of American Odds
For a good example of what do American odds mean, assuming you are betting on the Yankees as the favorite with odds -130, you will need to bet $130 to win $100. When the bet wins, you will get $100 alongside your first bet $130.
For the underdogs, let’s imagine you are placing a bet on the Red Sox with odds of +120. You will need to bet $100 to win $120. When this bet wins, you will get $120 in winning alongside your first $100 bet.
Remember that the examples use smaller bets too. For instance, you can simply bet $10 to win $12 in winning using the example above. From what do American odds mean, the bookmaker has much control over the point spread even without making many changes.
How Payouts Work for American Odds?
From the explanation of what do American odds mean, the odds at the sportsbook at the time you make your bet will determine your payout. Although the odds tend to change, you are restricted to the odds at the period you made your bet. Moreover, you can calculate your payout is by following these rules:
- For negative odds, the odds are equal to the amount you must bet to get $100. Therefore, odds of -150 mean you bet $150 to win 100.
- In the positive odds case, it shows how much you will get when you bet $100. So, for odds of +150, means you will get $150 when you bet $100.
American Odds as Part of a Spread Line
While moneyline bets are one way from what do American odds mean, they are also active in point spreads. This is like the UK or European type of over under markets. The odds once again require the amount of money you need to risk, however, not what needs to take place to win the bet.
For instance, another NFL game is happening between the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers. The bookmaker you are part of offers the point spread in the similar way as an over under with various options available.
Moreover, you must bet on the option that you believe will win, determining how many points difference there will be. The bookmakers has the following options for you to choose from:
- New York Giants: -6.5 -110
- Carolina Panthers: +6.5 -110
In this case of what do American odds mean, you will only bet $1.10 for every $1 that you expect to win, when backing either team. The Giants have to win the game by at least 7 points.
With Carolina’s Panthers, they must lose between 1 and 6 points or win the game instead, and you stand the opportunity of being successful with your bet on them.
Most of the time, spreads on NFL football games, like that described in the example, will be -110. That is a standard 10% margin on your bet, as the spread makes the things equal.
Sports that commonly have lower scoring games will come with low point spreads as well, such as -1.5. Yet the odds on every side will also be different as it is difficult for sports like baseball or soccer to win by multiple goals or points.
Conclusion
Learning what do American odds mean is easy and fast once you get accustomed to them. Just like any other type, it is all personal preference. It is also easy to convert American odds to fractional or even decimal odds. Moreover, it can easily be done using the odds converter.
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