American Sports Betting Odds

The American format of odds is very different from the usual European, decimal form. In this material, we will understand what American odds are, how to calculate them, translate them into a familiar form, evaluate and simply understand them.

European odds

This is how our familiar European decimal odds look. Everything is clear - we multiply the bet amount by kf, and we get the payout amount when making a bet on this outcome. But in different parts of the world, different types of odds are used - fractional (in British bookmakers), Indonesian, Hong Kong, Malay (used by Asian bookmakers) and American (bookmakers in North America).

What do American odds look like in bookmaker?

They look completely different and can confuse a bettor who has never encountered them. To make them also understandable to you, as an ordinary American, read this material to the end.

How American odds are calculated?

As we can see, such odds are expressed by positive and negative numbers. The first thing to know is that this kind of odds is closely related to the $ 100 bill.

What is the main point:

1. A positive kph indicates the amount players will earn by betting $ 100 on this outcome.
2. A negative kph indicates how much should be bet to get a $ 100 profit from the office.

That is, by placing $ 100 on kf +120, players will receive a payout of $ 220, that is, $ 120 in net profit. If the kf is negative, say -130, then it means that you need to bet $ 130 in order to receive a payout of $ 230. That is, earn +100 USD on top.

Sounds a little strange and very unusual for our betting system. In principle, you can use not US dollars, but absolutely any units - rubles, euros, hryvnia, tenge, or just conventional units.

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A small life hack that makes it easier to understand the essence of American coefficients: all positive quotes are above the European two (2.00), all negative quotes are below the European two.

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The American CF +100 is equal to the European 2.00. It cannot be less than +100, the kph will go a little lower with a negative value. Another conclusion follows from this - outcomes with negative odds are more likely than outcomes with positive ones. That is, if the quotes -152 and +137 are offered for the victories of the teams, then the first team is the favorite, and the second is the outsider.

How to convert American odds to decimal?

In order to carry out the conversion of American coefficients into the European format, there are special formulas. They are quite simple and differ for positive and negative quotes.

Formula for positive American odds:

Odds / 100 + 1

That is, we take the number of the coefficient, divide it by one hundred and add one. Let's translate several positive American odds: +120, +350, +105 into the format offered by our office.

1. 20 / 100 + 1 = 2.2
2. 350 / 100 + 1 = 4.5
3. 105 / 100 + 1 = 2.05

Negative odds are converted using a slightly different formula:

100 / odds + 1

The minus sign of the American coefficient is not taken into account, we just divide one hundred by the number of the coefficient and add one.

Let's translate several negative American coefficients: -110, -240, -250 into the form we are used to, which is offered by the Russian office.

1. 100 / 110 + 1 = 1.91
2. 100 / 240 + 1 = 1.42
3. 100 / 250 + 1 = 1.4

As you can see, our rule is observed - all negative odds are below the two in the European format, and all positive odds are higher.

American odds table

A small bonus: a plate of the correspondence of American and European coefficients for securing the material. If you learn it (or even better, understand the principle), then you can easily learn to convert the odds in your head by ranges.

How to estimate the probability of an outcome in American bookmakers?

The approximate probability of the outcome in decimal odds can be represented by dividing 100 (percent) by kf. That is, kf 2.00 is estimated by the office at about 50% probability level, kf 4.00 = 25%, and 3.00 about 33.3%.

In American quotes, as we have already discussed, kf +100 corresponds to the European two, that is, it is approximately at the 50% probability mark. Accordingly, the office estimates negative odds higher than the probability of 50%, and the more negative they are, the higher the probability. Positive quotes, on the contrary, lose their probability as the number of coefficients grows.

Formulas for calculating the probability of positive and negative American coefficients are different.

1. Positive:

100 / the amount of payment from the bet (bet 100 + winnings) x 100%

That is, if we see odds +200, then we need to divide a hundred by 300 (payout at a rate of $ 100 on this odds) and multiply by 100%: 100/300 x 100% = 33.33% - an estimate of the probability of a bookmaker.

1. Negative:

Odds / payout amount from the bet (bet 100 + winnings) x 100%

If we see a coefficient of -120, then we act like this: 120/220 (the amount of payment for a bet of $ 100 at odds of -120) x 100% = 54.54% - this is how the bookmaker estimates the probability of this outcome.

Like in the case of European odds, these formulas are not very accurate due to the presence of the margin that bookmakers put in. But for a rough estimate of the probability, they are quite enough.

How to calculate the size of the margin in American bookmakers?

We have already told you more than once how to calculate the size of the margin of a European bookmaker. You need to divide a hundred by each market coefficient, add everything and subtract a hundred. In fact, this is not a super accurate formula, but it is quite suitable for a rough estimate. There are formulas for American odds, and they are also different for negative and positive quotes.

To calculate the margin that the bookmaker has put in negative odds:

ef payout amount from the bet (bet 100 + winnings)

Then add everything, multiply by a hundred and subtract a hundred. We will get a clear percentage of the office's margin. That is, with odds of -105 in both directions (which corresponds to European quotes of 1.95), the margin will be: (105/205 + 105/205) = 1.024 x 100 = 102.4 - 100 = 2.4% of the margin was put into the market by the bookmaker.

To calculate the margin that the bookmaker has laid in positive American odds:

If you make predictions for football in American bookmakers, you will often come across positive quotes. Indeed, with three outcomes, the chance is quite high that none of them will reach the 50% probability.

100 / payout amount from the bet (bet 100 + winnings)

Further, in the same way as in the previous example - add up the numbers for all markets, multiply by one hundred and subtract one hundred. Thus, in this example, the margin is: 100/275 + 100/298 + 100/305 = 0.36 + 0.335 + 0.33 = 1.025 x 100 = 102.5 - 100 = 2.5% the bookmaker laid in this market.

Conclusion

Now you know everything about American odds and are ready to bet on sports in American bookmakers. Bookmakers in the USA are distinguished by a good level of list and margin for the North American leagues - NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB and a number of other competitions. Having mastered their quotation system, you will gain an advantage over the average bettor and increase the profitability of your game.