What Is Sports Betting Payout and How It Works
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One of the main reasons why sports betting is so popular is the possibility of winning a prize. Usually, people pay a small amount and make a lot of speculations, so they get hyped for multiple upcoming matches. Others are more cautious or strategic and tend to place wagers on single matches on the team they believe is more likely to win.
However, people who place bets don’t always know how the system works or how the reward is calculated. Since the software does that automatically, they don’t bother with it. Still, it would be interesting to go over how these payouts function.
Types of Odds
Depending on where you are located or where you place bets you might see different ways on how the odds are displayed. Knowing these can come in handy if you are new and want to avoid some of the rookie mistakes when placing bets. We will divide these into three main types – fractional, decimal, and moneyline odds.
Generally, payouts are calculated based on the odds, and the base amount of money that you put down on a betting ticket. However, casino bonuses can be included in the payout, if you decide to play a specific number of games on the same ticket. Typically casino or betting providers will have information or instruction on what you need to play in order to qualify for a payout bonus. You should also check if those are same day payout casinos, just so you can know when to expect your reward in case you win. Also, these bonuses are only paid if you actually win, they are simply added to your winning prize.
Fractional odds are displayed this – 9/1, 12/5, 11/4, 2/1 etc. In the first and the last example (9/1 and 2/1), it’s quite easy to comprehend how the payouts are going to be calculated, the amount of money you put down will be multiplied by 9 or by 2 in the second example, in case you win. In the other two cases, your winning money is simply calculated by multiplying the amount you put down with 12/5 or more specifically 2.4 – If you pay $100 you can win $240.
Decimal odds are displayed like – 1.6, 3.5, 2.2, etc. The number indicates the amount your money is multiplied with in order to calculate your winning. So once again if you put down $100 on 1.6 odds you will win $160, or more accurately you win $60 because you initially paid $100. However, when you bet on multiple matches or sports all of the odds you select to bet on are added together and then your potential cash prize is calculated. So, if you were to bet on a football match on a draw where quote is 2.1, then on another match for a team to win where the odd is 1.9, and on a tennis match that a player with 3.0 quote will win, then those quotes will be added together and amount to 7.0.
Moneyline quotes are displayed in a form of (+) and (-), where (+) is usually next to the underdog of the match and (-) is next to a team that is more likely to win. You might see quotes like +150 or -150 on a specific team in the matchup. This means the following – If you want to win $150 you need to bet $100 on +150 odds. On the other hand, if you wish to win $100 you must put down $150 on -150 odd.
It may look confusing like you would be losing money on the second example but that is not the case. because in both of these examples we are referring to the amount of money you win. In other words, a $100 on +150 quote means your total payout is $250 ($150 winning plus the money you put down or in this case $100). In the second example, you also get $250, but your winning is $100 and you had to put down $150.
Don’t Get Swayed by the Numbers
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Even if you understand how odds work, don’t get seduced by the tempting numbers, by increasing the odds you are only reducing your chance of victory. This is something casinos do as well; they want to encourage the player to change odds. Always remember that you are here to have fun, so don’t get too emotionally invested in daydreaming.
The system is as you know designed that the profitable party is always the bookie regardless of whether you win or lose, so it is typically suggested not to constantly chase crazy odds, but it is admittedly more fun, which is why people do it. There are some examples and careful calculations that you can use to have the system work to your advantage. I encourage you to read the story it involves some meticulous calculations and even though
you don’t become crazy rich or anything you are still having an overall positive outcome.
Judy Nelson is a passionate sports fan, especially when it comes to football, baseball and basketball. She loves to cover various sports-related topics, sportsbook options, and the best sports bar to enjoy big matches. Judy also enjoys reviewing the latest FIFA and NBA video games, as gaming is another hobby she is deeply passionate about.