• Betting Odds & Chance. To first understand what betting odds are, we have to first understand the concept of chance. Chance is the likelihood of an event happening. It is often expressed in percentages, also referred to as the probability. Let's roll a dice. Rolling a dice yields a probability of 1 out of 6 for each outcome.
• Using the following simple formula: Stake x Decimal Odds = Total Payout. Another way of thinking about these numbers is that they represent how much a winning ticket will be worth if you bet $1. In order to spot the underdog and favorite, just keep in mind that. The lower the number, the more favored.

Ever wondered how you are actually doing in sports betting?

Below are some of the best betting sites to begin your NHL betting career. Popular Hockey Wagers. Given that it is the least bet North American professional sports league in the general US betting market, NHL odds tend to have limited popularity outside of the normal money line and total wagers.

Just like tracking your finances can be an eye opening experience (I spent how much at restaurants last month?!), tracking your bets can shed some light on your performance.

Download the free sports bet tracking spreadsheet below to get started (available for both Excel and Google Sheets):

Bet Tracker Spreadsheet: Instant Insights

If you want to measure your performance and see where you are succeeding and failing, you need to track it.

With this free tool, you can see your performance broken down by various dimensions.

Have a great ROI on betting NBA 2nd halves? Getting solid closing line value on NFL point spreads? This spreadsheet allows you to answer questions like this and more.

How to use the spreadsheet

While the spreadsheet is pretty straightforward, I’d like to walk you through how it works.

How to track sports bets

Everything lives in the “Bet Log” tab. This is the only place information is manually entered. Once the data is entered there, all other tabs will automatically populate.

In the “Bet Log” tab, blue columns are required while red columns are optional. The more information you input, the more useful the spreadsheet will be.

Entering things like the closing line, while slightly annoying, will also be the most important to your success.

How to analyze performance

Each tab will have different graphs and tables that show your performance. The beauty of this is that you can filter the data by any dimension you like.

Any yellow cell is an “input” cell that can be changed. All of these are dropdowns that are pre-populated based on the information you enter in the Bet Log.

How to add more leagues and teams

To add new leagues and teams, you will do so in the “REF” tab. This tab holds all of the lookup information for the dropdowns throughout the spreadsheet.

Again, the cells available to modify are in yellow. You can add the following dimensions:

• Leagues (ex: WNBA)
• Teams (ex: Chicago Sky)
• Tags (ex: 2nd half)

Bet Tracker Spreadsheet Metrics

Deciding what to track is important in determining how you measure success. The spreadsheet tracks the following key metrics:

How To Read Betting Odds

Closing Line Value

Closing line value (CLV) is a measure of how much better or worse the odds you bet at were compared to where they closed.

If you believe the markets you are betting into are efficient (NFL point spreads, MLB moneylines, etc.), then CLV is a great predictor of long term success.

All you need to do is input the odds you placed your bet at as well as where the odds closed. Preferably you use a market making sportsbook like Pinnacle to decide what the “true” closing line was.

Profit

Profit is about as simple as it gets. Are you making or losing money?

While this is the “bottom line”, surprisingly it isn’t always predictive of long term success. Still, you will obviously want to see how much money you have made or lost.

ROI

This is what most people tend to look at. It is a measure of how profitable you are relative to how much you are risking.

While at the end of the day, the money in your pocket is what matters, this metric focuses more on results rather than process and is a measure of efficiency.

ROI isn’t as predictive of long term winning as CLV, but is useful to track to see where you stand.

Risk

This one is simple, yet will likely give you insights into where you are putting your money.

If you have a model, does it consistently value the Dallas Cowboys differently than the market? Thus making many of your bets on the Cowboys? Analyzing your risk by league/team/bet type can give you these types of answers.

Bankroll

Bankroll will track our running total of how much money you have in your accounts across all sportsbooks. You can also see this trended over time to help you see any changes in your betting strategy and how that has affected your bankroll.

It is very useful to see, at a glance, where your money lies. Is 95% of our bankroll at FanDuel? Maybe you should shift some to DraftKings.

Bet Tracker Spreadsheet Dimensions

Having these metrics available is important, but insights really come from slicing the data by different dimensions.

League/Team

Tracking your performance by league or team can give you clues into where your strengths or weaknesses are.

Do you watch every second of every New York Knicks game? Think you have an edge on Knicks games? You can find out using the spreadsheet.

Same goes for leagues. Do you follow NFL closely but use strictly numbers for NCAA Basketball? Compare the performance of the two and see what’s working.

Bet Type

Looking at performance by bet type can also shed some light on your process, especially if it is model driven.

Track your performance by the following bet types:

• Spread
• Moneyline
• Total
• Prop
• Future

You can also use the “Tag” field to designate special types of bets. For example, if you want to see your performance on moneylines for NBA 2nd halves, you would put “2H” (or something similar) in the Tag field and “moneyline” in the bet type field.

Date

A common way to analyze performance is to look at metrics trended over time.

Look at any of the metric/dimension combinations above trended over any time period you’d like.

Want to see your performance over the last 14 days? Or how about the last 12 weeks? Both are possible here.

Google Sheets Sports Betting Tracker

The sports betting tracker is also available on Google Sheets. While the features are the same as the Excel file, Google Sheets has some notable benefits:

• Available/online at all times
• Can enter bets on your phone using the Sheets app
• You don’t need to be at a computer to enter your bets
• Google Sheets auto saves any changes
• Allows multiple users to be in the sheet at the same time and make changes

If there’s one thing you know, it’s sports. You’ve been making friendly bets with your buddies for years, and almost always come up a winner. But do you really understand odds in sports betting?

Sports betting odds can be tricky to understand at first, especially since you may see the odds posted in more than one way.

From plus/minus to decimal, to fractional — how is anyone supposed to know how to place the best bets?

Don’t sweat it, we’ve got you.

In this guide, we’ll explain everything you need to know about how to understand odds in sports betting, and how you can start creating your own odds.

Understanding Sports Odds: What Are They?

So, you want to place a bet on the upcoming match but you’re not sure how to get started.

First things first, you have to understand the odds to know which bets are worth the risk. We’ll touch more on that in the sections below.

Secondly, you need to know that there are a variety of formats for which odds are displayed, such as:

• American (plus/minus)
• Decimal Odds
• Fractional Odds

All of them are easy to understand, and we’ll show you in the upcoming sections of this article.

Lastly, odds are used to calculate the implied probability of a particular outcome in any sporting event.

Once you have a solid understanding of how the odds work, you’ll be able to determine which bets offer the best payouts and how much money you are willing to wager.

Sports Odds Explained: American Odds

If you don’t know how to calculate sports betting odds, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

The most common type of sports odds used in North America is American Odds, which uses a plus/minus system for calculating payouts.

Below, we’ll answer your question: how are odds calculated in sports?

We’ll start with the American way, and give you some betting odds examples so you know exactly what you’re looking at the next time you want to make a wager.

But first, it’s important to know what odds are designed to do.

1. Odds flag potential bettors as to the implied probability of the bet
2. Odds announce the payout you could win if you bet on that outcome

However, odds can be influenced by more than the events that are relevant to the outcome of the game or match.

Many traditional sportsbooks are known for manipulating the odds in their favor and factor in how much the book is charging for you to place your bet. You may hear fellow wagerers refer to this cut as the “juice”, “vig”, or “cut.”

How Does Plus/Minus Work in Sports Betting?

When you see +130/-240 (or any other three-digit combination) you know you’re dealing with American odds.

The plus or minus indicates whether you’re betting on the favored team or the underdog.

A negative number on the betting line implies the favorite, and exactly how much you have to bet to walk away with a $100 payout.

Positive numbers belong to the underdog, and let you know how much you’ll win if you bet $100.

For example:

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With American Odds?

Using the above example, calculating your odds look like this:

To win $100 on the Vikings (favorites), you would need to wager $130. If you bet $100 on the Packers (underdogs), you’d be paid out $260 in addition to receiving your $100 bet back.

Calculating Payouts

Let’s say you don’t want to bet $100 of your money — we get it, that can add up.

Many people prefer to place a series of smaller bets on multiple games to get the most out of the experience.

Winning two and losing one can be more appealing than losing it all in one shot.

With the above example, let’s calculate the odds of betting the underdog with only $10, instead of $100.

Using the +260 odds on the Packers, a $10 bet would payout $26 in profits, plus the return of your original $10 bet for a total of $36 back in your pocket.

In most cases, the sportsbook you’re betting with will do the calculations before you even place the bet.

You’ll know the exact payout before you confirm your bet.

Calculating Implied Probability

If you’ve started to research exactly how sports betting works, then you’ve probably heard the term “implied probability”.

The odds are what suggest a particular outcome in any match, and the implied probability refers to the prospect of that outcome.

To calculate the implied probability you need to convert the odds into a percentage.

The reason you’d want to calculate the implied probability is to determine if the estimated probability of a match you wish to bet on is different from the sportsbook so that you can adjust your bet accordingly.

Remember, that all odds available at a sportsbook include the “juice” or “cut” so you’ll need to factor that in, as the implied probability of every conceivable outcome of a match is going to be above 100%.

This is called overround, and it’s the reason you should remove the “juice” from betting lines before calculating what the oddsmakers actually expect the outcome to be.

Sports Odds Explained: Decimal Odds

Of the three types of odds you’ll come across, betting with decimal odds are the easiest to learn.

Decimal style odds are typically used in Europe, but many Sportsbooks default to American odds. However, you should be able to set the preference to any betting style.

Decimal odds look like this:

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With Decimal Odds?

Calculating your potential winnings with decimal odds is easy. All you have to do is multiply the amount of money you’re wagering with the odds attached to the team you’re betting on.

For example:

Calculating Implied Probability

Calculating your implied probability is a valuable tool to determine if a wager is worth the risk.

Using our example above, we’ll determine implied probability using the following formula: 1 / Decimal odds

With the above example, the Toronto Blue Jays implied probability of winning is:

1 / 2.10 = 47.6%

And the New York Yankees implied probability of winning is:

1 / 1.40 = 71.4%

In this case, the New York Yankees have a much higher probability of winning, and therefore the safer bet… unless you know something we don’t.

Sports Odds Explained: Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are most commonly used in the UK and can typically be seen when placing bets on horse races.

They’re sort of funny looking odds, but when you understand what they mean, they are really easy to calculate.

How Do You Understand Odds in Sports Betting With Fractional Odds?

Let’s say you want to bet on a horse in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

You open up your betting app and see strange-looking figures such as 8/3 or 1/2 (which, by the way, we would say “eight to three” or “one to two”).

So, how do you calculate these odds?

Simple.

The number on the left (8) tells you how many times the oddsmaker expects the related outcome to fail. And the number on the right (3) dictates how many times the outcome should succeed.

So, what does this mean for your pocketbook?

Calculating Payouts

Calculating your payout for fractional betting is really quite easy.

Multiply your bet by the numerator (or top number), then divide the result by the denominator (bottom number).

For example, if you place a $50 bet on 8/3 odds the calculation would look like this:

(50 x 8) / 3 = $133.33 (a total of $183.33 coming your way).

Or if you placed your $50 bet on the 1/2 odds, then the calculation would look like this:

(50 x 1) / 2 = $25 (for a total of $75 in your pocket).

Calculating Implied Probability

Sports Betting Odds

Figuring out the implied probability for fractional bets can be done fairly easily.

Let’s say your horse of choice has 8/3 odds on him, this means that out of 11 races (8+3) your horse is expected to win eight times. Pretty good right?

Now divide the number of times he’s supposed to win by the number of races on the roster and you get your implied probability: 8 / 11 = 72.7%

Remember though, it costs money to play, so anytime you’re calculating odds, whether American, decimal or fractional,the outcomes when added together will always equal more than 100%… that’s the “vig” or the “cut” we’ve been talking about.

What is a Push?

A push — while not related to odds — can directly affect your payout so we thought it was worth mentioning here.

Being aware of the possibility of a push before you place your first bet on a sports match is important.

So, what is a push, exactly? In simple terms, it’s a tie.

How To Add Odds In Betting

You will not see a push on the moneyline when placing bets, so you need to know in advance if it’s an outcome you can bet on. Typically this only applies if you’re betting against the spread or making a totals bet.

If a push occurs and hasn’t been bet on, then you’ll just get your money back, as it’s considered neither a win nor a loss.

A point spread will usually add half a point to each number so that a push can’t happen, but that’s not always the case, so keep your eye on your bets and all possibilities of a push.

What Is ZenSports?

Now, that you know how to figure out odds in betting this is where it gets really interesting.

ZenSports is an online peer to peer betting marketplace that removes the need for a bookmaker, and thus the “vig”, “cut”, or “juice”.

By eliminating the bookmaker, ZenSports can charge 50-90% lower fees than traditional bookmakers do.

On top of saving a lot of money, every customer that uses ZenSports is betting against other sports bettors (not greedy bookmakers), so customers feel good knowing that they’re going up against people that are just like them.

Create Your Own Bets and Odds With ZenSports

How does peer to peer betting work, exactly?

By eliminating the bookmaker, ZenSports has essentially created a marketplace for which every bettor plays a role in creating a fun, decentralized ecosystem for everyone involved.

Here’s a five-step overview of how the ZenSports process currently works:

1. Makers create bets. Anyone can create any imaginable sports bet they want with their own terms, payout, and wager amount.
2. Takers accept bets. Anyone can accept part of or a whole bet created by a Maker.
3. Makers submit the results of the bet outcome. To prevent a Maker from submitting false results, Makers have an escrow fee of 10% of their bet set aside in case of a dispute by the Taker.
4. Takers can dispute results. A Taker can dispute any outcome but are required to hold 5% of their bet in escrow aside to prevent the Taker from making false disputes.
5. The Marketplace resolves disputes. The Marketplace is incentivized to vote correctly because they will receive half of the losing party’s escrow amount if they vote alongside the majority of the voters. The prevailing party received a full refund of their escrow fee, along with half of the losing party’s escrow fee.

All bets are then paid out accordingly.

ZenSports is the only mobile peer to peer sports betting marketplace, where anyone can create and accept bets around the world without the need for a centralized bookmaker.

How To Add Odds In Betting Games

The future of online sports betting is here.