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Reading Odds

Updated: Dec 7, 2022

Quick Read


Odds represent the approximate chance of a bet winning

  • + indicates an underdog

  • -” indicates a favorite

  • Approximate since countless factors contribute to setting odds

  • This randomness leads to odds varying throughout the day and across different sites

Odds are an important part of being a profitable bettor

  • Bettors can shop different sports betting sites to find the best odds

  • Consistently getting good odds is the easiest way of increasing your ROI

Below I’ll show an example of reading odds and a way of determining if you’re getting good value

  • DYOR, never bet anything you can’t afford to lose


 

Example


Pittsburgh Pirates to win @ +191

$100 bet @ +191 would payout $291
  • $291 (payout) = $191 (profit) + $100 (returned)

  • Underdogs (+) can be thought of as “if I bet $100 dollars then my profit would be the odds”


New York Mets to win @ -219

$219 bet @ -219 would payout $319
  • $319 (payout) = $100 (profit) + $219 (returned)

  • Favorites (-) can be thought of as “the odds tell me how much I need to bet to win $100”


 

Finding Value


The best way of finding value is comparing odds across betting sites

  • This gives us a better idea of what odds are being offered & who is offering the best price

External Prices shows what odds are being offered elsewhere

  • Spoiler alert... BettorEdge is tough to beat


Thanks for reading!


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