You might have noticed that different bookmakers present betting odds in different ways. If you feel confused and want to make sense out of it, you’ve come to the right place. This article is here to help you understand the correlation between different types of odds.
But before you start reading, there’s one thing you need to know. Parimatch betting app lets you easily switch between odds formats. Just register, go to your profile and choose a preferred format: decimal, fractional, American and Hong Kong odds. No need to do the maths yourself!
Still, if you want to understand it all, we’re at your service. And if you want to start with odds from the very beginning, you can refer to our guides to betting odds:
- Betting Odds Explained: Basics for a Bettor
- How to Read and Calculate Sports Betting Odds
- How to Find the Best Betting Odds — Tips and Strategies
What’s more, you can always find real-time examples of what we’re discussing on Parimatch website.
Now let’s get to the science of converting sports betting odds!
Contents
How to Convert Odds
By default, Parimatch website and application use decimal odds. This is because decimal odds are the easiest to understand. However, not every sports betting platform is the same. Some offer more complex betting odds systems such as fractional odds or moneyline odds (often known as American odds).
Just like decimal odds, fractional odds and moneyline odds enable bettors to determine the probability of a bet paying off and the possible profit from a win on that bet. However, where decimal betting odds can be easily converted to implied probability and potential winnings, moneyline odds and fractional odds are a little tougher to understand.
Thankfully, Parimatch’s expert gambling team is here to give you a breakdown on how to convert decimal odds to fractional odds, and how to convert decimal odds to American odds. This guide will also teach you how to convert betting odds to probability, no matter what format the odds are presented in.
The key principle that you need to understand when converting odds is that it is a three-step process:
- Know the format of the odds you are converting — decimal, fractional, American
- Convert betting odds to implied probability
- Convert implied probability to your chosen betting odds format
How to Convert Fractional Odds to Decimal Odds
Fractional odds are most often used with British bookmakers and online betting sites.
If you would like to understand fractional odds, it is simpler to convert them to decimal odds as decimal odds are a more easily readable format. You may also want to convert decimal odds to fractional odds to compare betting odds on other platforms.
We are proud to say Parimatch has the most competitive online betting odds in Africa. By converting decimal odds to fractional odds and vice versa, you can compare Parimatch’s outstanding betting odds to those offered on other platforms.
The first step to converting fractional odds to decimal odds is to make sure that you are using fractional odds! Fractional odds are represented as a fraction — hence the name. If you are wondering whether the odds you are working with are fractional odds, they should look something like “3/1” or “5/2” or “4/1”. This is pronounced as “three to one” or “five to two” or “four to one”.
If your odds are represented as two numbers with a slash in the middle, you are dealing with fractional odds.
How to Convert Fractional Odds to Implied Probability
The next step to convert fraction odds to decimal odds is to work out the implied probability.
Not only will this help you to convert your odds to an easier-to-digest format, but understanding the implied probability will also help you to determine the likelihood of an outcome occurring.
To do this, you need to understand how a fraction works. The numerator is the first number before the slash, while the denominator is the second number after the slash.
To work out implied probability, you need to:
- Add the numerator to the denominator
- Divide the denominator by this number (numerator + denominator)
- Multiply the answer by 100 to give you the implied probability in a percentage
For example, if the odds are 5/2:
- 5+2 = 7
- 2/7 = 0.286
- 0.286 x 100 = 28.6%
This means that fractional odds of 5/2 have an implied probability of 28.6%.
How to Convert Implied Probability to Decimal Odds
Now you have your implied probability of your 5/2 bet, you want to convert this to decimal betting odds. This makes it easy to compare bets to those on the Parimatch platform, where all bettings odds are expressed as decimal odds.
Let’s use the same example as above where you have betting odds of 5/2. Fractional betting odds of 5/2 mean that you have an implied probability of 28.6%. To determine the decimal betting odds, you need to work backwards to what you did above.
When working the implied probability from decimal odds, you divide 100 by the decimal odds. In this circumstance, to convert your probability to decimal odds, you simply divide 100 by the implied probability.
In this case, 5/2 betting odds give an implied probability of 28.6%. Divide 100 by 28.6, giving you decimal odds of 3.50 (rounded up).
How to Convert Fractional Odds to Profit
When converting fractional odds to profit, the numbers refer to how much profit you will get per unit that you bet. For example, “3/1” or three to one means that you will get three back for every one you bet. If you bet 100 TZS, you’ll get 300 TZS in profit plus your original 100 TZS stake.
Now imagine that you are putting a 10,000 TZS bet on 5/2 odds. This would mean that for every 2 units you bet, you get 5 units in profit, plus your stake.
To calculate this profit, first, you would divide your stake by the denominator — in this case two. Next, you multiply this number by the numerator.
So on a 10,000 TZS bet with fractional betting odds of 5/2, you would divide 10,000 by 2, giving you 5,000. Now, multiply 5000 by the numerator — in this case 5 — giving you 25,000 TZS profit. If you were to win this bet, you would receive 25,000 TZS profit plus your original 10,000 TZS stake.
Let’s compare it to the decimal calculation just to check. As you know, 5/2 fractional odds equal 3.50 decimal odds. So, multiply your 10,000 TZS stake by 3.50, giving you 35,000 TZS return. Minus your 10,000 TZS original stake, to give you a profit of 25,000 TZS.
How to Convert Decimal Odds to Fractional Odds
Sometimes you may want to do the calculation the other way. For example, you may want to compare decimal odds on the Parimatch platform to odds you see on another betting site which uses fractional odds.
This calculation is a little more tricky and requires a little mathematical prowess. You won’t need a calculator to do this conversion, it’s just a little harder.
First, you need to take your decimal odds. Let’s use 3.50 again so you know what you should end up with.
You need a whole number (so no decimal places) to work out fractional odds so you need to keep adding the decimal odds to itself until it’s a whole number.
In this case, 3.50 + 3.50 = 7.00
7.00 is a whole number so you can use this.
As you needed to add 3.50 together twice, 2 becomes the denominator.
To work out the numerator, you need to minus 2 from 7.00.
7.00 – 2 = 5. 5 is the numerator.
As noted above, the numerator is the first number and the denominator the second number, making the fractional odds 5/2.
Let’s illustrate it with a real-world example. Check out this soccer match between Iceland and England.
The decimal odds of Iceland winning are 5.20. First, find the whole number.
5.20 x 2 = 10.40
5.20 x 3 = 15.60
5.20 x 4 = 20.80
5.20 x 5 = 26.00
Now, deduct the number of times you multiplied the decimal odds from the sum:
26.00 – 5 = 21.00
The fractional odds are 21/5.
For every 5 units you bet, you get 21 units in profit. So on a winning 10,000 TZS bet, you’d get 42,000 TZS in profit, plus your 10,000 TZS stake.
To check it is correct, add your stake to your profit, giving you 52,000 TZS. Now divide that amount (your returns) by your stake (10,000 TZS), which will give you decimal odds of 5.20.
How to Convert Moneyline Odds (American Odds) to Decimal Odds
Moneyline odds are most often used with US-based bookmakers and online betting sites. That’s why you will often see moneyline odds referred to as “American odds”.
If you want to convert moneyline odds to decimal odds to more easily compare them to the competitive odds on the Parimatch platform, you’ll first need to first ensure that you are actually working with moneyline odds.
Moneyline odds are a little complex. They look like this: -200 or +300. The initial thing to understand is what the + and – mean.
The minus sign will always accompany the favourite. This minus shows how much money you must pay to win $100. For example, odds of -300 mean you need a $300 stake to win $100 profit.
The plus sign always accompanies the underdog. The plus sign indicates how much money you will win when you stake $100. So American odds of +300 would mean that you would win $300 for every $100 staked.
This system is baffling. The confusion is the main reason that people convert American odds to decimal odds.
Luckily, the maths of conversion is pretty simple.
How to Convert Negative American Odds to Decimal Odds
If you are trying to determine the decimal odds of a favourite in a match, you will be trying to convert negative moneyline odds to decimal odds.
To do this, take off the minus sign first. Now you divide 100 by the American odds and add 1.
So -300 American odds would be:
(100/300) + 1 = 1.33
It’s that easy!
How to Convert Positive American Odds to Decimal Odds
If you are trying to calculate the decimal odds for an underdog in a match, you will be attempting to convert positive American odds to decimal odds.
This is just as simple. Again, you need to first remove the plus sign. Now divide the American odds by 100 and then add 1.
So +300 American odds would be:
(300/100) + 1 = 4.00
How to Convert American Odds to Implied Probability
If you would like to work out your chances of winning a bet from American odds, you can work out the implied probability. While it is possible to convert your odds to decimal odds to calculate the implied probability, you can work it out directly from the American odds.
Again, the calculation is a little different for positive and negative odds.
How to Convert Negative American Odds to Implied Probability
If you would like to determine the implied probability of a favourite winning a game, here is the calculation.
Imagine that the moneyline odds for the favourite are -250. To work out the implied probability, you first take off the minus sign. Then, add 100 to the American odds. Next divide the American odds by the sum of the odds plus 100. Next multiply the whole figue by 100 to give the implied probability as a percentage.
The formula:
Implied probability = [Negative American odds/(Negative American Odds + 100)]x 100%
So, for -250 odds:
[250/(250+100)]x 100 = 71.4%
How to Convert Positive American Odds to Implied Probability
To work out the implied probability on an underdog from American odds, here is the calculation.
First remove the plus sign. Next, add the moneyline odds to 100. Now divide 100 by the moneyline odds plus 100. Then multiply the whole figure by 100%.
The formula:
Implied Probability = [100 / (positive moneyline odds + 100)]x 100%
So if you had moneyline odds of +250:
[100 / (250 + 100)] x 100 = 28.6%
How to Convert Decimal Odds to American Odds
When you want to convert odds to moneyline odds, you have to first determine whether the decimal odds you are using are going to be plus or minus odds.
This is simple to work out. Decimals of 2.00 or higher are positive moneyline odds, whereas decimals below 2.00 are negative moneyline odds.
If your decimal odds are 2.00 or above, here is the calculation:
(Decimal odds – 1) x 100 = positive moneyline odds
So if your decimal odds are 3.50:
(3.50 – 1) x 100 = +250
If your decimal odds are below 2.00, you are converting to negative moneyline odds. Here is the calculation:
(-100) / (decimal -1) = negative moneyline odds
So if your decimal odds are 1.75:
(-100) / (1.75 -1) = -133
How to Convert American Odds to Profit
American minus odds are the odds used for the favourite. These represent odds under 2.00. With American minus odds, the odds show you how much you need to bet to make $100 profit. For example, -200 would mean you need to bet $200 to make $100 profit.
To calculate your profit, therefore, you need to take off the minus sign, then divide your stake by the odds, and multiply it by 100.
(Stake/Odds) x 100 = Profit
So on -200 odds with a 10,000 TZS stake:
(10,000/200) x 100 = 5000 TZS profit
American plus odds are used to show the underdog and represent odds of 2.00 or over. American plus odds show how much profit you will make for every $100 you stake. So odds of +200 would mean you would make a profit of $200 on a $100 bet.
To calculate profit on American plus odds, you take off the plus sign, multiply your stake by the odds, and then divide it by 100.
(Stake x Odds) / 100 = Profit
So on +200 odds with a 10,000 TZS stake:
(10,000 x 200) / 100 = 20,000 TZS profit
To Sum Up…
For those looking to take advantage of excellent betting odds, sign up to the Parimatch sports betting app today. Not only does it display the easy-to-understand decimal odds, the app also lets you switch to other odds formats in a matter of clicks.
And regardless of the format, Parimatch has the widest array of sporting events in Africa, great customer service, as well as excellent odds that blow other betting sites out of the water.
FAQ
How do you convert betting odds?
To convert the betting odds, all you do is change the implied probability into your chosen betting odd format. Parimatch allows you to use a choice of three formats, i.e. decimal, fractional, and American style.
How are betting odds calculated?
To calculate betting odds, simply divide 100 by the implied probability value. Here’s how you convert implied probability to decimal odds – for example, if you have fractional betting odds of 5/2, you will have an implied probability of 28.6%. To convert this number to decimal odds, simply divide 100 by the probability to give you around 3.5 which is your decimal odds.
How do betting odds work?
Betting odds are useful in showing how you can win. Betting odds indicate how risky a bet is and how likely it is to pay off. Typically, labeled with a plus(+) or minus(-) in front of the value, the value indicates how much you need to wager to win.