How to Find the Best Betting Odds — Tips and Strategies

Parimatch is dedicated to ensuring that all users have fun when betting. This means that Parimatch wants to encourage you to understand how to make sensible gambling choices that will give your profitable returns without exorbitant risk.

We also prepared a set of articles to help you learn everything about sports betting odds. Refer to them if you feel some concepts below are unclear:

• Betting Odds Explained: Basics for a Bettor
• How to Read and Calculate Sports Betting Odds
• How to Convert Betting Odds

Now, the key to making smart bets is to find good betting odds. But what does “good betting odds” mean?

Good betting odds are odds that provide valuable bets. Valuable bets are wagers where the risk is manageable and the returns are profitable. The balance between the two is the sweet spot you are looking for.

Here are the 6 strategies that will help those seeking valuable bets with good betting odds:

Seek Out High Implied Probability

While risk is certainly the driver that excites certain punters, lowering your risk helps to improve the chances of your bet paying off. In this sense, when we are looking for good odds, we want odds that indicate that the bet will pay off.

As stated above, the lower the odds, the more likely the team is to win, according to the bookmaker’s calculations. Low odds represent a low risk. The closer the decimal odds are to 1, the more likely the bet is to pay off.

Take this tennis match between Paulo Lorenzi and Preston Brown.

As you can see, the odds of Lorenzi winning are 1.03 compared to Brown’s odds of 8.60. Lorenzi is the clear favorite here due to the very low odds.

To convert these odds to implied probability, divide 100 by 1.03. This gives an implied probability of 97%. This means that if you were to place a bet on Lorenzi, you have a very high chance of the bet paying off.

Look For Respectable Returns

When we consider this match between Lorenzi and Brown above, we can determine that it is highly likely that Lorenzi will win. In this vein, a bet on Lorenzi is likely to prosper.

However, these can’t really be considered good odds as the returns on this type of bet would be very low. When you calculate the profit on a 10,000 TZS bet on Lorenzi, you would only make a 300 TZS profit. This is pretty poor.

In this respect, for odds to be classified as good odds, you want a bet where the implied probability is high, but the profitability is also relatively high — or respectable at least!

Instead, take this tennis match between Lorenzi and Andreev.

Lorenzi is still the favorite with odds of 1.46 compared to Andreev’s odds of 2.42. In this scenario, Lorenzi’s implied probability is 68.5% compared to Andreev’s implied probability of 41.3%. As is clear, it’s still highly likely that Lorenzi will win.

However, in this case, the profit margin would be far better. If you were to place a 10,000 TZS bet on Lorenzi to win, your profit would be 4,600 TZS.

In this sense, you want to look for odds that not only denote a high probability of winning but also provide profitable returns.

Find Bets with a Clear Favourite

While odds with high implied probability and good potential returns are sensible, you also want to make sure that there is a clear distinction between the underdog and the favorite.

Picking the favorite is far more likely to pay off, but only if the favorite is considerably more skilled than the underdog.

Let’s take a look at this example from the Russian table tennis league, Liga Pro. Check out this match between Gribkov and Lyfenko.

As you can see, Gribkov is the favorite with odds of 1.82 compared to Lyfenko’s odds of 1.89. In this circumstance, a 10,000 TZS bet on Gribkov would return a profit of 8,200 TZS.

While this is a decent profit, the problem is that the two opponents are relatively evenly matched. The implied probability of Gribkov winning is 55%. When you compare this to Lyfenko’s implied probability of winning, which is 53%, you see that the two are an even pair.

This means the match could go either way, and you could lose your stake even though you bet on the favorite.

Instead, look for matches where there is a clear distinction between the favorite and the underdog, as well as matches where the favorite has a decent implied probability and good profitability.

Take this example:

In this case, Ovchinnikov is the favorite with 1.55 odds, compared to Trushkin’s 2.31 odds.

The implied probability of Ovchinnikov winning is 64.5%, compared to a 43.3% chance of Trushkin winning. On a 10,000 TZS bet on Ovchinnikov, you would make a tidy profit of 5,500 TZS — over half your stake.

With this example, you get good returns without having to worry that the underdog might swoop in and take the victory.

Explore Alternative Bet Types

While most often, punters tend to bet on outright winners and 1X2 bets, you will also find good odds to be had within the other bet types on the Parimatch platform.

For example, where two teams may be evenly matched overall, the 1X2 or “To Win” wagers will have even odds for both teams. However, one team may be a quicker goal scorer than the other, based on recent games where they have scored within the first ten minutes every time. In this sense, you may find good odds on “First Goal” bets where one team has a particularly high implied probability of scoring first compared to the other team.

If you are unsure which team to bet on, or both teams are evenly matched, you can often find good odds on total bets. Totals betting is where you guess the total number of goals that both teams will score over or under a figure determined by the bookmaker. If both teams are high-scoring sides, you’ll find a high implied probability of a higher number of total goals.

Use Handicap to Reduce Risk

You may find that on occasion, you want to bet on the underdog. This is often the case if the underdog is the team that you support. To limit the risk on these types of bets, you can place handicap bets. By doing this, you increase the implied probability of your underdog side winning.

For example, take this match between Turkey and Hungary, where Hungary is very much the underdog.

Imagine you place a 10,000 TZS wager on the bet Hungary (+2). This would mean that you bet on Hungary to win with a 2 goal advantage. This means that either two goals are added to Hungary’s final score.

Imagine that in real life, Turkey wins 1:0. With the handicap, this would mean that Hungary would win 1:2. In this circumstance, your bet would pay out.

When you consider that the odds for Hungary to win without a handicap are 5.20, you can see that the implied probability is 19.2%. While the returns are potentially high, with a possible profit of 42,000 TZS on a 10,000 TZS bet, it’s highly unlikely that this will pay out.

However, with the handicap bet, you increase the implied probability as the odds are now 1.36. This gives an implied probability of 73.5%. The profit is lower, but still significant at 3,600 TZS.

Use Accumulator Bets to Increase Returns

When punters consider good odds, they want to balance the risk and the return. With accumulator bets (or parlay bets), you are increasing the risk considerably, but you are rocketing the returns through the roof.

With accumulator or parlay bets, you need to get all your predictions correct to be paid anything at all. Essentially, you are placing one bet on many matches. When you do this, the odds from every pick are multiplied together. This creates super high odds, meaning excellent returns but low implied probability.

The smart way to work an accumulator bet is to choose lots of bets where the implied probability is relatively high. This means that each individual match within the parlay has a high chance of winning on its own. By doing this, there is more chance that all your picks will be correct.

For those who aren’t so bothered about risk and consider high odds to be good odds, parlay bets are a good way to increase odds.

Let’s look at this example of a parlay bet:

Let’s first look at the individual implied probability of each match.

• Turkey to win — 61%
• Kosovo to win — 69%
• Latvia to win — 67%

In each match, the favorite has around a two-thirds chance of winning. This is pretty good.

However, the implied probability of all the matches winning means multiplying all the odds together, giving you a 28% chance of winning the parlay.

What’s important here is that while the chances of winning the whole parlay may seem low, the chances of winning each individual bet are still quite high.

When you look at the profits of placing the bets singularly in comparison to a parlay, you understand why you might take the risk. If you placed all the bets as singles with a 10,000 TZS stake, your potential profits would be:

• Turkey to win — 6,400 TZS
• Kosovo to win — 4,400 TZS
• Latvia to win — 5,000 TZS

This gives a total potential profit of 15,800 TZS if all matches win. If one or two matches lose, you still get the winnings from the matches you predicted correctly.

With a parlay, all picks need to be correct to get any profit at all. However, with a two-thirds chance on each match, this is highly likely. In this case, the profit would be determined by the odds multiplied together:

1.64 x 1.44 x 1.50 = 3.54 – This would give a potential profit of 25,424 TZS on a 10,000 TZS bet.

In this sense, accumulator bets give you great odds if you can stomach losing it all if one pick goes wrong!

Summary

Now you know how to determine which odds are good odds. In order to place smart bets, you must look for valuable bets, which are those with good odds.

Bets that provide value are wagers which have odds demonstrating high implied probability and decent potential returns. To find these bets, you should seek out sporting events where there is a notable discrepancy between the favorite and the underdog. Try looking at alternative bet types, especially handicap bets. You can also consider using accumulator betting to increase your potential returns.

Whatever your betting style, you can always find the most competitive odds on the Parimatch sports betting app. Download it today and sign up for high-value bets, a broad spectrum of bet types, and the best odds on the market.

FAQ

Which betting site has the best odds?

The betting site with the best odds will depend on various factors, such as the type of bet you are making, the sport or event you are betting on, and the bookmaker you are using. When it comes to sports betting, the best odds can be found on Parimatch. We work 24/7 to provide excellent support, the highest odds, and profitable promos.

What is the safest type of bet?

The safest type of sports bet is one that is placed on the moneyline. The moneyline is a type of bet that allows you to place a wager on the outcome of a sporting event without considering a point spread. This type of bet offers the most consistent odds of winning, making it the safest.

What is the most profitable betting strategy?

The most profitable betting strategy will depend on the individual and their risk tolerance. Limiting your losses is best rather than trying to maximize your gains. The best strategy will likely involve careful research and analysis of a given market before you place a bet. Additionally, it is important to understand the factors that influence the odds in a given market, such as the performance of a team or the weather conditions.

How to win an accumulator bet?

Winning an accumulator bet, also known as a parlay bet, can be challenging yet rewarding. To win an accumulator bet, you must correctly predict the outcome of two or more separate events. As such, it is crucial to choose the events wisely, to be aware of the form of each team or individual you are betting on, and to manage your bankroll.

What is implied probability in betting?

Implied probability in betting is a concept used to compare the likelihood of an event occurring with the odds offered by bookmakers. It is calculated by taking the inverse of the decimal odds and expressing it as a percentage. For example, if a bookmaker offers odds of 2.50 for a particular bet, then the implied probability of that bet occurring is 40%.