Bookmakers provide odds on a wide range of events, so it’s not surprising that you can find these odds that relate to various football events around, such as the latest odds for Champions League. Many online companies are now taking bets on games, potential transfers, and almost everything.
Therefore, you need to understand how these odds are calculated and their meaning before you decide to participate in football betting. This article explains how odds work in football betting.
Understanding how odds work
Simply put, odds refer to the probability of an event happening in a game or any sports, such as Virtual horse racing. There is a price that is shown and it indicates a percentage chance of an event happening or not. You can usually find a table that indicates a range of fractional odds and the way they relate to the chances of that event being correct.
This table helps bookmakers to create the odds for the events, such as a house edge. Also, you can use it to compare your opinion to that of the individual setting the prices and figure out what your return would be if your bet is right at the odds on offer.
For example, if you decide to back a football team to win a match at 3/1 for £1, you can expect to get total returns of about £4 if your team comes out on top in the game. As you can see, it means that £3 can be the profit as suggested by the odds and £1 as the initial stake.
Setting the odds
Bookmakers set the prices on their sites or even in shops, so they have the chance of creating a house edge as they are doing so. A standard roulette wheel can have a 0, meaning these bookmakers also have an opportunity to ensure that their advantage counts.
The amount of edge built into a specific market or an event can vary significantly across different sports and operators. For example, with sports betting like football, there is an implied percentage chance for any set of results that don’t add up to 100 percent exactly with the bookmakers.
You see, bookmakers build an edge by setting prices that add to more than that. Regardless of this, you can still make some money by betting on sports, though knowing the odds and what you’re getting into can make a huge difference.
Think about this, Manchester United are 7/2 to beat Liverpool, who are 4/5 to win the same game, and the draw is at 3/1. Therefore, the implied percentages for a home win at 7/2 will be 22.22%, a draw is 25%, and an away win is 55.56%. The total implied percentage chance stands at 102.78%.
There is an extra 2.78% which is a house edge built into this market. Keep in mind that match results tend to be at the lower end, but you need to understand this total percentage of the market’s outcome as to what it adds up to know what you’re up against.