Fixed Odds: Bet Types
The difference between decimal, fractional and American odds
Often, you can visit a site and the way the 'odds' are laid out can differ greatly. The main
differences are decimal odds, fractional odds and American. In the UK, we're more likely
to see fractional odds (such as 2/1 or 5/2), but more and more sites are offering decimal odds.
When using decimal odds just multiply your stake with the given odds and you know
what your total payout will be if you win the bet. To calculate your net winnings
just deduct your stake from the total payout.
Fractional odds function as follows: multiply your stake with the odds and as a
result you receive your net winnings. Add your stake and you know what your total
payout will be if you win the bet.
American odds view a bet from the "100 Dollar perspective":
a minus in front of the number tells you what stake you
have to place to receive 100 Dollar of net winnings. A plus in front of the number
tells you what your net winnings would amount to if you place 100 Dollar.
Single Bets
A single bet is the simplest form of betting: you only have to predict the
result of one event correctly to win the bet.
Your stake multiplied by the odds is your possible payout.
Example:
You place a bet of £100 on Naseem Hamed to win against Marco A. Barrera
with an odd of 1.40. If Hamed wins, a total payout of £100 x 1.40 = £140 will be
credited to your betting account.
Combination Bets
A combination bet allows you to combine the outcome of several events in one
and the same wager. Your winnings are determined by your stake multiplied by the
product of all the individual odds. A combination bet offers you the chance of
spectacular high winnings but you have to forecast all the events included in your
bet correctly.
The UK offers numberous combination bets, such as doubles (2 bets),
trebles (3 bets), patents (7 bets - combination of singles, doubles and trebles),
lucky 15s (15 bets - combination of singles, doubles, trebles, four-fold),
yankees (combination of 9 bets - doubles, trebles and four-fold). Sometimes, these combinations of bets are called System Bets.
Example:
You select Arsenal to win @ 2, Liverpool to win @ 3 and Man Utd to win @ 2 in your bet slip
- you have the following options:
Standard combination (always 1 bet) - If you bet £30 on a standard combination (treble),
all teams must win for you to receive the following payout: 30 x 2 x 3 x 2 = £360.
All doubles (in this case 3 bets) - one click would allow you to bet on all
possible double combinations: (1) Valencia + Lazio - (2) Valencia + Madrid -
(3) Lazio + Madrid. If you bet £10 on each of them, your total stake would be £30.
You already receive a payout if just one double wins but the best possible payout
would be if all doubles win: (10x2x3) + (10x2x2) + (10x3x2) = £160.
Handicap Betting
Handicap and Asian Line betting are becoming more and more popular oppotunities for betting in the UK.
In a handicap bet, the one team will be given a head start of a particular number
of goals/points, and the favorite will be handicapped by the same number of points.
The outcome of the bet is obtained by adding the handicap to the final result of the
team without the handicap.
Example of Handicaps:
Manchester United -1.5 vs Arsenal +1.5 with a fulltime score of 3-0
The following will apply: 3 minus 1.5 equals a 1.5 goal win and
therefore bets on Man Utd will count as the winning bet even though
Man Utd is penalised. Handicap betting could be particularly interesting
when one contestant is regarded as much stronger. The handicap will equalise
the contestants and give the opportunity to get a better price on a clear favourite
or increase the chance to win on the normally weaker team.
Asian Handicaps
These function like normal handicaps but the possibility of a draw is eliminated.
Either the penalty is not an integer number or all stakes are refunded in case of a
draw outcome.
Example: Zaragoza v Real Madrid (~ Asian handicap 1 : 0) 1.78 1.90
This can be interpreted as follows : 'Real Madrid giving 1 goal to Zaragoza'.
This means that Zaragoza has one goal advantage when the game starts.
If for example the result is 1:1, we add 1 to Zaragoza’s one goal which makes the result 2:1,
meaning that if you have bet on Zaragoza you won even though in reality Zaragoza did
not win the game. When the game draws after the handicap ball is added,
the rule of thumb is that the Asian Handicap bet should be cancelled.
The stake is usually returned back to your account.
Quarter Asians are sometimes offered as well. These differ from
standard Asian Handicaps as their stake is divided in two halves and the bet is
settled as two Asian Handicap bets.
Visit Gamebookers for a wide variety of sports betting opportunities
