When betting online it’s important to understand the sports and competitions you’re betting on, but also the different formats of betting odds. One of them is American odds, an incredibly popular format when betting on US sports leagues.
Understanding how these odds work and how to calculate the payouts takes some getting used to and, with the help of this guide, you’ll be able to make bets on American odds in no time.
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American odds are mostly used at the US betting sites, or sites that offer betting on American sports and leagues like NBA, NFL, and baseball.
They’re represented as whole values, usually triple-digit numbers that can have positive or negative values to represent an underdog or a favourite in the matchup.
Since these odds are typically used for moneyline (3-way) bets, they’re often called moneylines to distinguish them from other formats of odds. The best sports betting sites often include this format alongside decimal and fractional odds.
Unlike decimal odds, the American betting odds don’t represent a multiplier to the wager. Instead, they’re based on a $100 value and show how much money a $100 bet can win or, instead, how much you’ll need to wager to win $100.
They’re represented by positive (+) and negative (-) values. Typically, a favourite in a match has a negative odd value, while the underdog has a positive odd value:
To understand the probability of either of these wagers, you need to take the absolute value into account. That would be 300 instead of +/- 300 in our case.
When betting on a favourite, the higher the value is, the more likely that outcome will be, thus your winnings are lower. Betting an underdog is the opposite of that, so a bet with -400 odds is less likely to win than a -300 bet.
If the odds are even, US betting sites typically display them as +100.
How do American odds work for smaller bets, then? Say, you just want to bet $30? In the example above, if you bet on an underdog, you’d win $90, but if you were betting on a favourite then your winnings are $10.
European betting sites show odds as decimal values. They’re based on the $1 value and they’re always positive numbers.
Converting the American into decimal odds is different whether the value is positive or negative.
For positive US odds, divide the amount by 100 and add 1. Let’s see this on our example bet from above:
Negative odds are converted completely differently. First, divide 100 by the odds value and subtract the result from 1. In our case of -300 odds, the calculations look like this:
Fractional odds always have positive values and are indicated in this format: 22/5.
Similarly to converting American into decimal odds, the conversion process depends on whether the original value is positive or negative. The math is a bit trickier, too, as you’ll need to reduce the fractions at one point.
Positive American odds are converted by dividing the value by 100 and then reduced to the lowest values. For example:
Negative odds are converted by dividing -100 by the odds value and then reducing the fraction:
As you can see, it’s a bit complicated to run these calculations without a piece of paper, so we recommend using an American odds converter tool to help you figure out the conversion rates.
You learned how American odds work and how to convert them into other formats. You’ve probably already placed your first bet and are now awaiting your first payout.
But, how much will you win? On a $10 wager and on odds of +/- 150, your payout will be:
Of course, using a tool like an American odds calculator can help you quickly figure out your potential payout.
