To bet a profitable bettor you have to win more money than you lose. You’ll notice I didn’t say you need to win more “bets” than you lose. No, you need to win more “money” than you lose.
That’s where odds come in to play. The odds determine how much money you are able to win relative to how much you have to risk on a certain outcome. It’s critical to understand how to read betting odds in order to weigh this risk vs reward, which is really what sports betting is when you get right down to it.
There are three main sports betting odds formats that are widely used: decimal, american and fractional. The decimal odds format is the most commonly used here in Canada, but you will also see American odds and fractional odds used around the internet and depending on the type of bet so it’s important to understand all three formats when betting online.
I personally always use decimal odds when using betting sites. I consider decimal the best odds format because I find it very easy to understand and a quick and simple multiplication calculation will find you the potential payout of your bet every time.
To find the potential payout you simply multiply the decimal odds associated with your selection by your bet amount. Here’s an example:
In this example I’ve taken the Winnipeg Jets money line odds to win an NHL game. The decimal odds of Winnipeg winning the game are 1.78. To find the payout for any wager you make, you simply multiply the wager amount by the 1.78 decimal odds. In the example above I’ve included a $20 bet at those 1.78 odds and the bet payout displayed is $35.60 (20 x 1.78).
It’s important to note that multiplying the decimal odds with your wager amount outputs the potential payout, not your potential winnings. To find your winnings on the bet you would have to subtract the wager amount from the bet payout. In the above example the winnings would be $15.60 on the Winnipeg bet ($35.60 – the $20 wager).
American Odds
The American odds format is the preferred odds format in the United States and as such it creeps into Canada through television, discussions, etc. For this reason it’s important to understand American odds even if you don’t plan to use the format at your sportsbook. Many Canadian sportsbooks use American odds as the default as well.
The American odds format works by using a (-) and (+) system. The (-) indicates how much you would have to wager to win $100 on the bet, while the (+) indicates how much you would win by wagering $100 on the bet.
Let’s look at examples using the Stars vs Jets game:
Here I’m using the same game as above, but with American odds. In this example the Stars American odds are +110. This means that a $100 bet on Dallas would win $110. Notice that I’m saying “win” and not “payout” like above. So continuing with the example a $20 bet on Dallas would “win” $22 (2 x 110). As you can see above the sportsbook has added back in the wager amount to show you a bet payout of $42.
Now on to the flip side of this game:
Winnipeg is the favourite in this game and has odds of -130 to win the game. That means that you would need to wager $130 to win $100. This is shown in the above screenshot where I entered a bet amount of $13 and the sportsbook displays a bet payout of $23.
The problem with American odds is that it’s very hard to calculate winnings when the odds are on the (-) side. Try to figure out in your head the winnings on a $30 bet at odds of -130. It’s nearly impossible. This is one of the reasons why I really don’t like American odds, but they are still used and thus important to understand.
If you take nothing else from this American odds section, at least understand that in a head to head game the team with the (-) is the favourite and the team with the (+) is the underdog.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds are useful in certain circumstances, namely when you have several betting selections to choose between like in a horse race or many futures wagers (to win the Stanley Cup).
If the odds break down cleanly like (5/1) then fractional odds are also very easy to read and understand as well. It’s when you get the odds that don’t simplify as easily like (20/27) that it gets a little bit harder to grasp exactly what the odds are telling you.
When reading fractional odds the numerator (number above the line) is the amount you will win, while the denominator (number below the line) is the amount you would need to risk to win the numerator. Let’s look at an example:
In this example the Florida Panthers are the favourites to win the Stanley Cup in 2025. They have odds of 11/2, which means you would win $11 for every $2 wagered on them to win the Stanley Cup.
As you can see the odds can look quite messy if the fractions aren’t clean. It’s easy to see that the Capitals have odds of 10-1 (win $10 for every $1 wagered), but the Stars fractional odds of 23/4 are harder to quickly understand.
Fractional odds are really easy to read and understand when the denominator is 1. It’s a little bit harder to wrap your head around when the fraction cannot be simplified, which is why I prefer to use decimal odds for the vast majority of betting lines.
