One of the most widespread gambling forms, fixed-odds betting involves placing stakes on the result of the sporting event at predetermined odds. This eliminates the impact of any subsequent changes, securing the amount of your winnings.
What’s appealing about this betting type, and what does this concept include?
I’ll address the fundamentals of fixed-odds betting, how it works, and how to make a bet correctly.
Table of Contents
What are fixed odds in sports betting?
When you stake on fixed odds, you accept the price provided by a bookmaker at a specific time. The payout on this wager remains unaltered – no matter what happens throughout the game.
What do fixed odds mean in betting?
If you win your bet, your payout will be based on the odds that were actual at the time you made the stake, regardless of any subsequent fluctuations. In this sense, fixed odds differ from spread betting, parimutuel betting, and full-cover bets. With the first, you are betting on a margin of victory for one team, and with the two latter, the final payout is determined only when the pool is closed. When it comes to fixed odds, the only thing that matters is which team earns a victory while the established return remains constant.
Essential features of fixed odds
When applying fixed odds in your sports gambling, you can count on the following advantages.
- Pre-established payouts. The potential winnings are known in advance. If you place a bet at 3.00 odds, you know exactly how much you’ll win if your stake triumphs.
- Simplicity. Fixed-odds betting is straightforward to understand. You can precisely estimate the expected value for a given wager.
- No changes. Once you place your bet, the odds are locked in. They do not fluctuate, even if the odds for the event alter throughout the game.
- Risk management. You can calculate your potential winnings and losses in advance, which eases funds management and financial strategies.
Calculating fixed odds
Fixed odds usually function with all online betting markets except for greyhound and horse racing. When you are looking for your soccer, baseball, or tennis bet of the day among the available markets, you’ll see the list of prices, and to make a stake, you should simply click on the odds.
All the odds you see in this case are fixed. Therefore, gamblers can calculate how much they could win since they have locked in the price on that specific wager.
Although the established price cannot fluctuate, deductions are possible in horse racing and greyhound racing if any scratchings occur.
What is an example of fixed-odds betting?
Let’s delve deeper into the mathematics of bookmaking with regard to fixed odds by considering the following wager on a soccer match between Team A and Team B.
Fixed odds:
- Team A to win: 2.50
- Team B to win: 3.00
- Draw: 3.20
Bet amount: $100
Calculating potential payout for each outcome:
Betting on Team A to win:
- Odds for Team A to win: 2.50
- Bet amount: $100
- Potential payout: bet amount × odds = $100 × 2.50 = $250
Betting on Team B to win:
- Odds for Team B to win: 3.00
- Bet amount: $100
- Potential payout: bet amount × odds = $100 × 3.00 = $300
Betting on a draw:
- Odds for a draw: 3.20
- Bet amount: $100
- Potential payout: bet amount × odds = $100 × 3.20 = $320
All calculated payouts include your original $100 stake.
Types of odds offered
As you may already know from my article on odds in sports betting, odds are presented in various formats, each offering an individual way to interpret the chances for a particular event and the potential payout. I’ll describe the three most common types.
Fractional odds
The fractional odds format entails two numbers separated by a slash (or hyphen), like 5/1 or 10/3. The first indicates how much you win for every unit you stake, while the second shows the stake. For instance, with 5/2 odds, a $100 bet would generate a profit of $250 ($100 stake * 5/2) plus the return of the $100 stake, $350 altogether.
When the odds on a particular event are too high, the fraction will be flipped. This means your gain pointed by the number on top will be significantly smaller. For instance, if Team A has an exceptionally high chance to triumph, they may have 1/3 odds, meaning that the bet of $3 will bring a return of only $1. This is done to equalize the gaming landscape, similar to the Asian handicap.
1/1 odds or even money means a 50/50 chance of either team to succeed.
Decimal odds
Decimal odds consist of a single number, usually greater than 1. The idea is the same as with fractional odds, while the only difference lies in presentation.
The total return (including the initial stake) is calculated by multiplying the stake by the decimal odds. For example, a $100 bet at odds of 2.50 would bring $250 ($100 stake + $150 profit).
Moneyline odds
Also regarded as American odds, moneyline odds are positive or negative numbers that indicate how much you need to bet to win $100 (negative) or how much you win if you bet $100 (positive).
Thus, positive odds (+200) indicate a $200 profit on a $100 bet. This will total $300, including the initial stake. Negative odds (-150) demonstrate that you need to bet $150 to win $100. Altogether, you’ll get $250 when including the original stake.
Parlays and multiples
Do parlays have fixed odds? Also widely regarded as an accumulator bet, a parlay connects many bets into one, granting access to greater odds. If all contributing bets succeed, you can have a significantly higher return.
For instance, if you wager $10 on a team with odds of 7/2, your potential profit will be $45 if the team you bet on triumphs. If you want to make an accumulator bet on teams X and Y at 7/2 and teams Z and W at 6/5, your potential profit will be $115.20 if your stake is $10. You will win this bet if teams Z and W succeed, correspondingly.
Final thoughts on the Fixed-odds betting
Using fixed odds in your betting strategy is favorable, especially when you are a beginner in sports gambling. This method makes adequate predictions more straightforward while you know the exact amount of your potential return.
Apart from this, you can use various tools and approaches to enhance the probability of a positive outcome. For instance, arbitrage betting guarantees a profit regardless of the event’s aftermath, as it implies placing bets on all possible results, exploiting the discrepancies between bookmakers’ fixed odds.
Furthermore, you can try a betting exchange instead of bookmakers, utilize Dutch books, or apply scientific approaches like statistical association football predictions to enhance confidence in sustainable results. A wisely arranged and organized betting strategy will help you minimize risks and transform sports betting into a calculated pursuit.
