• Decimal odds are similar to fractional odds we’ll be covering below – they equal the decimal value of the fractional odds plus 1. Fractional Odds. Although they may look complicated to new punters, fractional (UK) odds are pretty simple to understand. They are displayed in a format of 1/5 or 5/1.
  • Fractional odds Punters in the UK and Ireland might not be as familiar with decimal odds. In those regions, it is more common to see fractional odds such as 5/1 or 9/2. Fractional odds basically describe the winnings from a theoretical stake.
  • For odds over 1/1, you then multiply the fraction by 100. So to convert odds 3/2, you’d.
  • If the probability is between 0 and 0.5, the odds will be below 1.0. If the probability is exactly 0.5, then the odds are 1.0. Think of flipping a coin; it will come up heads 50% of the time, making the probability of it happening 0.5 (50% of 1). This makes the odds of it happening 1.0 (50÷50). When probability rises from 0.5 to 1.0, odds rise from 1 to a number approaching infinity.

Decimal odds are favoured by betting exchanges because they are the easiest to work with for trading, as they reflect the inverse of the probability of an outcome. For example, a quoted odds of 5.00 equals to a probability of 1 / 5.00, that is 0.20 or 20%. Decimal odds are also known as European odds, digital odds or continental odds.

With esports betting becoming more and more popular, it’s good to know about the different types of esports odds. These odds come in several forms. In this article I will take you through the basics so that you may fully understand what the various esports betting sites are showing you.

The three main types of esports betting odds are the following:

1. Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are called decimal because they come in decimal form.

Examples include: 1.80, 2.40, 4.00 and so on.

The meaning of these odds is very simple: your total returns are whatever the odds show you multiplied by the amount you wagered.

So if you bet $5 that team A will win the match and team A’s odds of winning are 1.80, you get a return of 5 * 1.80 = $9. If you wager $20 on a team whose odds are 4.00, the amount you get in case of a win will be 20 * 4.00 = $80.

Two things you’ll want to know here is how to convert odds to percentage and how to convert odds to probability.

Decimal Odds to Percentage

Another way of understanding decimal odds is using percentages.

So instead of 1.80, think of this as 180%. Instead of 2.40, think 240%. And 4.00 would actually mean 400%.

Of course, these percentages include the amount you’ve wagered. So it’s not 180% profit but 180% returns. The profit is actually just 80%. In the second case, the profit is 140%. In the third it’s 300%.

So you always have to decrease your initial amount or 100% in order to find what you’re actually making.

Decimal Odds to Probability

If you want to find out the win probability of a given bet in the bookmaker’s assessment, just do it this way: 2.00 is exactly 50%. Anything below that is less than 50%. Anything above that is more than 50%.

The general formula for turning decimal odds to probability is this: 100/odds.

If a team’s odds of winning are 5.00, their estimated chance of winning is 20%.

Of course, all of this is true in the bookmaker’s assessment. But that doesn’t mean it’s 100% correct. In fact, sometimes you will find the real favorite regarded as the underdog, simply because the bookmaker doesn’t understand what’s going on. These are the situations in which you can make a lot of money.

Ultimately, you shouldn’t be worried about what the bookmaker is telling you and simply assess the situation yourself, using your own esports knowledge and seeking bets that give you good risk/reward ratios.

2. Fractional Odds

Fractional odds look like this: 5/1, 8/1, 2/1 and so on. Their general form is x/y, which means this: you make a profit of x dollars for every y dollars you wager.

So in the first example (5/1), you make $5 for every $1 you wager. And that’s just your profit. The total amount you get back is actually $6 (your profit plus the dollar you wagered).

Just like with decimal odds, you’ll want to know how to convert odds to percentage and how to convert odds to probability.

Fractional Odds to Percentage

1 5 To Decimal

When turning fractional odds to percentage in order to calculate profitability, the general rule is to determine how many dollars you get for each dollar you wagered and then multiply that with 100. That will give you your profit in percentages.

So in the first case (5/1), you’d get a profit of 500%, while your total returns would be 600%.

But let’s take a more difficult example, such as 7/2. In this case, you’d get a profit of $7 for each $2 you wagered. To figure out the percentages, just divide 7 by 2 and then multiply with 100. What you’d get is 700/2 or 350%.

Fractional Odds to Probability

If you want to turn fractional odds to probability in order to figure out the win probability of a given team according to the bookmaker, just use the following formula: given the odds of n/m, the number you’re looking for can be found like this: (m/(m+n)) * 100.

For example: 4/1 would give us (1/(4+1)) * 100 or (1/5) * 100 or 100/5 or 20%.

3. American Odds

These types of odds are the most unusual and difficult to grasp at first, because it’s hard to deduce what they mean unless someone explains them to you.

And their meaning is this: when you see the minus sign (-), that’s the favorite. And the number followed by it represents the amount you need to wager to make a profit of $100.

When you see the plus sign (+), that’s the underdog. And the number followed by it represents the profit you’ll make for every $100 you wager.

For example:

Team A: -760

Team B: +585

If you wanted to bet on team A, for each $760 you wagered you’d make a profit of $100, meaning that you’d get a total of $860 back.

If you wanted to bet on team B, for each $100 you wagered you’d make a profit of $585, meaning that you’d get a total of $685 back.

12 1 5 as decimal

American Odds to Percentage

For underdogs, transforming American odds to percentage is simple: the odds themselves constitute the profit percentage. So in the above case, the percentage is 585%. Because you’re wagering $100 and making a profit of $585, So the percentage of the total return is actually 685%.

For favorites, what you do is this: you divide 10,000 by the number associated with them and you get the percentage you’re looking for.

In the example above, the result would be 10,000/760 = 13,15%. This would be your profit. So in total, you’d get back 113,15% of what you wagered.

American Odds to Probability

For the underdogs, the win probability can be obtained using the same method used for fractional odds.

So in our example, we’d have 5.85/1 and that would give us (1/(1+5.85)) * 100 or (1/6.85) * 100 or 100/6.85 or 14.6%. To calculate the win probability for the favorite, just subtract that from 100% and voila!

If you want to learn more about Dota 2 odds, League of Legends odds or any other kind of esports odds, just check out our guides!

Convert odds between American, Decimal, and Fractional format using simple odds conversion formulas. Or, skip the math and use the odds converter instead!

Decimal to Fractional

Remove 1 from the decimal and convert to a fraction, then reduce to simplest form:

(decimal-1) -> convert to fraction

Examples:

1.75: 1.75 – 1 = .75 = 75/100 = 3/4
2.20: 2.20 – 1 = 1.20 = 120/100 = 6/5


Decimal to American

To convert a decimal of 2.00 or higher:

moneyline = (decimal – 1) *100

Examples:

2.00: (2.00 – 1)*100 = 1*100 = +100
3.35: (3.35 – 1)*100 = 2.35*100 = +235

To convert a decimal of less than 2.00:

moneyline = (-100) / (decimal -1)

Examples:

1.9091 : (-100)/(1.9091 – 1) = (-100)/(0.9091) = -109.99 = -110
1.6579 : (-100)/(1.6579 – 1) = (-100)/(0.6579) = -151.98 = -152


Fractional to American

Over 1/1: Convert Fraction to Decimal and multiply by 100.

Moneyline = (fraction value)*100

Examples:

7/4: (7/4) * 100 = (1.40) * 100 = +140
6/5: (6/5) * 100 = (1.20) * 100 = +120

Under 1/1: divide -100 by the Fraction as a Decimal.

Moneyline = -100/(fraction value)

Examples:

1/4: -100/(1/4) = -100/.25 = -400
1/10: -100/(1/10) = -100/.1 = -1000

12 1 5 As Decimal


Fractional to Decimal

Convert the fraction to a decimal and add one.

Examples:

3/4: (3/4) + 1 = (.75) + 1 = 1.75
6/5: (6/5) + 1 = (1.20) + 1 = 2.20

American to Decimal

Positive Odds (“+”): Divide the moneyline by 100 and add 1.

decimal = (moneyline/100) +1

Examples:

+100: (100/100) + 1 = 1 + 1 = 2.00
+235: (235/100) + 1 = 2.35 + 1 = 3.35

Negative Odds (“-“): Divide 100 by the moneyline, then add this value to 1.00.

decimal = (100/moneyline) + 1

Examples:

-110: (100/110) +1 = 1 + 0.9091 = 1.9091
-152: (100/152) +1 = 1 + 0.6579 = 1.6579


American to Fractional

Positive Odds (“+”): Divide the moneyline by 100 and reduce to simplest form

(moneyline/100) -> simplest form

Examples:

+120: (120/100) = 6/5
+250: (250/100) = 5/2

Negative Odds (“-“): Divide 100 by the moneyline and reduce to simplest form

5 1 Odds In Decimal

5/1 Odds In Decimal

(100/moneyline) -> simplest form

5/1 Odds In Decimal

Examples:

-120: (100/120) = 5/6
-300: (100/300) = 1/3

Odds Converter

Skip the math and easily convert odds between Fractional, Decimal and American format:

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Want to learn more? Read this full article on betting odds conversion.