Decimal Odds vs Fractional Odds – Why We Need Both

Fractional Odds

As mentioned, this format is mostly used in Great Britain, and also in many land based sportsbooks. The odds show what your bet will be multiplied by if you win. If a bet had odds of 7/1, this means that a bet of $1 can make a profit of $7, and on top of that, the bet will be returned, for a total payout of $8. Bets such as 7/2 and 9/1 are called "against" odds, because these are longer odds bets. When speaking, these odds are read out as "seven to two" and "nine to one".

When the odds are smaller, such as 1/4 or 2/9, these are called odds on. These are shorter odds bets that can usually be found on the favourites in a sporting event. When speaking, these odds read out as "four to one on" and " two to nine on"

Don’t worry if you are confused, here are some simple examples:

If $2 was placed on odds seven to two, the bettor would make a profit of $7. With the return of the original stake, they will receive a total of $9.

If $10 was placed on odds nine to one, the bettor would win a total of $100, which is $90 in profit added to the original stake of $10.

In the odds on, if a bet of $5 was placed on four to one on, then the punter would make a profit of $1.25, and with their original stake returned they would receive $6.25.

If a bet of $10 was placed on odds two to nine on, the total winnings would be $12.22.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are common everywhere apart from the UK and US. They are also the format used here at Galera. Here, the odds do not show the profit but instead show the entire sum a punter can expect in returns. Odds such as 3.2, 5.3, and so on can be quite simple to calculate because the punter only needs to multiply their stake against the odds to know how much they can win.

If a bet of $12 was placed on odds 3.20, then the potential winnings would be $38.40, and to know how much this would be in profit, the bettor would need to subtract the original stake from the winnings, showing a profit of $26.40.

Fractional odds can sometimes look overly complicated, such as 16/7, 23/11, and 13/9, and bettors have to be careful to ensure they have read them correctly. This problem doesn’t exist with decimal odds, the above fractions would be displayed as 3.285, 3.09, and 2.44. With the decimals it is instantly recognisable to punters which odds is the longest and which is the shortest.

Which Odds Type Is Better For Me

With online sportsbooks, the decimal odds are far more popular than the fractional odds. They are easier to understand especially when the stakes are either $1, $10, $100 and so on. The multiplication can be done in quickly and easily without a calculator.

Despite this, there are many sportsbooks that use fractional odds, and it is a good idea to make sure you understand them as they do appear from time to time unexpectedly. For example, when the odds on horses are announced before a race, they are nearly always fractional.

If you want to place your bets both online and offline, then it is important that you fully understand both odds formats.

At the end of the day, the choice of which odds to use are purely up to the bettor, and though the fractional odds may sound a bit confusing at first, especially with the more complicated fractions, punters can learn how to use them relatively quickly, and they will be fully equipped to visit retail sportsbooks. If punters do opt for decimal odds then they will not have to spend any real time learning how much they can win as they will be able to do the quick arithmetic very easily.

In trust, when you add a bet to your bet slip at Galera, the mathematics is done for you. Therefore, as long as you can recognise whether odds are long or short, you do not need to worry about anything else.