Use of betting odds to your advantage
The three main odds you will see are decimal, fractional and American. Depending on what you are playing and where you are, you should be ready to switch from one type of odds to another. Understanding the difference between the above can be the basis for making the right bets and making a profit.
Decimal coefficients
Decimal coefficients are currently the most widely used and almost all bookmakers offer them in their offices. Understanding how they work is relatively easy. The decimal factor directly indicates how much money will be obtained from a single unit bet (for example, €10). Most decimal factors are to two decimal places for greater accuracy. It is also important to remember that the decimal factors also include the initial rate. For example, a multiplier of 3.00 would mean €30 in revenue if the player’s bet is €10. Or, € 20 would be a profit and €10 would be the initial rate, so a total of €30 in income.
Share coefficients
The next most common type of bet is fractional odds. These odds are most commonly used by bookmakers. They follow a similar logic to the decimal coefficients, which are based on a single unit rate, but with a slightly different meaning. The share ratio indicates how much profit will be made from a high stake per unit. A 2/1 odds will cost twice as much as the original bet, at a 5/1 odds a player would receive five times more than the original bet, and so on. In case 5/1, if the starting bet was €10, the player would get back €60.
The last type of coefficient that is used relatively often is American coefficients. They are quite different from others and are sometimes called money lines. American odds are based on a rate of 100 units and indicate a positive or negative result. If the odds are written positively, then it indicates how much profit you will get from a bet of 100 units. If written negatively, indicate how much bet must be placed to win 100 units from that bet. Of the three above, decimal factors are the easiest to use, which is why they are the most commonly used. It is not difficult to understand the odds in different systems, but adjusting all odds to the decimal system is a very convenient way to compare the profit margin for different rates.