Best Sports Betting Odds

The best sports betting odds are posted by bookmakers at sportsbooks to denote how much they will pay out for each wager that a bettor makes. Many people make the mistake of thinking that sports betting odds are the calculation of how likely it is that an event will occur. In truth, sports betting odds are manipulated by sportsbooks to ensure that, no matter what, the hosting sportsbook will always be an a position to come out well ahead when the entire betting volume is concerned. This is the primary reason that many favorites to win an event will have starkly unfair odds differences than the associated underdog. The best sports betting odds are offered by sportsbook that close the difference between their odds on all of their wagers.

Learning to Read Sports Betting Odds

Without an understanding of how sports betting odds works, it can be difficult to determine how competitive the offers are at major sportsbooks. There are three ways in which betting odds are expressed at major sportsbooks – decimal, fractional and American. Some sportsbooks including the mobile betting sites offer multiple odds formats for their customers from around the world. However, there are others that only offer one format – making an understanding of all three types important to finding the best sports betting odds. Fractional odds are typically the most difficult to understand for new sportsbook bettors.

Online Betting Sites with Best Odds

Rank	Poker Site	Bonus	Bonus Code	Learn More
1.		$900 Betting Bonus	n/a - use link	BetOnline Sportsbook
2.		$200 Betting Bonus	n/a - use link	Bovada Sportsbook
3.		$900 Betting Bonus	n/a - use link	SportsBetting.ag

Decimal odds (also called European) are fairly simple to calculate. The decimal number (1.70, for example) is the amount of money that you will win for each $1.00 that you wager. So, if you wager $100.00, you will win an additional $170.00 should your wager be successful. Fractional odds require a bit of math but still relate to the pay out for each single wagered unit. If there are posted sports betting odds of 2/5, this corresponds to 0.4. Multiply your total wager by this decimal number to find out how much you stand to win. For example, a wager of $200.00 on these sports betting odds would correspond to winnings of $80.00.

Finally, American odds (also called whole odds) are fairly simple to calculate. When the sports betting odds are listed as a negative number (-350, for example) this relates to how much you will need to wager in order to win a whole unit (100). So, sports betting odds of -350 would require you to wager $3.50 in order to win a $1.00. On the other hand, positive odds (+350, for example) denote the amount of money that you will win for each $1.00 that you bet. So, a wager of $2.00 would allow you to receive an additional $7.00. Negative odds are posted on the favorite to win the event while positive odds suggest the likely loser.

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Finding the Best Sports Betting Odds

As a general rule, you can find the best sports betting odds at most sportsbooks by sticking to the underdogs for events. Statistically, these odds are typically posted at a much more favorable rate than the event favorite. You can make a small wager and still walk away with a large bankroll if you get lucky and your wager is successful. Other favorable sports betting odds are often posted in events where the competitors are very close in the odds calculation. This denotes that there is not a clear winner for the event and sportsbooks have much less of an opportunity to adjust them favorably.

Other opportunities for finding the best sports betting odds include possible tie outcomes for events and non-major sports competitions. Tie sports bets are possible in Soccer games and occur quite often. Usually, the odds posted on Soccer ties are among the best listed on any given sportsbook. With non-major sports competitions, the best sporting odds can go either way. Some bookmakers will allow better odds with a higher betting volume (events like the Super bowl, for example) and post poor odds on events that are less likely to attract a great deal of wagers. However, sportsbooks with some of the best sports betting odds often post them on smaller betting volume events such as darts, golf and swimming.