Sports betting is extremely popular. You love the sport. And you love betting.

1. How Do Vegas Odds Work
2. How Do Sports Odds Work
3. How Does Odds Betting Work

Boxing, maybe more than any other sport, particularly lends itself to the art of wagering.

But to be successful, there are a few things any bettor should know especially when considering the sport of boxing.

Boxing odds are a bit different from other sports.

We’ll explain those differences in this article and equip you with the know-how and some special tips to make you a confident boxing bettor.

Table of Contents

Understanding how betting odds work is crucial for success in gambling, whether you want to win at slots or place bets on sporting events. By knowing the odds of potential bets you can calculate your expected winnings and build an entire strategy for a successful session. Decimal Style Sports Betting Odds. Decimal style odds are used mostly in Europe, and are pretty easy to understand. To calculate the decimal style odds all you will need to do is simply multiply the amount you wish to wager by the decimal odds shown and you will get your payout. For example it may look something like this. Sports betting lines on FanDuel Sportsbook are presented in what is called the 'American. Sports’ betting is one of the most popular pastimes around the world. It involves placing money on sports’ events involving personalities, teams, horses and more, with the aim of winning money in the best available odds. Sports’ betting involves predicting who the winner could be and placing sums of money on your choice for a win.

How Do You Read Boxing Odds?

Understanding money lines is an important first step to reading boxing odds.

Boxing odds are written in money lines rather than fighter odds because, in boxing, the odds aren’t always a whole number.

Boxing odds are written with plus (+) and minus (-) symbols, and to read boxing odds, you need to know what those symbols mean.

‘Money Line’ and Fighter Odds

Many would say that betting the money line is one of the easiest and simplest ways to bet in sports.

Here’s how simple it is — you place a bet, and if you pick the winner, the sportsbook will pay you the amount owed.

In boxing, money lines are simply another way to express fighter odds.

Let’s say you’re considering placing a bet and you see the money line +400.What does that actually mean?

It’s just another way to express the odds.

In this case, +400 means the odds are 4 to 1.

It’s as simple as that. Kinda.

The + and – signs are significant — we’ll explain in more detail below.

But for now, an example may suffice.

Let’s take the +400 mentioned above. This would be 4 to 1 for the underdog. If you bet $100, you would win $400.

However, let’s say you are looking at – 400. This means the favorite has 4 to 1 odds. You would have to bet $400 for every $100 you want to win.

Does this sound confusing? Keeping reading to clear things up.

Boxing Odds Explained: Minus (-) vs. Plus (+) Money Lines

You want to know how odds work in boxing.

Maybe you’re familiar with the lingo —

• Laying money

• Taking a price

• “Pick ‘em” fights

But what do those terms really mean?

Before you put your money down, you’ll want to have a better understanding of the terms, what they mean, and how they express the odds.

Before looking at the details, a few basics you should know are:

• The minus (-) refers to the favorite.

• The plus (+) refers to the underdog.

• The number with the (-) is the amount you have to bet to win $100.

• The number with the (+) is what you win if you bet $100.

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Laying Money (-)

Now that you know the basics, let’s dig into the details.

As mentioned above, the (-) identifies the favorite and expresses the amount you must bet to win $100.

But what does the phrase “laying money” mean?

It simply means, that when you look at the two options (boxers, in this case), you will lay your money on the side of the favorite.

But laying money comes with a risk — betting more than what you will make if you win (concerning profit).

Let’s look at some examples again to make it clearer:

• Let’s say the favorite goes up at -500 money line. The bettor who chooses this favorite would put up $500 to win $100. If this fighter wins, the bettor would win $100 and get their $500 back, thus risking 5 times more than he’ll win.
• The same scenario above would be true with a lesser bet. Say the bettor lays down $50 on the favorite. If he wins, he’d win $10 — still risking $5 for every $1 in winnings.

Taking a Price (+)

Taking a price is a different situation than laying money, and taking a price identifies the underdog.

The term “taking a price” has to do with how much the bettor will have to pay to make a bet — putting a price on a bet.

One way to think about it is the opposite of laying money. For every dollar the bettor risks, they are going to profit in a greater proportion.

Let’s look at another example to explain:

• The bettor sees a +300 underdog. The “300” signifies to the bettor that if he bets $100 and the underdog wins, the bettor will profit $300, plus their original $100 bet.
• Again, this scenario works with different amounts. This same bettor could bet $10, and if the underdog prevails, then the bettor would win $30. Again, the ratio determines the win amounts. Basically, in this case, for every dollar the bettor bets, he will profit $3 if the underdog wins — thus, the 3 to 1 ratio.

‘Pick-em’ Fights

What if there isn’t a clear favorite? What if the fighters are equally matched or one has only a slight advantage?

This occasionally happens, and in this case, both competitors will have a (-) before the price.

These scenarios are called “pick ‘em” fights and they might look something like this:

• Fighter X – 110
• Fighter Y -110 (The bettor would win $10 for an $11 bet.)

Or

• Fighter X -120
• Fighter Y -110

In either of these cases, the bettor will need to lay a price on both of the fighters and simply pick one to win.

Why bet on both?

Since there aren’t any real “odds”, this gives the sportsbook an opportunity to turn out an advantage.

How Do Odds Work in Boxing? Use the Odds to Determine Possibilities

Now that you know the basics of betting odds or more specifically, how odds work in boxing, it’s time to learn how to use that knowledge to make reasonable bets.

How can you use this information to know which competitor is the best bet — or which bet will deliver the best value?

In other words, which bet will deliver a payout better than you imagine it should?

Convert the Odds to Percentages

One way to determine value is to convert the odds to percentages.

This basically means that the bettor can convert the money line odds to a percentage of a chance to win and place the wager that way.

The bettor needs to answer the question, “Does Fighter X have a bigger chance of winning than Fighter Y?”

The best way to figure that out is to put some basic math skills to work and let the percentages — or chances of winning — speak for themselves.

When You Might Choose the Favorite to Win

Here’s how it works. (We’ll use odds that end in even percentages to make it straightforward.)

Let’s say Fighter X goes up at – 400. Remember, this represents a “to a dollar” bet. We could say that this fighter’s odds are 4 to 1 — if he wins, you’ll get paid 4 to 1.

However, to consider the odds as a percentage, we need to look at it this way: Fighter X has 5 out of 6 chances of winning. This converts to 80% (5 divided by 6 and then multiplied by 100).

So, should the bettor gamble on Fighter X?

Yes, as long as the bettor is confident that the favorite has more than an 80% chance of winning.

When You Might Choose the Underdog to Win

You can think about the underdog similarly.

If the underdog goes up at + 300, it does not mean that he has 1 out of 3 chances of winning. Rather, it means that he has 3 times the chances of losing.

Converting these odds to a percentage can help.

With +300 odds, we can say that this fighter has 1 out of 4 chances of winning. When we turn that into a percentage (1 divided by 4, then multiplied by 100), we see this fighter has a 25% chance of winning.

If the bettor believes that this fighter has more than a 25% chance of winning, then this might be a good bet.

In the end, whether the bettor is looking at the favorite or the underdog, if there isn’t a clear way for the fighter being considered to win, he may be better off avoiding the bet altogether.

How Does Boxing Betting Work? 5 Types of Boxing Bets

This question has a multifaceted answer.

There are several types of boxing bets, and taking a look at a few examples of each may help you determine where you are most comfortable.

#1: Money Line

As mentioned before, betting the money line could be considered the simplest and most straightforward type of bet.

Essentially, you are betting on the victor.

Who do you think will win based on the odds? Consider the following situation:

• Fighter X goes up at – 600
• Fighter Y goes up at + 400

The bettor may look at this setup and decide that Fighter X has a better chance of winning, and places his bet on the favorite.

#2: Number of Rounds (Over/Under)

Over/under betting is based not on who will win the match but on how many rounds the bettor thinks the match will last.

Consider Fighters X and Y above, let’s say the book lists an over/under of 8.5 rounds:

• over, – 600
• under, + 400

If the bettor thinks the fight will last into the 9th round, he should choose the “over.”

On the other hand, if he thinks the fight will be stopped in the 8th round or before, he should take the “under.”

#3: Victory Betting

Victory betting deals with how the victor will win. Wins can be determined by:

• Knockout – KO/Technical knockout – TKO
• Points/decision
• Submission
• Disqualification

In our example above with Fighters X and Y, a bettor may wager on Fighter X KO/TKO. For the bettor to win the wager, Fighter X would have to win the fight with a knockout or technical knockout.

#4: Proposition Bets

Proposition bets, or “special” bets, allow the bettor to bet on different features of a fight.

Some aspect the bettor may choose from are:

• Knockouts
• Knockdowns
• Point deductions
• Type of punch to land first
• Duration of the fight
• Decision of fight
• Draw

How Do Vegas Odds Work

#5: Scorecard Spread

Betting on scorecard spread concerns the difference in points fighters earn in a fight.

Points can be given for:

• Winning by stoppage
• Winning by decision
• Draw

A spread between Fighters X and Y may look something like this:

• Fighter X – 13.5
• Fighter Y – 6.5

How Do Sports Odds Work

If Fighter X wins by 14 or more, the bettor wins his wager.

Beyond How Odds Work in Boxing: Other Factors to Consider When Placing a Wager

To end our discussion of how boxing odds work, it may be helpful to take a look at some other elements that may help a bettor make an informed wager.

• Styles of boxing – Consider how the boxing style of the fighter. Does he bounce around the ring? Does he jab hard? What is his style like compared to his competitor?
• Fighting history – Who has the fighter competed against in the past? Have the fights been evenly matched? What level of competition has the fighter experienced before?
• Tale of the tape – Looking at stats like height, weight, age, record, etc. can help the bettor see if there is a clear mismatch.
• Physical shape – The bettor wants to place bets on fighters who are in good physical condition and are training consistently.

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How Does Odds Betting Work

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Welcome to the Sports Betting Odds section of The Sports Geek. If you are new to sports betting and don’t understand how to read betting odds (+150, -110, +2200, etc) we will lay it all out for you and help you learn how the betting odds work.

Sports Betting Odds Explained

Many people don’t know how to read or calculate sports betting odds, so below we have done our best on explaining how betting odds work. The most common type of sports betting odds used in North America are the American style odds which we explain below.

American Style Sports Betting Odds

Most online sportsbooks will list their odds in what is called “American Odds”. There are a couple different versions of sports betting odds, but these American Odds are the most common odds used. Reading and understanding sports betting odds can bet a little confusing to beginners, so we have provided an example below using two NFL football teams:

American Odds

• Matchup Odds
• New England Patriots +120
• Pittsburgh Steelers -140

The number shown in the bracket represents the odds. The American Odds have two components to them, the first being the positive or negative sign, and the second being the number that follows the sign.

The sign in front of the number indicates whether placing a wager on that outcome will pay out more money then you have wagered or less money then you have wagered. If the odd is negative (-) it means that outcome is more likely to happen and placing a bet on that outcome would payout less than the amount you wagered, while a positive (+) odd shows that the outcome is less likely to happen and it would pay out more than the amount you wagered.

The next step is figuring out exactly how much the bet pays out, which is where the numbers in the odds come into play.

A listed odd with a – sign in front of it, such as the -140 in our example above, shows us how much money you would need to wager in order to win $100. So using the -140, this would show us that you would need to bet $140 in order to win $100 in profits. You can easily substitute the $100 bet for a $10 bet by moving the decimal place over one spot, showing us that you would need to wager $14 in order to win $10 in profits.

Examples:

A listed odd with a + sign in front of it, such as the +120 in our example above, shows us how much money you would win on a $100 bet. Using the +120 odds, it shows us that a $100 bet on that outcome would pay out $120 in profits. Again this can easily be converted into smaller or larger size bets. A $10 bet on +120 odds would pay out $12 in profits.

Examples:

Below is an example of NFL betting odds taken from an online betting site.

In this example you can see Los Angeles is listed at +130 ($100 bet pays $130 plus of course your original wager back) and New England is listed at -150 ($150 bet pays $100).

The great thing about betting online is that the online sportsbooks will do the calculations for you before you place your bet. You can click on the outcome or team you would like to bet on, and then input the amount you wish to wager and it will show you your potential pay out before you confirm your bet.

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Decimal Style Sports Betting Odds

Decimal style odds are used mostly in Europe, and are pretty easy to understand. To calculate the decimal style odds all you will need to do is simply multiply the amount you wish to wager by the decimal odds shown and you will get your payout. For example it may look something like this:

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on the USA at 2.40 you would simply need to multiply your $10 wager by the 2.40 odds (10 x 2.40) to find out that the payout is $24. It is important to realize that with decimal style odds it includes the amount you wagered, so to find out profits you would need to subtract your wager ($24 – $10) to find out your potential payout is $14 in profits.

If you wanted to place a $10 wager on Brazil you would again just multiply $10 x 1.55 to find out that you would win $15.50 total or $5.50 in profits.

Decimal style betting odds are very simple to understand, but you won’t see them displayed in many North American sportsbooks. With that said, most online betting sites will allow you to chose the style of betting odds you want displayed, with American odds set as the default.