If you are new to football betting, you must know that there are two types of betting on football: one who bets just for the fun of it and does not wager bets regularly. These people are sometimes called as the casuals. On the other hand, there are people who take football betting to a whole new serious level. These people strategize every wager they make, and they play regularly, and they intend to make the most profit out of every bet that they make. These are competitive or serious bettors. Regardless of which type of bettor you intend to be, one thing that must learn and understand in football betting is the odds: how to read them, how to interpret them, and, if possible, how to use them to your advantage.
Bookmakers use odds in various ways. They use it, first and foremost, to make sure they earn their edge over each bet that will be made through them. They also use odds and lines to attract bettors to wager through them. To help you in finding the bookmakers for you, review sites like Efirbet.com can help; it contains bookie recommendations based on their reviews, tips on betting, and even updated on the odds and lines across the market.
As for football odds, here are all the types of odds that you should learn to read and understand to help you make better bets on football:
US odds
Moneyline odds, or also known as the US odds, are called as such mainly due to the fact that it is more commonly used in games played in the United States. In US odds, teams or players are divided into two categories, the favourite and the underdogs.
The favourite player or team is labelled with a negative sign before their odds number. On the other hand, the underdogs are recognised with a positive or plus sign preceding their odds number. In US odds, reading is simple: all you need to consider is the absolute value of the odds–disregard the positive or negative sign preceding it. This absolute value tells you how much profit you can make for every $100, should your bet end up being a winning one. If you bet $100 on a favourite team with an odds of -100 and won the bet, you get your wagered amount back plus $100 in profit.
UK odds
UK odds, mainly used in games played in the United Kingdom, are presented in the form of a fraction. Due to this, this is also called as fractional odds.
In a fractional odds, the numerator tells you the number of units you are to win, and the denominator tells you the base unit of the wager required. For example, if the team you placed your bet on has an odds of 5/1, it means that you are to win £5 for every £1 you wagered. If you win the bet, you get your £1 back (less the house edge, of course), plus £5 in profit.
European odds
European odds are also called decimals odds since it is presented in decimal format. Aside from being used mostly in games played in Europe, other countries also use European odds such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.
In decimal odds, calculating your profit is simple: just multiply your initial amount wagered to the odds, and that is the profit that you can take home should you win the bet. For example, if you wagered €1 for a team with an odds of 2.00 and you won the bet, you get a profit of twice as much your original amount wagered.
