Betting may seem like the most complicated thing in the world, but it is not. Actually, it’s quite easy once you get the hang of it. But, if you’re a total newbie when it comes to betting; don’t you worry, we’ll give you a great guide to help you along the way.
First of all, betting is supposed to be fun and exciting, it’s not the way to pay down your mortgage or your student loan. Use it as a break from stress and the every-day life but remember to make a budget so you don’t end up spending it all at once.
Probability
Okay, let’s move over to our in-depth guide. The first thing you have to do as beginner is to understand how odds work. It is extremely important because this is the indicators telling you what potential you have to win. So, the complete basics: betting gives you the opportunity to predict the outcome of a certain game, event or situation. If what you predicted is correct, you’ll win money.
For every event or situation there is a number of outcomes, like for example when your role a normal dice, there will be six different outcomes.
How to calculate the probability
Usually when looking at odds, you will see something like this “4/1”, which is called fractional odds. As soon as you have these numbers you can calculate how likely it is that the event the odds are place at, will happen. The formula is “B / (A+B), which means that in our example if would look like this: “1 / (4+1) = 0.20, which means there is a 20% chance that the event will happen.
To make sure you understand it, here are two other examples:
1/4 = 4 / (1+4) = 0.80, which means there is an 80 % chance it will happen.
9/1 = 1 / (9+1) = 0.10, which means there is a 10% chance it will happen.
How to calculate your winnings
Now that you know how to calculate odds, we are going to move over to how you can calculate winnings. You can actually use the odds to calculate how much you will win. To make it as easy as possible we will use the same example. So, 4/1 becomes A / B. Take the value of B, what you bet, and then you will win A, plus the return on your stakes.
1/4 = For every 4th dollar you bet, you will win 1 dollar.
9/1 = For every dollar you bet, you will win 9 dollars.
An example
To make sure you understand everything, here is an example of a football match. You are placing a bet that Liverpool will win over Newcastle 2-0, and the odds are 3/1. And, let’s say you bet 10 dollars.
Your probability:
3/1 = 1/ (3+1) = 0.60, you have 60% chance of winning
Your winnings:
3/1 = For every dollar you bet you will win 3 dollars, which means you will end up winning 30 dollars.