Placing sports bets live is still a recent phenomenon in the field of online sports betting, but is increasingly enjoying more and more enthusiastic players. The advantage is that you get additional control over your betting, because you can, for example, buy out of the bet with the cash-out option, add more money or if you could already make a profit due to a positive action for you (e.g. a goal of the team you bet on), play it safe and bag it directly. Live betting gives you additional opportunities to expand your sports betting strategy even more and to protect yourself in the best possible way.
Betting odds
Every bookmaker quantifies the probable outcome of a sports event with its betting odds. To determine the odds, the bookies work with extensive statistics and probabilities for all sports and leagues. To limit the risk somewhat, the bookmaker offers bets on all possible game outcomes.
If the sports betting odds are low, the outcome occurs with high probability. If the odds are high, it is rather unlikely. An odds can be fixed or variable. A fixed odds remains fixed after a one-time determination, while a variable odds changes in the course of time. This is due on the one hand to the bets already placed and on the other hand to current developments in the sport and league. Therefore, it is important to always keep a close eye on the betting odds of the provider in any sports betting strategy.
Odds calculation
The bookmaker sets a probability for a sports event. For example, he assumes that in the game Team A against Team B, Team A wins with a probability of 60 percent. He puts a draw at 25 percent and a win by Team B at 15 percent.
Since the bookmaker also wants to make a profit, he does not pay out all the money back to his customers. With private online betting providers, the payout ratio is between 80 and 95 percent.
Then he calculates the odds with the following formula: Odds = 1 divided by probability. So victory team A = 1 divided by 0.6 = 1.67. Now he has to include his profit in the odds. If he retains 10 percent, he multiplies the odds by a factor of 0.9. If he retains 20 percent, the odds are multiplied by 0.8. Thus, with a 10 percent profit, the odds of 1.67 * 0.9 become odds of 1.5.
Odds formats at a glance
In Europe, the odds are given in decimal numbers (e.g. 1.60). If you want to calculate your winnings, you have to multiply the bet you made with the odds. If the odds are 1.60 and the bet is 100 euros, the result is 160 euros and thus a net profit of 60 euros.
In Great Britain, odds are indicated with slashes. For example, one odds is 1⁄2. This odds means a 1.50. For example, a 5/1 corresponds to a 6.00. The profit is calculated here from the following formula: Quote times stake: 1⁄2 times 100 euros = profit of 50 euros. The payout is calculated as follows: Quote plus 1 times stake: 1⁄2 + 1 times 100 euros = 150 euros. However, English providers such as William Hill make it easy for customers and of course publish the usual odds format on the German pages.
The American odds, on the other hand, show the net profit. A positive sign (+) in front of the odds shows that it is an underdog (decimal odds greater than 2.0) and indicates how much can be won with a bet of $100. Odds with negative sign (-) are used when the decimal odds are less than 2.0. In this case, the odds show how much you have to bet to get a net profit of 100 euros. So, with American odds of +150, you can win 150 euros with 100 euros bet. The total payout is 250 euros. With American odds of -150, the bettor must wager 150 euros to receive a net profit of 100 euros in case of success. The gross profit (bet plus net profit) is 250 euros.
The American odds are converted to the decimal odds system used in Europe by dividing the gross win by the bet: 250 by 100 = 2.5. British odds are converted as follows: First number of the fraction by the second: In the case of 7/4, 7 is divided by 4, which gives 1.75. Then the second number of the fraction is divided by 4. This gives 1.75. Then add the stake of 1. So you get a converted decimal odds of 2.75.
For your personal sports betting strategy, the odds formats do not really matter, only the amount of the odds is decisive.
