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Casinos and sportsbooks have certainly kept up with the times, embracing technology and offering their services to a new generation of player.
Traditionally, bets and wagers were placed with a bookmaker or at a betting shop, or at the sports venue itself. Online casinos have taken that concept and grown it digitally. Bettors can now wager on sporting events across the globe, join high definition poker games online and even bet using cryptocurrencies, on crypto casinos.
The rapid evolution of online casinos has required payment method providers to keep pace. Cash, betting stubs and credit cards have been replaced by digital wallets, e-wallets and cryptocurrency. One such innovator is GCash, GCash is a handy e-wallet for online casinos that makes paying into your account and receiving the winnings easy and hassle-free.
Read on, to learn more about betting odds and how understanding them can make your online casino experiences more profitable.
Betting Odds Across Platforms
Understanding betting odds is crucial in placing successful bets. Online casinos and crypto casinos have taken a transparent approach to sharing their odds with users, they are called fairplay principles.
Online operators will share their gaming algorithms with visitors to show that the games are random and in no way rigged.
In online poker, casino operators use Random Number Generator (RNG) software to even the odds and promote fair card shuffles. Every player on the table will have the opportunity to partake in the card shuffle, ensuring honest results.
Betting on sports can be a bit more complicated than traditional online casino play, as bettors have the ability to bet on a sport that uses an odds model that is different from their own. Betting sites and online converters will help bettors make sense of the different odds systems, but it is important that bettors have the general knowledge to grasp the basics.
How Odds Are Compiled
Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have access to a huge amount of data and statistics to help them compile accurate odds. Yet weighting this data correctly and using the right information to make betting decisions is sometimes more important than raw data itself.
Betting, whether on poker, slots or sports is typically about the odds. With odds being the probability of a certain event happening.
A bookmaker or online platform will use a professional called an odds compiler or trader to help in setting the odds. Odds compilers must decide which events require statistical analysis and which need more gut feel. From there they can use as much AI and algorithm input as they see fit, to build a successful model.
Odds compilers will usually also take the odds offered by other traders and platforms into account, when setting their own. Odds compilers are responsible for helping online casinos and sportsbooks to decide which bets they can take and which are too risky, setting a safe parameter.
Types Of Odds Available
Now that you have a better understanding of what odds are and how they are created, it becomes important to look further into odds models.
Depending on where in the world you are, you will see your odds represented as American odds, fractional odds or decimal odds, the idea behind them is very similar though.
American Odds
American odds focus on a $ 100.00 amount and typically show only the profit amount of a win, without the initial bet. An example will help to explain this method:
Tiger Woods is set to enter a major and despite his injuries, is touted as the overriding favorite against a rookie golfer. Odds are set at +310 for the rookie and -400 for Tiger Woods. + symbols indicate the underdog and – symbols the favorite.
A bet of $ 100.00 dollars would therefore earn you $ 310.00 dollars ($ 410.00 including your bet) for a rookie win. The returns for a Tiger Woods win are less favorable at -400, meaning that you would have to spend $ 400.00 to win $ 100.00, thus your $ 100.00 bet would win you $ 25.00 ($ 125.00 including your bet).
Good to Know:
• American odds are also known as Moneyline odds.
• Even though American odds use a $ 100.00 benchmark, the same ratios can be applied to smaller bets. $ 100.00 is not the set limit on placing bets within the US.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds are used predominantly in Great Britain, and are therefore known as British odds, U.K. odds or traditional odds.
Fractional odds are listed and read as (potential winning)/(stake). Using the Woods vs rookie example above, the odds would be 31/10 for the rookie and 1/4 for Woods, the financial results for the bettor are the same.
Decimal Odds
One of the most popular forms of odds in the world is the decimal odds system.
Decimal odds represent the total return for every 1 Dollar or 1 Euro wagered and includes the original bet amount. The fact that it includes the original bet makes it very popular, as nothing needs to be added afterwards.
Using the same example, odds of Tiger Woods beating a rookie golfer in a major will be 1.25 for Woods and 4.1 for the rookie. The lower number (1.25) indicates the favorite and the higher number (4.1) the underdog.
If you put $ 100.00 on the same golf championship, using the same odds as above, you would receive $ 125.00 for a Woods win and $ 410.00 for a rookie win. The final amount always includes your original bet of 100 dollars.
Good to Know:
• Decimal odds are also known as European odds, digital odds or continental odds and are widely used in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.
In Closing
Regardless of which odds system you use, always be sure to thoroughly understand the bet, bet within your budget and be prepared for the occasional loss. Betting should be a fun pastime, always enjoy it responsibly.
