Odds Formats
Odds are numbers telling how much you can win in a bet at a given stake. In general the rule is the higher odds the lower probability of winning.
Odds are be presented in different formats or styles around the world, depending on local custom. In our odds tables, you can see odds presented in European, British, American, Malaysian, Indonesian, or Hong Kong standard. Some bookmakers support more than one of these standards. When you click from here to a bookmaker, the format may be different, but then just change the format to fit, to be sure that you’re getting the right odds in your bet.
Below is an example of how odds are presented in different ways. We will also give an example of how to do the conversion. And finally provide the conversion formulas.
Example: Brazil vs. England (Soccer)
Europe UK US Malay HK Indo
1: Brazil 1.40 2/5 -250 0.40 0.40 -2.50
x: Draw 3.75 11/4 +275 -0.36 2.75 2.75
2: England 5.00 4/1 +400 -0.25 4.00 4.00
Calculations with the various odds formats are done with a stake of $200 on Brazil to win.
It is important to distinguish between the payout to your betting account after a win, and your profit, which is the payout minus your stake.
European Odds (decimals)
European odds multiplied by your stake equals the payout. The odds show how many units the bookmaker pays back per unit staked.
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, Euro odds 1.40
Payout: Stake x Euro odds
$200 x 1.40 = $280
Profit Stake x (Euro odds – 1)
$200 x (1.40 – 1) = $80
Example 2: England to beat Brazil, Euro odds 5.00
Payout: Stake x Euro odds
$200 x 5.00 = $1,000
Profit Stake x (Euro odds – 1)
$200 x (5.00 – 1) = $800
UK Odds (fractions)
UK odds multiplied by your stake equals the profit. The odds show how many units you win in profit per unit staked.
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, UK odds 2/5
Payout: Stake x (UK odds + 1)
$200 x (2/5 +1) = $280
Profit Stake x UK odds
$200 x 2/5 = $80
Please note, that when converting odds into the British standard, round-off errors may occur, since some odds don’t have an exact translation into British-style fractions. Here, we’ll show the nearest fractional odds.
Many bookmakers will use decimal style internally and settle their customers based on the decimal odds despite showing – slightly different – fractional odds to UK users. For instance, the bookmaker may have odds of 1.28 internally but show odds 2/7 to his UK users. Since 2/7 = 0.28571, a winning bet of GBP 1,000 will give the customer a profit of GBP 280.00, not GBP 285.71 as the customer might expect.
US Odds
US odds can be positive and negative. So in contrast to European and UK odds styles, the interpretation of the odds is different depending on the value. And the way the odds are split is according to whether you will be returned less or more than your stake if you win.
Profit less than stake. These are bets that have a high probability of winning since you require less than your stake back in order to place the bet. In fact, you will at most require a 50% probability for the bet to win in order to place the bet. This is where European odds are less than 2 or UK odds are less than 1/1. The odds number shows how big a stake is needed for a winning of 100 units. It is also negative – to easily know which of the two cases you’re in.
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, US odds -250
Payout: Stake x (1 + 100/US odds)
$200 x (1 + 100/250) = $280
Winning: Stake x 100/US odds
$200 x 100/250 = $80
Notice that the negative sign in front of the odds is changed in the calculation. The number has to be positive.
Positive Odds (winning with a stake of 100 units): Positive odds are used for bets where the potential profit is larger than the stake. So bets that have a low probability of winning �C since you require more than your stake back in order to place the bet. This is where European odds are larger than or equal to 2 and where UK odds are larger than or equal to 1/1. The odds number shows how big your winnings are if you bet 100 units.
Example 2: England to beat Brazil, US odds +400
Payout: Stake x (1 + US odds/100)
$200 x (1 + 400/100) = $1,000
Winning: Stake x US odds/100
$200 x 400/100 = $800
Profit equal to stake. The borderline case, where your potential profit is equal to your stake is called Evens or odds 100. Notice that the formula for positive odds will work as intended for odds value 100.
Malaysian Odds
Like US odds, Malaysian odds can be divided according to the relationship between stake and potential profit:
Profit less than stake. In this case odds are positive and show the profit per unit you bet. Odds of 0 corresponds to the case there you have a profit identical to your stake if you win, a 50/50 bet.
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, Malay odds +0.4
Payout: Stake x (1 + Malay odds)
$200 x (1 + 0.4) = $280
Winning: Stake x Malay odds
$200 x 0.4 = $80
Profit larger than stake. In this case odds are negative and show the necessary stake to win 1 unit.
Example 2: England to beat Brazil, Malay odds -0.25
Payout: Stake x (1 – 1/Malay odds)
$200 x (1 – 1/0.25) = $1,000
Winning: Stake x 1/Malay odds
$200 x 1/0.25 = $800
Notice that the negative sign in front of the odds is removed in the calculation. The number has to be positive.
Hong Kong Odds
HK odds multiplied with your stake equals the winnings. The odds show how many units you win in pure winning per unit staked. So HK odds are just like UK odds, except not expressed in fractions but in decimals.
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, HK odds 0.4
Payout: Stake x (1 + HK odds)
$200 x (1 + 0.4) = $280
Winning: Stake x HK odds
$200 x 0.4 = $80
Indonesian Odds
Indonesian odds are just like US odds, just divided by 100. So when negative, they show how big a stake is needed for a profit of 1 and when positive, they show the profit from a stake of 1.
Profit less than stake (negative odds)
Example 1: Brazil to beat England, Indo odds -2.50
Payout: Stake x (1 + Indo odds)
$200 x (1 + 4.00) = $1,000
Winning: Stake x Indo odds
$200 x 4.00 = $800
Profit larger than stake (positive odds)
Example 2: England to beat Brazil, Indo odds +4.00
Payout: Stake x (1 + Indo odds)
$200 x (1 + 4.00) = $1,000
Winning: Stake x Indo odds
$200 x 4.00 = $800
Conversion Formulas
Conversion formulas to and from European (decimal) odds.
From European odds:
UK = EU-1 rounded off to nearest “nice” fractional representation
100/(1-EU) if EU<2
US = EVENS if EU=2
100(EU-1) if EU>2
MA = EU-1 if EU≤2
1/(1-EU) if EU>2
HK = EU-1
IN = 1/(1-EU) if EU<2
EU-1 if EU≥2
To European odds:
EU = UK+1
1-100/US if US<0
EU = 2 if US=EVEN
1+US/100 if US>0
EU = 1-1/MA if MA<0
1+MA if MA≥0
EU = HK+1
EU = 1-1/IN if IN<0
1+IN if IN≥0
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