Fixed Odds Formats: Fractional, Decimal, and Moneyline

Fixed odds are presented in 3 formats: fractional (or UK) odds, decimal (or European) odds and moneyline (or American) odds. All of the formats show how much gets paid out on a winning bet.

Moneyline/American Odds

Moneyline odds, or just lines, are popular in the United States. Depending on whether you're betting on a favorite or not, moneyline odds show either how much you win on a $100 bet or how much you bet to win $100.

There is a plus (+) or a minus (-) sign in front of the odds to show whether you are betting on a favorite or not. A plus sign means you are betting on an underdog and the number represents how much you'd win on a $100 bet. A minus sign means you are betting on the favorite and the number represents how much you need to bet to win $100.

So if you see +110, then your winnings are $110 on a $100 stake for a total payout of $210.

If you see -$150, then your winnings are $100 on a $150 stake for a total payout of $250.

In the event of even odds, you often see PK for pick.

Fractional/UK Odds

Fractional odds are popular in the UK and Ireland. They show how much money you win relative to the stake.

The first number of the fraction represents the winnings, while the second number represents the stake.

If you see 2/1 odds, said "two-to-one," your winnings are £200 on a £100 bet for a total payout of £300.

If you see 1/2 odds, said "one-to-two" or "two-to-one on," your winnings are £50 on a £100 bet for a total payout of £150.

In the event of even odds, you see 1/1 which normally called "even money" or "evens."

Decimal/European Odds

Decimal odds are popular in Europe and Canada. They show how much you win including your initial stake and they are usually calculated to 2 decimal places.

If you see 3.0 odds, your payout is €300 on a €100 bet for a total winnings of €200.

Decimal odds are easy to use because you only need to multiply your bet by the odds to determine the winnings. Because they are easy to use, decimal odds are commonly used by betting exchanges and in parlay betting where you only need to multiply the odds for each game in the parlay to establish the total winnings.

A $10 bet on a 3-game parlay where the 1st game was at 1.25, the 2nd at 1.40 and the 3rd at 1.60 would pay as follows: $10 x 1.25 x 1.40 x 1.60 = $28 payout.

Reading the Odds

The important thing to remember when comparing different odds formats is whether you are seeing the payout or the winnings.

European odds show the payout: the total money paid including the initial bet.

American and UK odds show winnings: the money paid not including the initial bet.

Once you understand the basics, different formats of sports betting odds are easy to understand and compare.