How Sports Betting Odds Work

If you are a beginner in terms of sports betting, grasping sports betting odds can be very difficult. No matter what your level of experience is, understanding this aspect of betting is important for a profitable, enjoyable betting experience. This article will give you an overview of the basics of betting odds, show you how to read the various formats, and help you use them to your benefit.

When you have finished, we have found the best online sportsbooks in New Zealand for you to use your new information at in order to start getting the best odds online.

A Quick Explanation of How to Read Odds

  1. Point Spread bets

If a football team is -5, they need to win by 6 points in order for your bet to be successful

  1. Over/Under/The Total

If the Over/Under is 40 in a football game, the totals for both teams needs to be 41 in order for the wager to win

  1. Moneyline

If the Moneyline has the 1st team at -150 against the All Whites, you will have to bet NZ$150 in order to win NZ$100. If the 1st team wins, then so will your bet.

These are the 3 forms of regular betting odds that you will generally see at the online sportsbooks we have rated and recommended for you to start betting at. These are the ones you will see immediately, and are the most important when it comes to sports betting.

How to Read the Point Spreads

The Point Spread is probably the most commonly found example of sports betting odds, and these bets will be found for all of the most popular sports including football, rugby and cricket. The Spread will tell you which team is favoured by the online sportsbooks you have selected to lay a wager at, and how much. When you bet the Spread, you are wagering that a team will win by a particular amount of points, runs, or whatever the case may be.

In a game between the All Whites and Bafana Bafana, if you are betting on the Point Spread on the All Whites, favoured by 6, then this means that the team will have to win by 7 points or more in order for you to win.

If you are betting the Point Spread on Bafana Bafana, which, as the underdog is getting +6, then as long as they do not lose by 7 or more points, your bet will win. If the All Whites win, but only by 3 points, your bet will still be successful. 

Reading and Understanding Over/Under Bets

The betting odds for the total score, or Over/Under bet, allow you to wager on whether or not the total score between 2 teams will end up being above or below a pre-set amount. You will simply review what the Over/Under is, and then wager on what you think it will end up being. There are Over/Under bets available for almost all sporting events, including Australian Football League, or AFL games; Rugby, National Rugby League and Rugby Union, Basketball, and Cricket games.

The Over/Under sports betting odds will work out differently for each sport. If the number given were 42 for a game in which the All Whites are participating, then you would need a minimum of a 43-point total between the 2 teams. Cricket would ask you to guess at the amount of runs the Black Caps and the team they were playing against managed to score, and Over/Under bets for UFC matchups would ask you at which round the fight would end.

Sometimes with Spread and Over/Under bets you will sometimes find that online sportsbooks have distributed ½ points. These are in place to prevent a Push, which sees no one win or lose. As long as someone wins and someone loses, the sportsbooks will be able to make the money they need to on the juice.

Reading and Understanding Moneyline Bets

When you are looking at getting the best odds online, and who isn’t, another very popular betting type is the Moneyline. This wager asks that you simply select who you think will win the event outright – you will not need to take Point Spreads or any other variables into account. Getting the best odds online for this bet means that you find those that make the team you favour’s winning more profitable for you! Thanks to how simple this bet is, however, the payouts are a lot lower than those offered for Over/Under and Point Spread bets.

When you bet on the Moneyline, the favourite will be given a negative symbol in front of the number assigned it, and the underdog will have a plus sign.

For example, in a match between the All Blacks and the Springboks, with the All Blacks as the favourite would read All Blacks -150, Springboks, as the underdogs, +150.

Getting good odds can be the difference between a small and a big payout, so it’s essential you always shop around.