Betting odds glossary
Short explanations of the words used on this site and in odds comparison.
Odds
The price a bookmaker puts on each outcome — how many times your stake comes back if it wins. The same outcome of the same match is priced differently by each bookmaker, and prices keep moving until kick-off. This site gathers several bookmakers into one table and shows the highest price for each outcome.
Related: Football odds
Decimal odds
The total return, stake included, written as a multiple. At 2.50 a winning stake of 100 returns 250, of which 150 is profit. It is the usual format in continental Europe, Australia and Korea, and every calculation on this site (payout, split) uses decimal odds.
Related: Odds converter
Fractional odds
Profit written as a fraction of the stake, used in the UK and Ireland. 6/4 means a profit of 6 for every 4 staked — decimal 2.50. Bookmakers only use a set ladder of customary fractions (5/4, 11/8, 6/4, 13/8 …), so a decimal price converts to the nearest one on that ladder.
Related: Odds converter
American odds
The US format, where the sign sets the meaning. +150 means a profit of 150 on a 100 stake (decimal 2.50); −120 means you stake 120 to make a profit of 100 (decimal about 1.83). Decimal 2.00 is +100, and anything shorter is written as a negative number.
Related: Odds converter
Implied probability
A price turned into a percentage: 1 ÷ decimal odds. 2.50 is 40%, 1.25 is 80%. Add up one bookmaker's implied probabilities across all outcomes and the total is usually above 100% — the excess is that bookmaker's margin.
Related: Odds converter
Payout
The share of your money that comes back whatever happens, if you split a stake across every outcome in proportion to 1/odds. The formula is 1 ÷ (1/odds₁ + 1/odds₂ + …), roughly 100% minus the margin. This site shows the payout of each bookmaker and of the combination made from the best price for every outcome.
Related: Payout & arbitrage calculator · Bookmaker ranking
Margin (overround)
The cut a bookmaker builds into its prices: the sum of the implied probabilities minus 100%. A two-way market at 1.90 / 1.90 adds up to 52.6% + 52.6% = 105.3%, a margin of about 5.3% (payout 95.0%). A lower margin means higher prices on the same match.
Related: Bookmaker ranking
1X2 (match result)
A market on the result after regular time: 1 = home win, X = draw, 2 = away win. It is used in sports with draws such as football; extra time and penalties are usually not included. Sports without draws have just two outcomes (moneyline).
Related: Football odds
Handicap (Asian handicap)
A market that adds or subtracts a line from one side's score before settling. Home −1.5 wins only with a margin of two or more; away +1.5 wins unless it loses by two or more. Asian handicap removes the draw: on a whole line such as −1.0 an exact result refunds the stake, and a quarter line such as −0.25 works like splitting the stake half-and-half over the two neighbouring lines.
Related: Football odds · How to read the tables
Over/under (totals)
A market on whether the combined score ends above (over) or below (under) a line. Lines ending in .5, such as 2.5, cannot land exactly; on a whole line such as 3.0 an exact total refunds the stake. Each sport has its own typical line (around 2.5 in football, 200-odd points in basketball).
Related: Basketball odds
Line
The number a handicap or total is set at (−1.5, 2.5 and so on). Bookmakers offer several lines and the line itself can move before the start. Odds tables on this site only compare prices on the same line, and show first the line offered by the most bookmakers.
Related: How to read the tables
Best odds
The highest price for an outcome among the bookmakers compared. In the odds tables the green cell is the best price, and the summary view shows the best price and its bookmaker for each outcome. Taking the best price for every outcome gives the combo payout.
Related: Football odds · Combo payouts
Arbitrage (arb)
When the combo payout — the best price for each outcome, taken from different bookmakers — goes above 100%. In theory a stake split across every outcome returns more than it cost whatever happens, but margins make this rare and prices usually move within minutes. Bookmaker rules (voids, extra time), stake limits and update delays mean the real picture can differ, so treat it as information only.
Related: Combo payouts · Payout & arbitrage calculator
Middle
A pair on the handicap or total of the same match where two bookmakers' lines differ and leave a window between them. Take over 44.5 at one book and under 45.5 at another: a total of exactly 45 wins both. Outside the window only one side wins and you get back the "miss" share.
Related: Middles · About middles
Price gap
How far one bookmaker's price for an outcome sits above the market median — the middle price among all bookmakers quoting it — as a percentage. Comparing with the median rather than the mean keeps one outlier from dragging the reference. A large gap only says that bookmaker prices it differently; it says nothing about how likely the outcome is.
Related: Price gaps
Closing odds
The last price recorded just before the start. Because it reflects the most pre-match information, it is often used as the reference for comparing prices taken earlier. On this site the results pages and finished match pages show closing odds next to the result.
Related: Results & closing odds
CLV (closing line value)
Short for closing line value: how much higher the price you took is than the closing price of the same outcome, as a percentage. Taking 2.20 when it closes at 2.00 is +10%. Unlike a single result, it is used across many matches as a measure of whether prices were taken ahead of the market.
Related: Results & closing odds
Betting exchange (Betfair)
A market where users offer and take prices from each other instead of a bookmaker setting them. Betfair is the best known; it charges a commission on winnings, so the price shown and the amount you actually receive differ. This site compares exchange prices as shown, without deducting commission, and tags them as an exchange.
Related: Bookmaker ranking
Pre-match and live
Pre-match odds are offered before the start; live (in-play) odds keep changing during the game. This site compares pre-match odds only — once a match starts, its last prices stay greyed out and are no longer updated.
Related: Football odds
Bookmaker ranking
A table of bookmakers ordered by average payout (100% minus margin) over a period. You can pick the sport, market, league and period, and bookmakers with too few matches are left out of the ranking. A higher payout means higher prices on average for the same matches.
Related: Bookmaker ranking
Odds and calculations are provided for information only.