Best Sports Betting Odds

The best sports betting odds are posted by bookmakers at sportsbooks to denote how much they will pay out for each wager that a bettor makes. Many people make the mistake of thinking that sports betting odds are the calculation of how likely it is that an event will occur. In truth, sports betting odds are manipulated by sportsbooks to ensure that, no matter what, the hosting sportsbook will always be an a position to come out well ahead when the entire betting volume is concerned. This is the primary reason that many favorites to win an event will have starkly unfair odds differences than the associated underdog. The best sports betting odds are offered by sportsbook that close the difference between their odds on all of their wagers.

Learning to Read Sports Betting Odds

Without an understanding of how sports betting odds works, it can be difficult to determine how competitive the offers are at major sportsbooks. There are three ways in which betting odds are expressed at major sportsbooks – decimal, fractional and American. Some sportsbooks offer multiple odds formats for their customers from around the world. However, there are others that only offer one format – making an understanding of all three types important to finding the best sports betting odds. Fractional odds are typically the most difficult to understand for new sportsbook bettors.

Decimal odds (also called European) are fairly simple to calculate. The decimal number (1.70, for example) is the amount of money that you will win for each $1.00 that you wager. So, if you wager $100.00, you will win an additional $170.00 should your wager be successful. Fractional odds require a bit of math but still relate to the pay out for each single wagered unit. If there are posted sports betting odds of 2/5, this corresponds to 0.4. Multiply your total wager by this decimal number to find out how much you stand to win. For example, a wager of $200.00 on these sports betting odds would correspond to winnings of $80.00.

Finally, American odds (also called whole odds) are fairly simple to calculate. When the sports betting odds are listed as a negative number (-350, for example) this relates to how much you will need to wager in order to win a whole unit (100). So, sports betting odds of -350 would require you to wager $3.50 in order to win a $1.00. On the other hand, positive odds (+350, for example) denote the amount of money that you will win for each $1.00 that you bet. So, a wager of $2.00 would allow you to receive an additional $7.00. Negative odds are posted on the favorite to win the event while positive odds suggest the likely loser.

Sportsbook.com

Sportsbook.com offers some of the best sports betting odds on the Internet by featuring special promotions that give players reduced juice and free bets. For example, many basketball games feature reduced juice (-105) for bettors each Friday at Sportsbook.com. Most of these better odds are available on parlay wagers. Additionally, sports betting odds at Sportsbook.com are artificially improved each Wednesday with 25% larger pay outs available on all parlay wagers. Finally, you can receive a free $10.00 bet every Monday at Sportsbook.com to further improve your odds (increased by not having to risk any money on the wager).

Bodog Sportsbook

Bodog Sportsbook offers some of the best sports betting odds on specific events on their web site such as the World Cup and Major League Baseball games. For example, players receive a free $10.00 wager that they can make on any World Cup event. In addition, all players at Bodog Sportsbook have access to some of the best sports betting odds on Major League Baseball line bets. Finally, Bodog Sportsbooks offers some of the best future and proposition sports betting odds on the Internet with varieties of these betting options available on most major sports events.

5Dimes Sportsbook

5Dimes is widely regarded as having some of the best sports betting odds online, especially for Major League Baseball. The best sports betting odds on baseball games are usually found in runline and total wagers. Line bets are available overnight and up until the first pitch of the game. NCAA Football and NFL games at 5Dimes also feature regular reduced juice through the entire season. Finally, reduced juice is also available for each NBA game as long as the wager is posted on the same day that the game is scheduled to take place. This reduced juice is available right up to the moment that the basketball game begins.

Finding the Best Sports Betting Odds

As a general rule, you can find the best sports betting odds at most sportsbooks by sticking to the underdogs for events. Statistically, these odds are typically posted at a much more favorable rate than the event favorite. You can make a small wager and still walk away with a large bankroll if you get lucky and your wager is successful. Other favorable sports betting odds are often posted in events where the competitors are very close in the odds calculation. This denotes that there is not a clear winner for the event and sportsbooks have much less of an opportunity to adjust them favorably.

Other opportunities for finding the best sports betting odds include possible tie outcomes for events and non-major sports competitions. Tie sports bets are possible in Soccer games and occur quite often. Usually, the odds posted on Soccer ties are among the best listed on any given sportsbook. With non-major sports competitions, the best sporting odds can go either way. Some bookmakers will allow better odds with a higher betting volume (events like the Super bowl, for example) and post poor odds on events that are less likely to attract a great deal of wagers. However, sportsbooks with some of the best sports betting odds often post them on smaller betting volume events such as darts, golf and swimming.