One of the great things about betting on sports is that the principles are the same no matter where you are – from Aberdeen to Zaire and from Albuquerque to Zimbabwe.
The only thing that tends to change from one continent to the next is how the betting odds are displayed, but the good news is that once you know how to convert these prices into your preferred format, you’ll always be in the loop as to where the value bets lie.
Some punters prefer to operate using an overseas odds display anyway. The fractional format is typically unique to the UK and Ireland, with decimal odds favoured across much of Europe and the American +/- format used in the United States and Canada.
You can flip between fractional and decimal with relative ease once you know the relatively straightforward calculation involved.
How to Convert to Fractional Odds
If we are presented with decimal odds but would prefer to see them in fractional form, there is a little bit of math we can deploy to make that happen relatively stress free.
Many overseas bookmakers utilize decimal odds, so if you are betting with an offshore firm or are simply on your travels in the continent, you may want to keep the below calculation handy:
- (Decimal odds – 1) = convert answer to a fraction
So let’s take the example of 3.50, which seasoned punters will already know represents 5/2. But let’s run through the math:
- 3.50 – 1 = 2.50
Alas 2.5/1 is not a viable fraction, and so we multiply both elements by two to get a full number for the denominator and numerator – in this case, that’s 5/2.
Here are some more examples:
- 4.50 -> 4.50 – 1 = 3.50. 3.5/1, multiplied by common denominator (2), becomes 7/2
- 1.25 -> 1.25 – 1 = 0.25. 0.25/1, multiplied by common denominator (4), becomes 1/4
- 1.66 -> 1.66 – 1 = 0.66. 0.66/1, multiplied by common denominator (4), becomes 4/6
- 11.00 -> 11.00 – 1 – 10.00. 10/1….no further calculation required
Hopefully that gives you get the general gist. Once you find the common denominator, you can easily transform the weirdest-looking fractions into understandable odds.
How to Convert to Decimal Odds
For newcomers to sports betting, we might argue that decimal odds are actually the easiest way to understand the true price being offered by the bookmaker. In short, the smaller the number, the more chance that the bookies think there is of that eventuality happening.
And, of course, any selection priced at 1.99 or lower is odds-on, a 2.00 pick is said to be even money, and prices of 2.01 all the way up to 1000.00 are odds-against selections that, according to compilers, have a less than 50% chance of occurring.
So how do we convert fractional odds to decimal odds? Well, that’s easy to do when you make a note of the simple calculation:
- Divide the fraction then + 1
It really is as straightforward as that, and we can show you some examples.
So, a football team priced at 2/1 can be converted to decimal odds as follows:
- (2/1) = 2 + 1 = 3.00
Let’s try some more:
- (5/2) + 1 = 3.50
- (100/30) + 1 = 4.33
- (15/4) + 1 = 4.75
- (8/1) + 1 = 9.00
And so on and so forth.
Odds Conversion Chart
Because we’re feeling in a giving mood, we thought we’d give you an odds conversion chart that would enable you to see the most common prices and how they are represented in each format.
This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, but it should set you on the path to understanding the relationship between the different odds formats:
| Fractional | Decimal | American |
|---|---|---|
| 1/5 | 1.2 | -500 |
| 2/9 | 1.22 | -450 |
| 3/10 | 1.3 | -333 |
| 4/9 | 1.44 | -225 |
| 7/10 | 1.7 | -142 |
| Evens (1/1) | 2 | -100 |
| 11/8 | 2.38 | 137 |
| 19/10 | 2.9 | 190 |
| 5/2 | 3.5 | 250 |
| 4/1 | 5 | 400 |