Guides to odds and betting

How odds work, what the margin is and how to compare prices. Information, never tips. Work the numbers out with the calculators.

Odds basics

American odds explained
What +150 and -200 mean, how much each pays on a 100 stake, and how to turn American odds into decimal odds and a probability.
Updated 12 November 2026
Decimal odds explained
How decimal odds work, how to turn them into returns and profit, and why the higher number is the better price for the same outcome.
Updated 12 November 2026
Fair odds: how to remove the vig and find no-vig prices
Fair odds are prices with the sportsbook's margin taken out. How to work out no-vig prices yourself and how a consensus fair price is built.
Updated 12 November 2026
Fractional odds explained
How to read fractional odds such as 5/2, evens and odds-on prices, work out the return on a stake and convert them to decimal or American odds.
Updated 12 November 2026
Implied probability and how to work it out from any odds
Every price hides a percentage chance. How to turn decimal, American and fractional odds into implied probability, and back.
Updated 12 November 2026
What the vig is and how to measure it
The vig, or juice, is the margin a sportsbook builds into its prices. How to measure it as an overround and a margin, and why it matters.
Updated 12 November 2026

Markets

Betting exchanges and how they differ from sportsbooks
How a betting exchange works, what backing and laying mean, how commission changes the price you get, and where prediction markets fit in.
Updated 12 November 2026
Draw no bet and double chance explained
Two football (soccer) markets built around the draw. How draw no bet and double chance settle, and how their prices relate to the 1X2 market.
Updated 12 November 2026
Moneyline bets explained: two-way and three-way (1X2)
A moneyline is a bet on who wins. How two-way and three-way (1X2) moneylines work, what a draw does, and how to read the prices.
Updated 12 November 2026
Parlays and accumulators explained
How a parlay's odds multiply leg by leg, why linked outcomes break the maths, and how the sportsbook's margin compounds with every leg.
Updated 12 November 2026
Player props explained
What a player prop is, how overs and unders on a player's stats work, why props carry a bigger margin, and how to compare them.
Updated 12 November 2026
Point spread betting explained
How a point spread works, what covering and a push mean, why half points matter, and how to compare spreads between sportsbooks.
Updated 12 November 2026
Puck line and run line betting explained
The puck line and run line are point spreads usually set at 1.5 in hockey and baseball. How they settle, how they are priced and how to compare them.
Updated 12 November 2026
Totals (over/under) betting explained
How over/under bets on the combined score work, when a total pushes, and how alternate lines change both the price and the margin.
Updated 12 November 2026

Strategy

Closing line value (CLV): what it is and how to measure it
Closing line value (CLV) compares the price you took with the last price before the start. How to measure it and what it does and does not say.
Updated 12 November 2026
Expected value and edge in betting, with worked examples
Expected value is what a bet returns on average if it were repeated many times. How to work out EV and edge from a price and a probability.
Updated 12 November 2026
How to compare odds and why the best price matters
Line shopping means checking the same bet at several sportsbooks and taking the best price. How to do it and what it adds up to over time.
Updated 12 November 2026
Line movement and why odds change
Why sportsbook prices move between opening and the start of a game, and how to read the difference between an opening price and the current one.
Updated 12 November 2026
The Kelly criterion explained
The Kelly criterion sizes a stake from your edge and the odds. How the formula works, why many people stake a fraction of it, and its risks.
Updated 12 November 2026

Regulation

How to check a sportsbook licence
How to find the regulator where you live, confirm a sportsbook on its public register, spot warning signs and use self-exclusion schemes.
Updated 12 November 2026