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.
American odds are the standard price format in the United States and are widely used in Canada. Each price is a whole number with a plus or a minus sign in front, such as +150 or -200. The sign tells you which way to read the number, and both directions are built around a stake or a profit of 100.
What a plus sign means
A plus sign shows the profit on a 100 stake. The bigger the number, the bigger the payout, and the less likely the sportsbook rates the outcome.
At +150:
- You stake 100.
- If the bet wins, your profit is 150.
- You get 250 back in total: your 100 stake plus the 150 profit.
The stake does not have to be 100. Multiply the stake by the odds and divide by 100. A 25 stake at +150 wins 25 × 150 ÷ 100 = 37.50 profit and returns 62.50.
What a minus sign means
A minus sign shows how much you must stake to win 100 profit. At any minus price other than -100, you risk more than you stand to win. The favourite usually has a minus price, but so can both sides of an evenly matched market, such as -110 on each side of a point spread.
At -200:
- You stake 200 to win 100 profit, getting 300 back in total.
- On a 100 stake, the profit is 100 × 100 ÷ 200 = 50, and you get 150 back.
For any stake, multiply the stake by 100 and divide by the number without its sign. A 30 stake at -200 wins 30 × 100 ÷ 200 = 15 profit and returns 45.
Payouts on a 100 stake
This table shows the profit and the total return on a 100 stake at common prices, with the decimal price and the implied probability for each.
| American | Profit on 100 | Total return | Decimal | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +300 | 300.00 | 400.00 | 4.00 | 25.0% |
| +200 | 200.00 | 300.00 | 3.00 | 33.3% |
| +150 | 150.00 | 250.00 | 2.50 | 40.0% |
| +100 | 100.00 | 200.00 | 2.00 | 50.0% |
| -110 | 90.91 | 190.91 | 1.91 | 52.4% |
| -150 | 66.67 | 166.67 | 1.67 | 60.0% |
| -200 | 50.00 | 150.00 | 1.50 | 66.7% |
| -400 | 25.00 | 125.00 | 1.25 | 80.0% |
Even money can be written as +100 or -100. Both mean the profit equals the stake.
Converting to decimal odds
A decimal price is the total return on a stake of 1, stake included. To convert:
- Plus odds: decimal = 1 + odds ÷ 100. So +150 becomes 1 + 1.50 =
2.50. - Minus odds: decimal = 1 + 100 ÷ the number without its sign. So -200 becomes 1 + 0.50 =
1.50, and -110 becomes 1 + 0.909 =1.91(rounded).
Going the other way, a decimal price of 2.00 or more becomes plus odds: (decimal − 1) × 100, so 2.50 becomes +150. A decimal price under 2.00 becomes minus odds: −100 ÷ (decimal − 1), so 1.50 becomes -200. The decimal odds guide and the fractional odds guide cover the other two formats, and OddsKeepr can show every price in whichever format you prefer.
Read as American odds: +150
+150 = 2.50 = 6/4 = 40.0%
The implied probability includes any margin in the price. A fair price comes from removing it.
The probability inside a price
Every price implies a probability: how often the outcome must happen for the price to break even.
- Plus odds: 100 ÷ (odds + 100). At +150 that is 100 ÷ 250 = 40%.
- Minus odds: the number ÷ (the number + 100), using the number without its sign. At -200 that is 200 ÷ 300 = 66.7%.
Add up the implied probabilities of every outcome in a sportsbook's market and you will usually get more than 100%. A two-way market priced -110 on both sides gives 52.4% + 52.4% = 104.8%. That extra 4.8 percentage points is the overround, where the sportsbook's margin sits. The implied probability guide and what the vig is explain how to strip it out and find fair odds.
Comparing American prices
For the same outcome, the higher number is the better price, whatever the sign (the one tie is +100 and -100):
- +160 pays more than +150 (160 profit on 100 against 150).
- -105 pays more than -110 (95.24 profit on 100 against 90.91).
- +105 pays more than -105 (105 profit on 100 against 95.24).
Small gaps add up. A better price does not make a bet more likely to win; it only means a win pays a little more, while a loss costs the same stake. Taking -105 instead of -110 lifts the profit on a 100 stake by 4.33, which is why the same outcome is worth checking at more than one sportsbook. How to compare odds walks through it, and the moneyline guide shows American odds on a bet on who wins.
Betting always carries a risk of losing money, so keep it within what you can afford to lose. How to check a sportsbook licence shows how to confirm a sportsbook is licensed where you are, and where to find free help if gambling stops being fun.