Betfair Official Blog

Betfair use decimal odds, what are these?

Decimals are a simpler way of working out the odds and don't give you a headache every time you want to place a bet. Do you know the difference between 8/13 and 4/7? No? Well, not many people do. But with decimals you'd know instantly.

So, how do decimal odds work? Well, if the decimal odds are 2.2 and you place a back bet of £10 and win, your total return is £10 x 2.2 = £22. This is equivalent to a traditional price of 6/5.

Decimal odds make it much easier to figure out which price is best - the bigger the number, the higher the return. Take a look at the table below to see why.

The key part to remember is that decimal odds always include the unit stake - thus every price you see on Betfair will be >1.

Fractional odds represent the profit - 5/1 means you will win five pounds for every one pound staked.

Decimal odds represent the return - 2.2 means you will receive £2.20 for every pound invested, including your stake.

If you're struggling with decimal odds, you can now use our mouse-over odds displays - traditional odds over every price. Every market on Betfair also has an odds-converter table. Click on 'What are decimal odds?' in the 'help' section on the right hand side of the screen, as seen below.