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Sport News 24/7A guide to Betfair's decimal odds
02 Betfair Features 
/ Betfair Education / 09 August 2011 / 4 Comments
Decimal odds are a simpler way of working out betting odds - and they 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.
How do decimal odds work?
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.
william thomas | 23 August 2008
Hi i placed a bet today 23/8/08 on a horse and it was to lay this horse the lay was £20.00 at 7.4 and i won just £20.00 please will you be so kind to explain how the odds and my winnings are worked out,Kind Regards William
Betfair Education | 02 September 2008
Hi William,
You've chosen the odds you layed the bet at. Please read the section on laying.
"When laying a bet, you can only win the other person's stake."
The other punter is betting with you when you lay a bet. You can't bet on the horse to win at 7.2, then the same horse to lose at 7.4.....
P.Yates | 07 February 2009
Purely out of interest BETFAIR REACTORS how many of each reactor are there on the spool or whatever, ie number of REDS, YELLOWS etc. I ask because the most of say Reds that i have seen at any one time on the screen has been 8 yet it says up to 18 wins 100000. Obviously there are not so many as many as SINGLE or CRAZY CHEF hence the difference in the odds offered. BUT it would be of interest to know how it works and the numbers involved. Many thanks, and by the way i love playing it.
Greg | 30 November 2011
Please tell me if you accept bets with decimals , like : $14.23 or $25.48 etc...