How do odds work on the Betfair Sportsbook and Exchange?

• Fractional and Decimal odds explained

• Work out your winnings based on the odds

• How to convert odds into % chance of winning

Understanding how betting odds work is vital to any successful punter, but before that, recognising the two different formats for how odds are displayed is equally important.

The two types of odds used on Betfair are fractional and decimal, and the very simple way to tell the difference is;

• Fractional odds are numbers separated by a forward slash, e.g: 5/16.00
• Decimal odds are numbers separated by a full stop, e.g: 6.05/1

On the Betfair Exchange only decimal odds are used, however on the Betfair Sportsbook both decimal and fractional odds are used and you can choose which format you prefer to see the odds displayed in.

On Desktop scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a black banner that says View odds as: From here you can choose Fractional or Decimal.

On Mobile go to Settings then Odds Display and choose which format you prefer.

Understanding Fractional Odds

Whenever you see two numbers separated by a forward slash, e.g. 2/13.00 or 11/43.75, then these are fractional betting odds, as shown below.

Fractional betting odds allow you to easily calculate how much you will win in comparison to your stake (the amount of money you bet). The number to the left of the forward slash is the amount of money you will win if your stake the number to the right of the forward slash.

Examples:

2/13.00 - for every £1 you bet you will win £2, meaning £3 will be added to you balance (£2 winnings plus your £1 stake).

11/43.75 - for every £4 you bet you will win £11, meaning £15 will be added to your balance (£11 winnings plus your £4 stake).

13/82.63 - for every £8 you bet you will win £13, meaning £21 will be added to your balance (£13 winnings plus your £8 stake).

Understanding Decimal Odds

Whenever you see two numbers separated by a full stop, e.g. 4.03/1 or 8.88/1, then these are decimal betting odds, as shown below.

Decimal betting odds allow you to easily calculate how much you will be returned on a winning bet by multiplying your stake (the amount of money you bet) by the decimal number shown. The amount of money returned includes your stake.

Examples:

4.03/1 - for every £1 you bet you will be returned £4 to your balance (1 x 4.0), for every £5 you bet you will be returned £20 (5 x 4.0).

8.88/1 - for every £1 you bet you will be returned £8.80 to your balance (1 x 8.8), for every £5 you bet you will be returned £44 (5 x 8.8).

*Please note, all Exchange winnings are subject to commission being paid

Converting Odds to % Chance of Winning

For many punters, converting odds to the percentage chance of success is another vital part of betting. We've already told you that £1 on a 2/13.00 wins you £2 (£3 returned including your £1 stake), but what is the percentage chance of a 2/13.00 winning?

The answer to the above question is 33.3%, which when you think about it is very logical - you will be returned £3 for your £1 stake, so you effectively have a 1 in 3 chance of winning, which is 33.3% - but how do you calculate this yourself?

For Fractional Odds:

Using the number to the right of the fractional odds, divide it by the total of both the numbers in the fractional odds, and then multiply by 100.

2/13.00: 1 / (2 + 1) = 0.33 x 100 = 33.3%

11/43.75: 4 / (11 + 4) = 0.267 x 100 = 26.7%

13/82.63: 8 / (13 + 8) = 0.381 x 100 = 38.1%

For Decimal Odds:

Always using 100, simply divide 100 by the decimal odds.

4.03/1: 100 / 4.0 = 25%

8.88/1: 100 / 8.8 = 11.36%

Now read more Betfair Education articles here.