Know about odds and probability before betting on score

After all your preparations for the big game in betting on soccer and now that you have put money for the home side at 7/4, have you ever wondered what the exact meaning of odds is? If this question hasn't crossed your mind before, it's about time you give it attention. It can shed some light on understanding your winning chances.

In the scenario above, they are stating that if this tournament is played for 11 times, the home side will be victorious not by 7 times but only 4 times. Another way to see it is through probability, which says that there's a 36% chance the home team will win and a 64% chance that they'll lose.

Oftentimes, new and inexperienced bettors use terms probability and odds interchangeably by mistake, thinking they mean the same. They are related closely but they do not mean the same.

Probability is an actual number between 1 and 0, in which 0 means it is impossible for the event to take place and 1 means the event will occur. On the other hand, odds are used to state the probability ratio between the event taking place and the chance it won't happen.

When flipping a coin, the possibility of a heads or tails coming up is specifically 50% since there are only two results possible. This means there is a 1 out of 2 chance you will win. If expressed in odds, it would be 1/1.

When only the odds are given, finding the probability would depend on the written format of your odds. Decimals and fractions are the two most commonly used methods in expressing odds.

When fractional odds are converted to probability, you have to divide the denominator over the sum of the fraction and multiply the result by 100. Here's an example to explain the process clearly:

Given: 7/4 Solution: Total sum: 7+4=11 Denominator divided by total sum: 4/11 =.3636 Answer multiplied by 100: 0.3636 x 100 = 36.36 Final answer: The probability is 36.36%

If decimal odds are given, converting it to probability is quite easy. All you need to do is divide 100 over the decimal. Here's an example:

Decimal odds: 5.0 Solution: 100/5 = 20 Answer: The probability is 20%.

As a percentage, it is easier to see how much chance your money has when betting on soccer. In addition, you can also see how much profit is earned by bookmakers.

As an example, in betting on soccer, the three probable results are draw, away win and home win. If the game is priced as the following: home win = 1.75 (57.14%); away win = 3.9 (25.64%) and draw= 3.5 (28.57%), the total probability is at 111.35% when logically speaking it should only be 100%. The extra percentage, which in this case is 11.35%, is the overround and is the profit the bookmaker expects to earn.