All you need to know about odds
Those who are present in the world of online betting should already know a lot about bookmakers and odds, and certainly how they are calculated.
However, for newcomers to the betting sites who want to understand a little more about the subject, it is useful to explain how the odds work, even dealing with how this calculation affects the pockets of those who bet.
To begin with, it is necessary to understand that the odd is the calculation that a bookmaker makes to arrive at the odds of a certain outcome of a match. So when we hear about odds values we realize that this is a very important concept and one that you should keep in mind.
So, how is the odds calculation for a match done? In this case, let's simplify the math as much as possible, so that the explanation is more understandable.
For example, to calculate the odd one must consider all the possibilities of the event that will be bet on. In a soccer match, the possibilities are 1, 2, X. Thus, the sum happens as follows:
The sum in question gives us the percentage of the odds. When calculating this, you will notice that the value can exceed 100%. This "extra" value is the profit margin that the bookmaker has, and this can be a negative factor for those who have a little less money to bet.
But why does this percentage exist for the bookmaker? The answer is simple: it exists so that the gaming site can balance the bets and odds on each sporting event.
It is very useful to understand this concept in order to elaborate your best betting strategy, but also to act in a safer way, since then all the mechanisms that involve a bet are very clear. It is these mechanisms that determine the value of an event, whether sporting or otherwise.
This way, we can clearly understand why odds change and why they are not always the same at the bookmakers.
And the odds calculation is based on what? To begin with, this calculation is based on the current market and the probabilities. In addition, a team of mathematicians and journalists work gathering information such as the performance of the team, how many goals it has scored, what is the lineup of athletes for a particular match, among others. A good bookmaker needs to understand the market in which it operates and how the odds are. Only this way the company will be able to offer a good job to users.
It is based on the above factors that odds change and one bet is never the same as another. In this calculation we also need to include then the bookmaker's margin, which as we said before, influences the bets that will be placed and the amounts that the user will receive.
The final piece of advice, the most important one of all, is that you need to keep these concepts in mind to understand odds, because only in this way can we see the bets in the big picture. When you place a bet there is always a small risk that your guess is wrong. Therefore, in order to decrease the percentage of risk, all the factors we mentioned above should be taken into consideration, in order to choose the best possible bet. But it is worth remembering that even if you understand the odds and the factors that influence them, the bookmaker will always have an advantage when compared to the bettors, because besides having a specialized team, he will always have his operating margin.