Odds Explained

The Basics

For those who have not placed a bet before, working out odds may be a little confusing. When looking for the best prices, it is essential that you are fully aware of the potential return on your bet. Prices often change rapidly, and you need to quickly ascertain where the best value is. Almost all bookmakers (including on-course layers) use fractional (usually referred to as ‘traditional’) odds. This involves two numbers separated by a slash.

Example 1

You have made your selection, and want to place a bet. The odds available are 8/1. This means that if your selection wins, you will receive €8 for every €1 staked. If your stake was €10, you would win €80 should the selection win, if your stake was €20 you would gain €160, and so on. Please note that the stake is also returned on all winning bets.

Example 2

Sometimes some division is required. If the price of your selection is 5/2 for example, you will need to divide the number on the left by the number on the right in order to find out how much you will receive to a €1 stake.

5 divided by 2 = 2.5

So you would receive €2.50 to every €1 staked should the selection win.

There is one price that often causes confusion however; 10/3.

10/3 is often displayed as 100/30. The reason for this is simply tradition. Before Irish and British currencies were decimalised, 100/30 was a commonly used division, and the expression lingered on after the changeover. Nowadays however, 100/30 and 10/3 mean exactly the same thing (a return of €3.33 for every €1 staked).

If you are looking around for the best price on your selection (at the track for example), it is essential that you can quickly work out how much you will receive should your selection win. After some time, you may be able to do this quickly in your head, but until then it can help if you bring a piece of paper with you as a handy reference guide.

Here are some of the common divisions:

1/5 = €0.20 for every €1 staked
2/5 = €0.40 for every €1 staked
1/2 = €0.50 for every €1 staked
4/7 = €0.57 for every €1 staked
4/6 = €0.67 for every €1 staked
8/11 = €0.73 for every €1 staked
4/5 = €0.80 for every €1 staked
10/11 = €0.91 for every €1 staked
EVS = €1 for every €1 staked
11/10 = €1.10 for every €1 staked
6/5 = €1.20 for every €1 staked
5/4 = €1.25 for every €1 staked
11/8 = €1.38 for every €1 staked
6/4 = €1.50 for every €1 staked
13/8 = €1.63 for every €1 staked
7/4 = €1.75 for every €1 staked
15/8 = €1.88 for every €1 staked
11/5 = €2.20 for every €1 staked
9/4 = €2.25 for every €1 staked
12/5 = €2.40 for every €1 staked
5/2 = €2.50 for every €1 staked
11/4 = €2.75 for every €1 staked
10/3 = €3.33 for every €1 staked
9/2 = €4.50 for every €1 staked
11/2 = €5.50 for every €1 staked
13/2 = €6.50 for every €1 staked
15/2 = €7.50 for every €1 staked
17/2 = €8.50 for every €1 staked

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds do not use division. Decimal odds are used on all of the major exchanges, and by a small number of bookmakers. While they are becoming very popular with punters, the racing world is big on tradition so it is doubtful that fractional odds will be completely replaced any time soon. Decimal odds display the return to one unit should your selection win, including the stake.

Example:

If the price of a selection is 7.6, this means you receive €6.60 profit for every €1 staked, plus your stake back.

€5 staked on a selection at 7.6 would return €38, should the bet be successful (6.6 x €5 = €33, plus the stake returned brings the total to €38)

Converting traditional odds to decimal

The simplest way to convert odds from decimal is to take away one.

Example:

If a selection has a decimal price of 13.0, you take one from 13.
13 - 1 = 12. Therefore the price in traditional odds is 12/1.

A few more examples:

A selection that has a decimal price of 15.
15 - 1 = 14. Therefore the price in traditional odds is 14/1.

A selection that has a decimal price of 3.5.
3.5 - 1 = 2.5. Therefore the price in traditional odds is 2.5/1 (5/2).

A selection that has a decimal price of 5.5.
5.5 - 1 = 4.5. Therefore the price in traditional odds is 4.5/1 (9/2).

Displayed on the left hand side are some of the common traditional odds, with their decimal equivalent on the right:

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