Skills
Reading odds
Look at any price in a sportsbook app and know three things: which side the book expects to win, what your bet pays, and how likely the price says it is.
Plus is the underdog, minus is the favorite
US books show American odds. Every price has a sign, and the sign tells you which side you are looking at.
- Minus is the favorite, the side the book expects to win. The number is what you bet to win $100. At -350 you bet $350 to win $100.
- Plus is the underdog. The number is what a $100 bet wins. At +300, $100 wins $300.
- +100 is even money: bet $100 to win $100. Some books write it as EV or Even.
Either side can win. The price only says what the book thinks is more likely, and how much it pays you for the other outcome.
What +300 and -350 pay
The rule works at any stake. When a cash bet wins, you get your stake back plus the winnings.
| Price | You bet | You win | Back in total |
|---|---|---|---|
| +300 | $100 | $300 | $400 |
| +300 | $25 | $75 | $100 |
| -350 | $350 | $100 | $450 |
| -350 | $100 | $28.57 | $128.57 |
| -110 | $110 | $100 | $210 |
For a plus price, winnings are the stake × the price ÷ 100. For a minus price, the stake × 100 ÷ the price. You will rarely do this by hand, but do it once so the numbers stop looking like code.
The chance inside a price
Every price is also a probability: how often the bet would have to win to break even. For a minus price, divide it by itself plus 100, so -350 is 350 ÷ 450, about 78%. For a plus price, divide 100 by the price plus 100, so +300 is 100 ÷ 400, or 25%.
Add both sides of one game at one book and you get more than 100%. A game priced -110 on both sides comes to about 104.8%. The extra is the book's cut, called the juice or vig. It is why betting both sides at one book always loses a little, and why you use two books: taking each side where it is priced best shrinks the cut. Low hold is about keeping it small.
Do it in BreadSync
Tools · Odds Converter
Converts American, decimal and fractional odds, and shows the implied chance.
- 1.Open Tools > "Odds Converter".
- 2.Type any price into "American", for example -350.
- 3.Read "Probability %" (77.78) and "Decimal" (1.29, what each $1 returns if it wins, stake included).
Why this matters for bonus bets
A bonus bet pays only its winnings, never its own amount. So the price decides almost everything: a $100 bonus bet at +300 wins $300, while the same bonus bet at -350 wins $28.57. That is why the bonus bet goes on the underdog and the cash goes on the favorite at a second book.
This calculator starts on exactly that game. Change the prices and watch what you keep.
Bet $233 cash on the other side. You keep about $67 whoever wins, 67% of the bonus. Strong. Take it.
Estimate, if both bets are accepted at these prices.
The full method is on Turn bonus bets into cash.
Read the slip before you tap
Most expensive mistakes are reading mistakes, not math mistakes. Before you confirm any bet, check three things against your plan:
- The side. The team you meant, at the book you meant. Some books switch the selection on the review screen.
- The sign. Plus or minus. A big stake on the wrong side turns a hedge into a plain bet on one team.
- The stake. The right amount, and only one bet on the slip.
Watch out: some slips have a "to win" box next to the stake box. An amount typed there on a favorite stakes far more than you meant. Type into the stake box, and look again after you press continue.
Two plus prices on one hockey or soccer game means a three-way line that includes a draw. Back out and find the two-way line. Picking games covers markets like that.