Odds against is a betting term that denotes a price greater than that of evens. If you bet at odds against, you’ll receive more cash than what you wagered if your wager is successful.
Odds Against Explained in Detail
If your odds against wager wins, you will more than double your initial stake. Whether you bet on game-winner markets in cricket, rugby, tennis, football or any other sport, the favourite will, in most cases, be odds on while the underdog will be odds against.
In sports that consist of a large field of entries like golf competitions, MotoGP and Formula 1, the odds are always greater than evens for entrants unless a heavy favourite is available in the field.
Odds Against Practical Examples
When the odds are larger than those of evens, for instance, 9/1, the sportsbook is liable for the first number. On the other hand, the punter is liable for the second number or part of the fraction. In this case, if you place a successful £10 bet and land the 9/1 shot, you will get the £90 from your sportsbook, plus the initial £10 back. If your bet isn’t successful, the sportsbook keeps your £10 stake. With that in mind, here is a practical example of a wagering opportunity that has odds against.
Let’s take an example of a UEFA Champions League game between Liverpool and FC Porto. The odds for a home win, draw and away win are 1.30, 4.70 and 9.50, respectively. In terms of prices, the home win is odds on, the draw is odds against, and the away win is odds against. These odds indicate that the sportsbook believes Liverpool, which is the favourite, will win this game, so the odds against it are on the Porto win and the draw. To highlight the returns you can get from these wagers, let’s use a £10 stake on each bet.
- £10 stake on home win (Liverpool to win): £13.30
- £10 stake on away win (FC Porto to win): £95.00
- £10 stake on a draw: £47.50
Placing a wager on an odds against selection in either a two-way or three-way market is a risky betting strategy. However, the massive returns can make it worthwhile as long as you make the correct prediction.
Memorable Odds Against Wagers
Every gambler loves hearing about other bettors collecting massive profits from small stakes. It is the stuff that true dreams are made of. One memorable odds against bet was that of 2009 when Mon Mome won huge amounts of money after placing a bet on the Grand National event. Members of a lucky family put their money together and managed to walk away with an impressive £20,310 as their favourite jockey Liam Treadwell rode them to a memorable victory.
Many sports fans and punters will remember how Leicester shocked the whole world by winning the EPL title in 2016. This anomaly event cost most bookmakers in the UK an estimated £26,000,000 in total. Many sportsbooks were offering odds of 6000/1 against Leicester City, winning the English Premier League title before the competition started.
Odds Against in Betting Exchanges
Some professional punters have realised that they can back some favourites at odds against when they are using betting exchanges. This is because you are wagering against other bettors instead of a sportsbook. These wagers only occur occasionally, so punters must keep their eyes on the ball, but they offer top value when they find them.
Odds Against: What You Need to Know
When deciding to bet on a result of an event, it is vital to estimate the winning percentage chance your selection has. In what betting experts refer to as a “fair book”, a 4/1 shot has a 20% winning chance while a 2/1 shot has a 33% winning chance. But remember that sportsbooks need to make a profit, which is referred to as an over-round, vig, juice or simply margin.
A sportsbook’s over-round would make a frank 2/1 chance somewhere in the bracket of a 6/4 shot and a 7/2 shot for a 4/1 chance. That being said, bookies do not always price markets accurately as many punters think, and if you can identify percentage chances, you can enjoy value in the long term. Backing 2/1 shots at 5/2 will give you a chance of making a return, while backing 2/1 shots at 6/4 will put you in the danger zone.
