#1 — Bovada
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Betting Answers
How Do Sportsbook Odds Work?
Odds express both a payout and an implied probability. American odds show what you win on $100 or what you must stake to win $100; decimal odds show the total return per unit staked. Converting to implied probability reveals the book's margin, typically 4% to 5% on a standard two-way market.
Last reviewed: · Reviewed by our Editorial Team
How We Review Sportsbooks
Reviews are produced by the Reviewing Sportsbooks Editorial Desk at The Fantasy Prophecy LLC. We do not invent named reviewer personas. Scoring inputs are payout (40%), bonus (25%), markets (20%) and trust (15%). A book with n=1 can show a test result but cannot receive a published overall score or a scored #1.
Payout — 40%
Instrumented withdrawals only. Elapsed hours are computed from request time to arrival and published in the payout log. Operator-reported windows never count as a test.
Bonus — 25%
Usable value after rollover, contribution rules, minimum odds and maximum cashout — not the headline number. When terms cannot be priced, we say so.
Markets — 20%
Only market depth we have verified ourselves: leagues, props, live coverage and alternate lines.
Trust — 15%
Active public licensing, payout history, unresolved complaints and account-limiting behaviour.
Rankings are never sold. Commercial terms never change a score or a position, and any order shown before all four inputs are measured is editorial, not a scored ranking.
The three formats
American: -110 means stake $110 to win $100. +150 means a $100 stake returns $150 profit.
Decimal: 1.91 means a $100 stake returns $191 total, including your stake. Common outside the U.S.
Fractional: 10/11 is the same price as -110, expressed as profit over stake. Mostly British.
Converting to implied probability
For a negative American price, implied probability = odds / (odds + 100), using the absolute value. -110 gives 110 / 210 = 52.4%.
For a positive price, implied probability = 100 / (odds + 100). +150 gives 100 / 250 = 40%.
For decimal odds, implied probability is simply 1 divided by the decimal price.
Finding the vig
Add the implied probabilities of both sides. Two -110 lines total 104.8%, so the book's margin is 4.8%. Anything under 4% on a two-way market is competitive.
This is why -105 pricing matters: it lowers the total, which is the same as being paid more for the identical bet.
Keep reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What does -110 mean?
You stake $110 to win $100. It implies a 52.4% break-even win rate, which includes the sportsbook's margin.
Are decimal and American odds different prices?
No — they are two ways of writing the same number. 1.91 decimal equals -110 American.
How do I know if odds are good?
Convert both sides to implied probability and add them. The lower the total above 100%, the better the price.
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