Odds, Markets and Betting Terminology
Twenty six definitions with worked examples. Every odds format the site supports, every market we publish, and the vocabulary bookmakers use without explaining. Written so a first time bettor can follow it.
- Five odds formats explained and converted using the same example price.
- Every market we publish defined, including settlement edge cases.
- Worked numbers, not just definitions.
- Switch formats live using the odds selector in the top bar.
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Predictions generated by the AccuratePredict model, reviewed by Tolulope Afuwape, Sports Analyst Editorial oversight by Olufemi Osunyingbo, editorial lead and co-founder · Last updated
Odds Formats
The same price written five ways.
Question 1What are decimal odds?
Answer 1Decimal odds show the total return per unit staked, including your stake. At 2.50, a 1,000 stake returns 2,500, which is 1,500 profit plus your 1,000 back.
Question 2What are fractional odds?
Answer 2Fractional odds show profit relative to stake. 3/2 means three profit for every two staked, which equals decimal 2.50.
Question 3What are American odds?
Answer 3American odds show profit on a 100 stake for positive numbers, or the stake needed to win 100 for negative ones. Decimal 2.50 equals +150, and decimal 1.50 equals minus 200.
Question 4What are Hong Kong odds?
Answer 4Hong Kong odds show profit per unit staked, so decimal 2.50 becomes 1.50. Anything above 1.00 means the profit exceeds the stake.
Question 5What are Indonesian odds?
Answer 5Indonesian odds resemble American odds divided by 100. Decimal 2.50 becomes 1.50, while decimal 1.50 becomes minus 2.00.
Question 6Can I change the odds format on AccuratePredict?
Answer 6Yes. The odds selector in the top bar converts every price on the page between all five formats instantly, and remembers your choice.
Probability and Margin
Turning prices into chances.
Question 7How do I convert decimal odds into a probability?
Answer 7Divide one by the odds. 2.50 implies 40 percent, 1.50 implies 66.7 percent and 5.00 implies 20 percent. That implied figure includes the bookmaker margin.
Question 8What is implied probability in betting?
Answer 8Implied probability is the chance an outcome must have for the odds to be fair before margin. It is always slightly higher than the bookmaker's true estimate.
Question 9What is the overround on a betting market?
Answer 9The overround is the total of all implied probabilities above 100 percent. A 1X2 market totalling 106 percent carries a 6 percent overround.
Question 10What does de-margining odds mean?
Answer 10It means removing the bookmaker's margin to estimate the true probability, usually by scaling the implied probabilities back down to 100 percent in total.
Question 11Is AccuratePredict's win probability the same as implied probability?
Answer 11No. Our probability is model output calculated from data independently of the bookmaker. Implied probability comes from the price, margin included.
Core Match Markets
The markets on every fixture.
Question 12What does 1X2 mean in football betting?
Answer 121X2 is the match result: 1 for a home win, X for a draw, 2 for an away win, settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
Question 13What is a Double Chance bet?
Answer 13Double Chance covers two outcomes in one bet, written 1X, X2 or 12. It raises the hit rate and lowers the price accordingly.
Question 14What is a Draw No Bet wager?
Answer 14Draw No Bet backs a team to win with your stake returned if the match is drawn, insuring the draw at the cost of a shorter price.
Question 15What is an Asian handicap?
Answer 15An Asian handicap applies a virtual goal head start or deficit to remove the draw. Quarter goal lines such as minus 0.25 split your stake across two outcomes.
Question 16What is a European handicap?
Answer 16A European handicap uses whole goals and keeps the draw as a possible result, so it has three outcomes rather than two.
Goals and Scoring Markets
Everything counted in goals.
Question 17What does Over 2.5 Goals mean?
Answer 17It means three or more goals in the match. The half prevents a tie, so exactly two goals loses and three wins.
Question 18What does Under 3.5 Goals mean?
Answer 18It means three goals or fewer in the match. Four or more loses the bet.
Question 19What is a Both Teams to Score bet?
Answer 19BTTS wins when each side scores at least once in normal time, regardless of the final result.
Question 20What is a correct score bet?
Answer 20A correct score bet names the exact final scoreline, which is why the odds stay long even for likely results.
Question 21What is an anytime goalscorer bet?
Answer 21It wins if the named player scores at any point in normal time. Own goals do not count for the scorer.
Timing, Specials and Slang
The rest of the vocabulary.
Question 22What is Half Time Full Time betting?
Answer 22HT/FT asks for the leader at half time and the winner at full time in one bet, so it needs two correct calls and pays accordingly.
Question 23What is a Win Either Half bet?
Answer 23It wins if your team wins at least one of the two halves treated separately, which can pay even when the match itself is drawn.
Question 24Do corner and card markets include extra time?
Answer 24No. Not by default. Standard settlement is 90 minutes plus stoppage time, and extra time is excluded unless the bookmaker states otherwise.
Question 25What does banker mean in betting slang?
Answer 25A banker is a selection the bettor considers highly likely, often used as the anchor of an accumulator. It is confidence language, not a mathematical category, and bankers lose regularly.
Question 26What is value in betting?
Answer 26Value exists when your estimated probability exceeds the probability implied by the price. It is the only mathematically sound reason to place a bet.
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