If you are familiar with betting then you probably recognise odds like 5/1 or 4/5 but what does this mean for us when we place a bet. The odds indicate the probability of a result happening.

Odds against bets are when the left hand number is greater than the right hand figure, for example:

  • 5/1 : £10 x 5 = £50 winnings
  • 10/1: £10 x 10 = £100 winnings
  • 20/1: £10 x 20 = £200 winnings

Odds on bets are when the right hand figure is larger than the left hand figure, for example:

  • 1/5 : £10 / 5 = £2 winnings
  • 1/10: £10 / 10 = £1 winnings
  • 1/20: £10 / 20 = £0.50 winnings

However this doesn’t include our stake so calculating it this way doesn’t give us our total return. The way we do that is by converting odds to decimal. For matched betting using decimal odds is essential.

We have a handy odds converter on our site that will make this much easier for you but if you are out and about you can work it out in your head quite easily.

Converting Odds

The way we convert fractional to decimal is by dividing both sides of the fractional odds and then adding 1. For example:

5/1 (five to one) would give us decimal odds of 6.0

(5 divided by 1 = 5) + 1 = 6.0

10/1 (ten to one) would give us decimal odds of 11.0

(10 divided by 1 = 10) + 1 = 11.0

This works for all fractional odds whether it be odds on or odds against.

4/5 (four to five) would give us decimal odds odds of 1.8

(four divided by five = 0.8) + 1 = 1.8

Once we have the decimal odds we can work out our total return by multiplying the decimal odds by our stake:

So 4/5 became 1.8

1.8 x £10 = £18 return (our £10 stake and £8 profit)

Nearly all online bookmakers will have an odds converter on their site so you can easily view all their odds as decimal instead of fractional. Sometimes they are hidden away in the settings but usually they are at the bottom of the page or in a sidebar.

Tricky Bet Odds Converter

Using the trickybet odds converter is as simple as filling in the odds you have, whether it be fractional or decimal and then clicking covert. At the bottom of the page it will show you all figures you need.