How Do You Convert Sports Odds to Sports Betting Lines?

How do you convert odds on sporting events to sports betting lines the way they appear in a sports book?

[Editor's Note: This explanation comes courtesy of our new sports betting book, 20/20 Sports Betting, by Logan Fields. It's in-house and on sale for $20.20 (25% off the $26.95 retail price) and shipping is included.]

In case you’re new to this and are wondering how to translate odds like 60-40 into a line of –150, here’s what you do.

Take the percentage chance of winning (60%) and divide it by the chance of losing (40%), which in this case is 1.5, or –150. Since you have a better-than-even chance of winning, the number will be a negative and you’ll have to wager $150 to win $100. If you want to wager on the underdog, which has a 40% chance of winning, you make the same calculation, but express the bet as a positive +150, as you should be rewarded for winning a bet that has only a 40% chance.

So a $100 wager would win $150 (plus the return of the original $100 you wagered).

Here are a couple more examples. An event that has a 75% chance of winning would be –300 (75 divided by 25), which makes sense, as you should have to pay $300 to win $100 if you have a 75% chance of winning. An 80% chance of winning would equal a line of –400 (80 divided by 20) and so on.

These are lines without juice, of course. If a team has a 75% chance of winning and the true accurate line should be –300, more likely you’ll see this team at –330 and the underdog at +270. So if you meet the two lines in the middle, you should get the true (no vig) line of –300.

Sports books don’t necessarily split it right down the middle. Books play games with lines to attract action on one side. Perhaps they have too many bets on the favorite and want to balance it a bit and reduce their exposure. For a line with a true value of –300, they could make the favorite –350 and the dog +290; this invites action on the underdog, as all other books in town or online have the dog +270 in the scenario above. Dog bettors will like this number, even though they’re still betting at a slight disadvantage (recall the true line is +300).

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Have a question that hasn't been answered? Email us with your suggestion.

Missed a Question of the Day?

Have a Question?

Tomorrow's Question

Has Clark County ever considered legalizing prostitution?

Comments

rokgpsman Nov-01-2020

Sports bet

Placing a bet on a game in the sports book is one of the better things to do while visiting a casino. Even a modest sized bet makes your interest in the game more exciting and no other bet in the casino sustains that excitement and interest for as long since sports events can take a few hours. I tell friends to not be afraid to give it a try, even a $5 or $10 bet is good fun for casual vacationers. Don't let the big board and all the strange betting terms keep you from the enjoyment. The ticket writers in the sports book are always helpful if you have a question. Sometimes when you make a sports bet they'll give you a free drink coupon or some other freebie, might have to ask. And you can show your players card when making your bet so that it gets entered as activity on your account. Sports betting is a lot of fun, even for a novice like me, and it's a nice break from the routine of playing the machines and at the tables.

Kevin Lewis Nov-01-2020

Prices

Does anyone know of a website that keeps track of the various prices casinos charge for bets, like nickel/dime/twenty cent lines for baseball? Feetball is more standardized, but it would still be nice to know what places offer nickel lines (like the Westgate on Thursdays) and if any charge more vig than the normal dime.

ksouth165 Nov-01-2020

Am I wrong?

I understand the explanation of how odds are converted to a line but the to say that in the first example the favorite has a 60% chance of winning and the dog a 40% of winning is nothing but, for lack of a better word, opinion, and the basis for the line that the player can bet into.

Nov-01-2020

Dog bettors?

Every bettor I've ever seen in a sports book has been a human being.  I didn't know that the sports books accept bets from dogs.  And how would the dog make the bet anyway?  Only Underdog and a few other fictional dogs can speak.  And no dog is tall enough to be seen by the ticket writer when the dog is at the counter.

Question of the Day - 01 November 2020

Comments