Odds are the lifeblood of sports betting, because they tell you 1) how likely the thing is and 2) what your payout will be if you do place the bet. The odds that a sportsbook offers you is directly related to the implied probability of that outcome happening. If you find a bet where the implied probability of an outcome is lower than the true probability, that's a bet you want to make.

Using this Calculator

There are eight total fields on this calculator, though you only need to fill out two, and the rest will auto-populate. 

• Bet amount (required): The size of your bet. We display it in dollars, though you can really consider it any unit of you'd like.
• Bet type: Single bet vs. parlay. If you change it to parlay, it will load a slightly different interface.

Now, you only need to fill out one of these four fields to populate the rest of the calculator. If you enter the American odds, the rest of the odds types will be filled out, plus the payouts.

• American odds: American odds are centered around $100. A $100 bet at +120 pays $120. A $140 bet at -140 pays $100. You can scale the increments up and down, but the math will work the same.
• Decimal odds: Decimal odds represent the total return of your bet, including what you risked, for every dollar wagered. So 2.2 is +120 in American odds, because you return your $1 and profit $1.2 for every dollar risked. Anything less than 2.0 is what we'd consider 
• Fractional odds: Just multiply your bet amount by the fraction to get your payout. So a $10 bet at 9/1 odds will win you $90. A $10 bet at 5/7 odds (-140 in American) will pay you $7.14.
• If you have the probability of something and want to get the odds, you can enter it that way. Say you want to know the American odds of a 50/50 coin toss — enter 50% in the impied probability box, and you'll get +100.

Lastly, you'll get the "to win" amount and the total payout at the bottom. These will auto-populate, and you can't edit them. This is the money you stand to win from the bet you entered.

• To win: This represents your profit from this bet using the amount you bet, and the odds you entered. So if you put in $10 at +110 odds, your "to win" amount would be $11.
• Total payout: This is the "to win" amount, plus whatever you risked. So a $10 bet at +110 would pay $11, plus your $10 back, for a "Total Payout" of $21.

True Odds vs. Implied Odds

When you decide to bet on something, it is important to have a grasp on a few things. These are listed below:

• What are implied odds?
• What are true odds?

Implied odds and true odds are important in determining if you are making a bet that has good value. You can use our odds calculator above to calculate the implied odds of a given bet as long as you know the odds of the bet. Implied odds are the conversion of a sportsbooks offered odds into an implied win probability. A spread bet in football is normally offered at -110 on both sides of the bet. This gives both outcomes a win probability of 52.38%. The implied probability of this spread bet winning would be 52.38%

True odds are the odds that a bettor gives a certain outcome to happen. Let's use the above bet of -110 for both outcomes on a NFL spread bet. We know that both outcomes have an implied probability of 52.38%. If that same outcome has a true probability of 52.38% or higher, then you would want to take that bet. This seems easy, but how do you find true odds? Essentially, true odds are subjective. There is no concrete, “true probability” for an outcome. However, one person can calculate true probability by using predictive models. This is where handicapping comes into play. True probability is what you think a certain bet’s win probability is after you handicap the game/situation. If true probability > implied probability, that is a good bet to take.

Example Game: Carolina Panthers (+320) vs. San Francisco 49ers (-500)

went live on March 11, 2024! Panthers fans, you can use our odds calculator to calculate the implied odds of Carolina winning this matchup against the 49ers. In this scenario, the implied probability that the book is giving for the Carolina Panthers to win is 23.81%. The odds for the San Francisco 49ers to win this matchup is 83.33%, based on the implied odds. These two percentages add up to be more than 100%, creating the book's edge, or vigorish.

If you are able to calculate true probability, you can use those odds to make an informed decision on who to bet on. If you have a predictive model and it gives the Panthers a win probability of 30%, then betting on the Panthers would be a good bet. It is important to note that if your true probability is higher than the implied probability that a sportsbook is giving you, then that is a valuable bet.

Creating an accurate predictive model can take years to perfect. This is not something that everyone can take advantage of, but if you are looking for a place to start you can check out the resources we have on our betting education page. Be sure to shop around at different books and get the best odds possible. The difference of (-115) and (-110) can save you a lot of money over the course of your sports betting career.

When it comes to NFL betting, we have plenty of resources available to you: NFL Odds, NFL Futures, NFL Picks, and NFL ATS Standings. 

If you're more into NFL Props, we also have NFL Props Picks and Touchdown Props!

Here are some of the most popular sportsbooks that offer consistently competitive odds. Check out our reviews here:

Speaking of bet365, be on the lookout for a bet365 Illinois Bonus Code!

You can learn more about the Best NFL Betting Apps and Best NFL Betting Promos by checking out our reviews!

For those wondering which North Carolina betting apps are legal in the state, be sure to follow the link and check it out!

Be sure to visit our best sportsbooks hub for information on all of the books our team has reviewed! If you're not in a legal sports betting state, or one with only in-person betting, you can take advantage of social sportsbook or DFS bonuses like the Fliff Promo Code, Underdog Promo Code, Sleeper Promo Code, and PrizePicks Promo Code to get a similar experience.

Canada Sports Betting

Here are some of the most popular Canada sportsbooks to choose from if you are betting north of the border: