What are Soccer Odds

New to soccer betting? We’ve got you covered. Discover how odds work, how they’re calculated, and what the numbers really mean with Lucky Fish Sports Betting. Sign up today! Already have an account? Bet now!

Soccer odds represent an estimate of a team's chances of winning a match. If a team is more likely to win a game, the odds will be lower, while if they’re favourites to win, the odds will be higher than those of their opponents.

Here at Lucky Fish, when navigating our soccer betting page, you will see the odds next to the names of the teams. They are displayed in decimal or fractional form (more on this later), depending on your preference, on the right-hand side.

With online soccer betting becoming more popular in South Africa, it puts the world of international sports betting in the palm of your hand, with thousands of events and markets to punt on.

What do odds in sports betting mean?

Betting odds represent the mathematical expression of an outcome. In a soccer match, there are three possible outcomes: home win, away win or draw. However, there are hundreds of other soccer markets that relate to different outcomes, like first team to score or total corners. For now, we’ll focus on the three-way 90-minute result (home win, away win, draw). Weighing the odds in soccer betting is crucial.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of interpreting betting odds, you should familiarise yourself with the differences between fractional and decimal odds.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds are far easier to read than fractional odds. If you're a beginner, we suggest starting here. Decimal odds at Lucky Fish always represent how much you can win for every R1 you bet. For example, if you back Kaizer Chiefs to win against Orlando Pirates at odds of 3.0, you stand to win R3 for every R1 you bet.

Sometimes you'll notice that decimal odds can display as a value below 1.0. Anything below 1.0 is considered an odds-on favourite. For example, Manchester City might be priced at odds of 0.1 to beat Burnley. This means that for every R1 you bet on City, you stand to win 10 cents back.

Fractional Odds

Fractional odds are slightly more difficult to read or understand than decimal odds. They are represented by a fraction like 2/1, 7/2 or 1/5. The easiest way to interpret these is "how much I stand to win" / "how much I must bet".

So if you bet R10 at odds of 2/1, you stand to win R20. Remember, winning your bet will also return your stake. If you bet R10 at odds of 5/2, you stand to win R25 and you'll get your R10 stake back should the bet win. These odds can also appear the other way around: 5/10 or 1/5 — this simply means that the selection is an odds-on favourite. So, if you want to back Liverpool to beat Morecambe at 1/5, you'll get R1 back for every R5 that you bet.

Practical Example

Now let's put it all into practice. Let’s say Liverpool are playing at home against Manchester United in the Premier League.

The betting indicates the following:

• Liverpool are priced at 0.6 to win.
• The draw is priced at 2.9.
• Manchester United are priced at 4.0 to win.

If we were to interpret those odds as fractional, they’d look like this:

• Liverpool are priced at 6/10 to win.
• The draw is priced at 29/10.
• Manchester United are priced at 4/1 to win.

How are soccer odds calculated?

Though we automatically calculate and provide the final odds and potential profit, it is important to understand how odds work before you place a bet using your hard-earned money.

Several factors are considered before we can decide on the odds that are suitable for certain betting markets, including team form (based on recent results), goals scored and conceded, available players (injuries and suspensions), and the history of the two teams’ past meetings. Even adverse weather can play a role.

Odds constantly change as the match draws near due to various developments. This can be caused by an overwhelming majority of people betting on a single market, or by factors such as a coach being fired, an important player being unavailable for selection, or even the weather.

Common misconceptions about odds

It is important to remember that there are always risks when placing a bet. Whether the odds are low or high, a win is not guaranteed, and there is no sure-fire victory. We always encourage you to bet responsibly.

As a new punter, you might mistake “higher” odds indicating a greater probability of that team winning compared to their opponents with “lower” odds. In reality, the team with higher or bigger odds is viewed as less likely to win that match. It’s important to do some research on the teams before deciding who to put your money on.

For example, look at the fixture below, with betting shown in decimal format. Arsenal have the “lower” odds of 0.2, while West Ham are priced at the “higher” odds of 13.

• The Gunners are heavy favourites here. The odds indicate that for every R1 you stake on an Arsenal win, you will potentially get back 20 cents. So, a R10 bet will result in a R2 win (plus the return on your R10 stake).
• For every R1 you bet on West Ham, you could win back R13. So, a R10 bet on West Ham to win will result in a R130 win (plus your original stake is returned).
• The draw will return R5 for every R1 you bet. So, a R10 wager on the stalemate will win you R50 (along with the return of your stake).

A team with lower odds is not guaranteed to win. Nothing is guaranteed in a soccer match; upsets happen all the time. A newly promoted team like Burnley may have high odds when facing defending champions Liverpool, who are likely to have far lower odds, but on the day of the match, Burnley could end up winning 2–1.

For example, a team like Crystal Palace can end Liverpool’s seven-match unbeaten run, winning 2–1 in a match where the Reds were viewed as odds-on* favourites, having previously dispatched Premier League heavyweights including Arsenal, Newcastle United and Everton.

*refers to an outcome that the odds indicate is very likely (but not guaranteed)