With esports betting your odds can come in three formats – fractional, decimal, American. Here, we’re going to tell you all about these formats, but we’re also going to show you how to convert American odds to decimal and how to convert decimal odds to American.
You should also check out our excellent guides covering esports odds comparison, how esports betting odds are calculated, and how to understand betting odds.
What Are The Odds Formats?
In esports, you’ll see odds represented as fractional odds (e.g. 2/1), decimal odds (where 2/1 is 3.00), and American odds (again 2/1 is +200). You’ll also see American odds with negative values (e.g. -200, which is 1/2 fractional, 1.50 decimal.) Fractional odds are more traditionally British and Irish, whereas decimal odds are used through Europe and the world, whereas American odds are used (obviously) more on American sites.
Before we tell you how to convert American odds to decimal, a quick rundown of what each odds format means.
Fractional Odds
Fractional odds don’t take account of your stake, so £2 bet, 3/1 odds gives you a return of £8 (£2 stake + £6 winnings).
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds take into account both stake and winnings. That same £2 3/1 bet is 4.00 in decimal odds, with your £2 bet at 4.00 odds returning £8 (£2 stake + £6 winnings).
American Odds
American odds are either negative or positive (e.g. -100, +200), with minus American odds always shows you the favourite, telling you the bet needed to win $100, and positive American odds for the underdog, giving you potential return on a $100 bet. And like fractional odds, American odds only calculate winnings; you also get your stake back on top.
For example, a CS:GO matchup may have Astralis as -250 favourites and Cloud9 as +200 underdogs.
For a $10 bet on the favourite, Astralis, at -250, winnings are calculated as 100 divided by odds (without the minus) multiplied by your stake. That’s 100/250*$10, or 0.4*$10 =$4.00 winnings.
For a $10 bet on the underdog, Cloud9, at +200, winnings are odds divided by 100, then multiplied by your stake. That’s (200/100)*$10 =$20 winnings.
How To Convert American Odds To Decimal Odds & Back
Now when you want to know how to convert American odds to decimal and how to convert decimal odds to American, things get slightly trickier! If you want to take a shortcut, don’t worry, there are plenty of odds converters available online!
American ➔ Decimal.
For how to convert American odds to decimal, it depends if it’s positive or negative American odds.
Positive odds, it’s: 1+( odds divided by 100)
- To convert +200 to decimal, it’s 1+(200/100) =3.00.
Negative odds, it’s: 1-(100 divided by negative odds)
- To convert -200 to decimal, it’s 1‑(100/-200), which is 1-(-1/2), or 1.00+0.50 =1.50 decimal odds.
Decimal ➔ American
Here, it depends whether you want to work out the odds in positive or negative American odds.
Positive American odds, it’s: (decimal -1)*100
- E.g.: 3.00 converts as (3.00-)*100 = +200.
Negative American odds, it’s: -100/(decimal -1)
- E.g.: 1.20 converts as ‑100/(1.20-1), or ‑100/0.2 = -500.
Conclusion
Knowing how to convert American odds to decimal and fractional odds is really useful when betting on US facing sites. Being able to convert odds is a complicated thing though – you could learn it for sure, but it’s enough to know roughly what a +200 and -200 American odds bet is roughly in decimal and fractional and use an online odds converter for the tricky stuff!
