Here is another example of how simple it is to read decimal odds: They are popular because they are so easy to understand, displaying the total return from a 1 unit stake.Īs the unit stake is always included, decimal odds always have a value greater than 1. In fact, decimal odds are commonly used all over Europe. Many websites use the decimal format as standard when displaying the prices of sporting events. In decimal odds, odds-on selections will be expressed as values between 1.0 and 2.0 So, if a punter placed a stake of £1 on this bet and it was successful, they would receive £1.98 back, achieving a profit of 98p. If we showed the same odds in decimal format, they would look like this: In the above example, where the bookmaker offers odds of 49/50 on a coin toss, the odds are shown as a fraction. What are decimal odds?ĭecimal odds are a way of displaying odds in an easy to understand way.
