How To Read Soccer Odds

  1. How To Read And Understand Soccer Odds
  2. How To Read Soccer Odds
  3. How To Read Soccer 1x2 Odds
  4. How To Read Soccer Decimal Odds
  5. How To Read Football Odds Ratio

The fractional odds are one of the easiest betting odds to read. You will recognize them by a slash or a dash connecting the two numbers. The first number says how much you will win, the second number – the stake. Let’s look at some soccer odds to explain the way it works.

  1. Welcome to the Sports Betting Odds section of The Sports Geek. If you are new to sports betting and don’t understand how to read betting odds (+150, -110, +2200, etc) we will lay it all out for you and help you learn how the betting odds work.
  2. How to Read Football Betting Odds (1X2) 1X2 betting is predicting which side will win or if an event will end in a draw. 1 = Team 1 X = Draw 2 = Team 2.
  • Where to Bet:

How to read Soccer Las Vegas Odds

Similar to MLB and the NHL betting odds, Soccer or what many bettors outside the United States call 'futbol' is a sport that focuses on money line wagers but there is a bit of a twist. You'll certainly be rooting for the favorite or the underdog to capture the win but what happens when a game ends in a tie?

Well, that is called a draw in soccer and it happens often. Since many bettors and sportsbooks would like to see a result or betting outcome, they've created an additional soccer betting market on the draw and many in the industry refer to a 3-Way Betting Line or 3-Way Betting Odds.

So what is it?

3 Way Odds

For each matchup, bettors have three options.

Team A
Team B
Draw

If you wager on Team A or Team B then those teams must win the game, score more goals than the other team. If Team A and Team B have the equal amount of goals after 90 minutes of regulation then the game ends in a Draw or a tie. In that outcome, wagers on the two teams would be considered losers and the Draw bet would be the winner.

2 Way Odds

Team A
Team B

If you're playing the two way betting market, then you're eliminating the Draw wager from the equation. Similar to the three way wager, bettors taking Team A or Team B need their team to win to cash a ticket at a sportsbook. If the game ends in a draw, then bets on those teams will be refunded. While this may appear to be the smarter wager, the payouts on the favorites are higher and lower on the underdogs since the Draw market has been removed.

The Money Line Odds will show the favorite listed with a (-), and the underdogs will be indicated by a (+) symbol. Most betting sites online, as well as all betting apps, will do the math for you. But it’s a rather simple equation based upon $100 wager.

Chelsea -150(Bet $100 to win $83)
Real Madrid +250 (Bet $100 to win $250)
Draw +350 (Bet $100 to win $350)

In the above example, Chelsea is listed as the favorite (-), while Real Madrid has been designated as the underdog. If someone making a wager selecting the Blues, favored to win, they would return only $66 on a $100 wager at minus-150. Some books will also offer fractional odds, and in this particular instance Chelsea would be a 2/3 favorite. The decimal format is sometimes listed, especially popular overseas, and the Blues would be listed at 1.67 on the big board.

Since the English Premier League club is listed as the favorite in this example, Real Madrid is considered the underdog and bettors receive a larger return on their initial stake. In the example above, a $100 winning wager on 'Los Blancos' would return $350 total, which includes a $250 win and your original $100 stake. The fractional odds for this example would be 5/2, with Madrid listed at 3.5 with the decimal conversion.

How to read Soccer Total (Over/Under) Odds

Over-Under or Totals Odds are Soccer Odds that are based on the number of goals scored in a soccer match. Bettors can wager on the two teams to go ‘over’ or ‘under’ the odds posted. The total (over/under) outcome is the combined scored of both teams added together. It's a very popular wager for bettors that are undecided on the teams in a matchup. Over bettors will be cheering for great offense and action while Under bettors will be looking for teams to 'park the bus' and slow the game down.

Soccer Las Vegas Open Line

One of the best features on the Soccer Vegas Odds is the Open Line. This numbers consists of the first betting line received from one of our Las Vegas or Global Sportsbooks. The opening line varies depending on the sportsbook but it provides a clear-cut rating that the oddsmakers use. If you’re betting on Soccer or any other sport, it’s a great idea to view the open line first.

Popular Soccer Leagues to Bet

  • Premier League (England)
  • La Liga (Spain)
  • Bundesliga (Germany)
  • Serie A (Italy)
  • Ligue 1 (France)
  • MLS (United States)

Popular Soccer Events and Tournaments to Bet

  • FIFA World Cup
  • UEFA Champions League
  • UEFA European Championship (Euro)

VI Consensus Soccer Las Vegas Line

How To Read And Understand Soccer Odds

The VegasInsider.com Consensus Soccer Vegas Line is just as important as the Open Line and also a key resource on odds platform. The Consensus column could be called a “Median Line” since it shows the most consistent number provided by the sportsbooks on VegasInsider.com. The consensus line will be the same as the open line but once the wagers start coming in, this number is often different than the openers. It's a quick snap-shot of the top books and should be the first line you view before shopping the markets.

Betting on Soccer Odds

Where can I bet on Soccer?

How to read football odds sportsbook

There are several legal sportsbook options in the United States. Visit our sportsbook directory to find online sportsbooks where you can bet on Soccer matches.

Who are the experts picking to win?

Our experts offer picks on all the big soccer matches, including Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and more. Check out our preview content or pick packages for the most up to date Soccer predictions.

What type of bets can I make on Soccer matches?

Betting the money line, or who will win straight up, is the most popular soccer bet. Sportsbooks also offer spread bets, first half lines, and other betting angles.

Can you place parlay bets on Soccer matches?

Most sportsbooks will allow you to parlay your soccer bets, meaning you can bet on multiple games and win a bigger payout if they all win. Check out our parlay calculator to see what your payout will be.

Where can I learn how to bet on soccer?

To learn more about betting on soccer, check out our soccer betting tutorial.

How To Read Soccer Odds


1X2 betting is predicting which side will win or if an event will end in a draw.

1 = Team 1
X = Draw
2 = Team 2

In contrast to basketball or tennis, it is quite common for a football match to end in a draw. This is so common that the prices for football events are usually shown as “1X2”, and not as a 2 outcome market as in other sports.

“1X2” breaks down as follows:

X – This market represents the draw in an event. The draw can be any score, as long as both sides are equal; the score can range from 0-0 to a high scoring tie such as 6-6

How To Read Soccer 1x2 Odds

1 – This market is Team 1, traditionally the home team. Make sure you double check! Inconveniently, in North America the road team is listed first.

2- This market is Team 2, traditionally the road team. Again, North America does things backwards and puts the road team first.

Commonly you will see odds for football events listed on a sportsbook like this:

How To Read Soccer Decimal Odds

In the example, Chelsea is “1” and Man City is “2”, choosing a draw as the outcome would have you pick “X”. The markets are not directly aligned with the team names, so you need to remember the relationship between the 1X2 prices and the teams in the event. Though betting on the draw may not be as exciting as backing your favourite team, it can be a very profitable approach to wagering on football matches!

How To Read Football Odds Ratio

To convert any odds formats check out Pinnacle’s odds converter.

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