Why is something 1/6 and something else 1/25? Why is something that was last week 1/5 is 1/15 this week? I’ve seen these “odds” change in the newspapers for horse racing, football, and other sports. I have never understood this. I watched some YouTube videos to try to make heads or tails from it but it’s left me in the same.
In: Mathematics
Don’t think of it as “what do the betting companies think the odds should be” think of it as “what odds do the betting companies need to set to get bets placed evenly”
In an over/under scenario betting companies pay out 10/11 meaning you bet 11 and they pay out 10 to a winner. Their sole goal is to get as much money bet on both sides and they win.
As an example. Total points in a basketball game set at 210, $2000 goes on the over. Betting company needs to get $2000 on the under so moves to 220. The figure adjusts to make the under more attractive. $3000 goes on the under and the line moves to 215. It is the betting patterns of the public that make the line.
For odds based gambling. A horse on even money gets $10000 bet on it, if it wins $10k gets paid out. They need the odds on the other horses to be attractive enough to get $11k bet on them then they win.
Moral of the story, its the public betting patterns that make the changes
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