Is it better to bet high or low?

If you want to make a big risk in anticipation of a big payout, high odds are the best for you. If you want to make a safe bet with little risk and don't mind a relatively low payout, you're looking for low odds.

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When something has high odds outside of a sportsbook, that means it’s likely to happen. The same goes for low odds – usually when something has low odds of occurring, which means it isn’t likely to happen. Those meanings are completely flipped when you’re talking about sports betting.

High vs. Low Odds – What Does It Mean?

When you’re talking about gambling, you have to think about high and low a little differently. For example: You’ll sometimes hear low odds called “short odds,” while high odds are sometimes called “long odds.” This is especially true among sports bettors, but particularly so among those from the UK or countries with a strong British colonial influence.

Confused yet?

I’ve taught people to remember it by thinking about the words as synonyms. It isn’t perfect, but low and short have similar meanings, as do high and long. If you then think of those words as describing your money stack, it’s easy to remember that short odds produce low amounts of money while high odds produce a long line of cash. Examples of High and Low Odds Sports Bets Let’s make up an NBA game on a sportsbook board, showing the point spread, money line, and game total: Cleveland +10

+440

O208.5 Brooklyn -10

-650

U208.5 Here’s a perfect example of a high odds and a low odds bet all in one place. A bet on the Cavaliers to pull off the away upset will give you +440 odds. That’s a long number, indicated by its distance from 0. That means a bet on the Cavs is a particularly high odds wager. The book doesn’t think it’s very likely that you’ll win your bet, so they’re offering you long odds to entice you to make it. A bet on the Nets to win at home is a short number, -650. You also determine a number’s relative shortness based on its distance from 0. Those low odds mean the book thinks the Nets will have no problem claiming the W, so they’re not going to pay you much if you bet on Brooklyn and they win. That’s the definition of low odds. What would it look like if the book was less sure of the game? This happens frequently in the NBA, particularly in the early season. An online sportsbook’s line on a game that’s less of a sure-thing might look like this: Washington +1

+105

O217 Charlotte -1

-120

U217 The book is only offering +105 on the underdog Wizards, which nobody would call long. Charlotte’s -120 is short, but only just so. You can tell from the numbers that the book doesn’t have a lot of confidence in their pick either way, and even the O/U number is an oddball. When you see an even number in a game total, it’s a sign that the book is trying to draw bets. When Would I Want to Have High Odds? Since high odds mean a large risk for a large reward, you’d want to have high odds when you had a great deal of certainty about your bet or when you get a particular thrill from this kind of betting. Imagine Orlando is visiting the Knicks. The book has them listed at +525. Why? The Magic are in the middle of a slump, playing on short rest, down one star to injury, and they’re playing away against a dominant Knicks team. Some bettors do it for the thrill, some for the payout. Still, others believe they have some insight, some nugget of player news, or a blip on a stat sheet, that gives them an edge against the book and the betting public. A successful $10 bet on the Magic to win outright would pay out $80, a long payout for a small investment. When Would I Want to Have Low Odds? Low odds mean low risk for a relatively low payout. You’d want low odds when you are less sure of your bet, when you’re protecting your bankroll, or if you just prefer to play in situations with less risk. Imagine our Magic-Knicks game from above. Taking the New York Knicks at home against a slumping Orlando Magic squad (at -800) would be the definition of a low odds situation. A $10 bet would pay out $1.25 in winnings, a clear sign that the book has a lot of confidence in the Knicks winning. Think of short odds as the even-money roulette bets of the sportsbook. A reliable, low-risk wager that allows bettors to stretch their bankrolls across more games or more months of a particular season. Which Is Better – High or Low Odds? There’s no single correct answer. They’re both good, used for different reasons, often by the same bettor throughout a single day’s wagers. Please Note: If you want to make a big risk in anticipation of a big payout, high odds are the best for you. If you want to make a safe bet with little risk and don’t mind a relatively low payout, you’re looking for low odds. High odds are good for big bankrolls, risk-takers, and sharp bettors who have some insight into a game beyond what the book offers. Low odds are good for your average Joe gambler, safer to your stack, a little less exciting but low-risk in exchange. That’s only true if your biggest consideration is risk. Also, consider that a high odds bet can still be placed with low stakes, limiting the potential losses from the longer odds. Conclusion Most sports bettors face both high odds and low odds situations as part of their sports betting strategy. Hopefully, the little mnemonic trick I taught you earlier in the post – remembering that high and long go together, as do short and low – will help you remember that in the world of sports betting, high odds mean a low likelihood, while low odds mean a high likelihood. In some cases, it’s appropriate to chase high odds; other times, the smart money is on low odds propositions. It comes down to each bettor’s strategy and personal taste. PLACE YOUR BETS NOW! There’s some confusion over the concept of high vs. low odds. In the world of betting, high odds mean something different than in the regular world.It’s confusing, but a little bit of exposure, and some experience placing real sports bets, will clarify the mix-up for you. This post is an attempt to clear the air a little on the concept of high and low betting odds.The high vs. low phenomenon in gambling is confusing to lots of people. Just Google “low vs. high odds,” and you’ll see countless forum posts and arguments in blog comment sections about it.To illustrate what high and low odds are, it helps to look at some other terminology used to describe the same phenomenon.Low odds are called short because the potential profit from them is a shorter stack of cash than with a higher odds proposition. High odds are considered long in contrast to the short payout for a low odds bet.You can also think of odds as “likelihood,” as in “This bet has a high likelihood of winning.” If a bet is highly likely to win, that means it has low (or short) odds. Bets that have a low likelihood of winning, consequently, have high (or long) odds since they pay off at a higher rate.Please don’t confuse odds with probability. These are two different concepts that the average person tends to confuse. It’s relevant to our discussion because we’re not usually talking about probability when it comes to sports betting. Odds are a combination of many different probabilities, so it’s a bit of a “square vs. rectangle” situation.

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