Plus and Minus in betting?- All you need to know (Beginners Guide)

Plus (+) and minus (-) odds explained

While Plus and Minus odds are typically used at American betting sites, this odds format can be offered at online bookmakers all over the world. Using this odds format can make it easier to signify the favourites, denoted by the Minus sign, and the outsiders or underdogs, symbolised by the Plus sign.

You’re most likely to have come across American odds with Moneyline, or Match Winner, bets. However, Plus and Minus odds can be used for any market, such as Over/Under, Correct Score and Spread betting markets.

Plus and Minus odds might seem a little confusing if you’re not familiar with the format. However, they do provide an often much easier way to differentiate between the favourite and the underdog than other formats do.

The plus sign (+)

Plus odds are attractive to bettors as placing wagers on the underdog can return higher amounts than a Minus bet. However, these bets are much riskier and less likely to prove successful.

The minus sign (–)

Minus odds are attractive to bettors as placing a wager on the favourite is more likely to be successful. However, potential returns are generally much lower.

How are payouts with plus and minus odds calculate

The calculations we can use to work out our potential returns are reasonably simple to conduct. We’ll use our examples from the section above to explain these calculations as simply as possible.

For Plus odds, we use the following calculation:

So, using our example from above, we use the calculation 250/100 x stake = $250.

For Minus odds, the calculation is reversed. Instead of dividing the odds by 100, we divide 100 by the odds then times this by our stake. It looks something like this:

From our Minus example above, our calculation would be 100/250 x 250 = $100

Real Examples to help you understand:

Let’s now look at some real life examples to explain what plus and minus means in betting. For this research, we’ve chosen two of the most popular sports worldwide - football and basketball.

Example 1: Betting on the favourite in a Football Game

The game we’re going to examine is the UEFA Super Cup fixture between France’s Paris Saint Germain and England’s Tottenham Hotspur. The American odds are displayed in the table below.

As the minus sign suggests, PSG are clear favourites to win the game as far as the bookmaker is concerned. The + sign in front of the odds for the Tottenham win indicate they’re the outsider, with the draw also unfavoured by the bookie.

So, in terms of potential winnings, what do the odds mean? As we touched upon earlier, odds next to the minus sign show how much you would need to stake in order to win $100. In our example, you’d need to stake $244 to win $100, for a total of $344 (winnings plus your initial stake).

The calculation we can use to quickly work out our potential returns is 100/Odds X Stake = Profit. So, our $100 wager on Paris Saint Germain to win would yield a return of $344, which includes our initial stake.

We can also look at the implied probability our American odds indicate. To do this, we can use the following calculation:

To work out the implied probability of the Paris Saint Germain win, we can specifically use the following calculation. To do this, we remove the minus sign from in front of the odds. It looks something like this:

Our minus odds show the implied probability of the PSG victory at 70.93%.

The odds on Tottenham to win are +585. This is the amount you’d win if you staked $100, for a total return of $685 (winnings plus your initial stake).

As the draw also has + odds, we can use the same calculation. So, $100 on odds of +405 gives us a return of $505 (winnings plus our initial stake).

Example 2: Betting on the underdog in a Basketball Game

Let’s now look at a basketball game. For this example, we’re going to use the WNBA game between Golden State Valkyries and Chicago Sky. The odds on this fixture are as follows.

We’ll concentrate on the underdogs for this example, who in this case are Chicago Sky. The odds show how much you’d win if you staked $100. So, a successful bet on Chicago Sky would return $300 ($200 winnings plus your $100 initial stake).

For Plus odds, the calculation required is slightly different to that we used to calculate our potential return for our PSG bet above. This time, we reverse the calculation and work out Odds/100 x Stake = Profit. Therefore, our calculation is 200/100 x 100 = $200. Plus, we’d receive our $100 stake back for a total return of $300.

The calculation to work out the implied probability from our ‘plus’ American odds also differs from our earlier example. This time, we use the following calculation:

So the implied probability for Chicago Sky to win is as follows:

This calculation indicates that the bookmaker believes Chicago Sky has a 33.33% chance of winning the game.

Is it better to bet on +ve or -ve odds?

Above, we worked out the implied probability of Chicago Sky winning their fixture against Golden State Valkyries. Our calculation gave us the figure of 33.33%, which means the bookmaker thinks Chicago Sky have a 33.33% chance of winning the game. If, after conducting our betting research, we believe they’ve got a greater chance of winning, this might be a bet to consider.

Similarly, from our first example, the implied probability we calculated from our minus odds on Paris Saint Germain to win was 70.93%. If we believe, from our research, that PSG are less likely to win than the implied probability suggests, we might decide to bet against the side to be victorious.

Essentially, -ve odds are more likely to win, but our returns will usually be low. For +ve odds, our returns will usually be high, but we’re less likely to be successful.

Remember to always gamble responsibly

The most important aspect of any form of gambling is that you do so responsibly. There are a few points to remember before you start placing bets on plus or minus odds.

Furthermore, it’s a good idea to keep detailed records of all of your deposits, stakes, bet outcomes and withdrawals. This will help you keep track of where your bets have been successful, where your bets have lost, along with how much your total spend has been. Keeping these records can help you keep a tighter rein on your bankroll.

Whichever site you sign up to, you’ll find a Responsible Gambling section. In these sections, you’ll find a range of tools and advice designed to help you stay in control of your betting. Included in these sections, you’re likely to find a variety of limits you can set, including Deposit, Loss, Time and Bet limits. You’ll also find Time Out or Cooling Off periods, which allows you to remove access to your betting account for a short amount of time.

Each operator also provides a Self-Exclusion feature, which allows you to block access to your account for a longer period of time, typically from between 6 months and 5 years.

We highly recommend you visit the Responsible Gambling section of your bookmaker of choice and utilise the tools and advice available.

Conclusion

While some might insist that Plus and Minus might not be the easiest way to read odds, they’re popular in many countries across the globe for a reason. If you’re planning to use the American odds format, it’s imperative to learn how to read these odds and what they represent.

Whichever odds format you choose, make sure you understand how they represent the probability of an outcome easily before you place your bets.