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How to read hockey betting lines in Europe and NHL?
You are reading the betting lines on an NHL wager at a North American sportsbook such as Ceasars Sport and you might see a moneyline where the Vancouver Canucks are +200 facing the Chicago Blackhawks at -230.
The moneyline is a straight win wager, with no odds given or taken. So if you play the Canucks at +200 and bet $100, you will bank a $200 profit on your wager if the Canucks win the game.
On the flip side, were you to desire a $100 return by wagering on the Blackhawks, the -230 odds mean that you’d be required to bet $230 to earn a $100 return on investment.
Now suppose you looked up the same game between the Blackhawks and Canucks at 888 Sport. Next to the two teams, you see entirely different numbers. The Canucks are listed at 1.86 and the Blackhawks are pegged at 1.67.
These digits are decimal odds, also commonly referred to as European odds, because they are generally the methods through which odds are presented at the European sportsbooks.
Decimal odds
Decimal odds, also the popular form of oddsmaking in Australia and New Zealand, take into account that the bettor must first lay down a stake in order to place a bet. The figure that is presented via decimal odds is the amount that would be returned on a winning wager.
The payout on decimal odds is equal to one plus the decimal amount. For example, to calculate the payout on the Canucks at 1.67 on a $100 wager, you’d simply multiply the stake by the odds. Thus, 100 x 1.67 works out to $167.
How to calculate the potential profit on a wager?
To calculate the potential profit on a wager, you follow this formula: stake x (odds-1). So again, on a $100 wager at 1.67, the formula would be: $100 x (1.67-1), which leaves you with a $67 profit on top of the return of your $100 stake.
In order to convert decimal odds to moneyline, or American odds, as they are also known, you take the decimal odds – say 2.00 – and subtract one. Then you multiply by 100. Thus, in this case, decimal odds of 2.00 are the equivalent moneyline odds of +100.
