How to read football odds

The main market: 1X2

Almost every football match opens with three prices: 1 for the home side to win, X for a draw and 2 for the away side to win. The home side is the one named first. The bet is settled on 90 minutes plus stoppage time; extra time and penalties are not counted unless the bookmaker says so.

Add the three implied chances and you get 104.8 %, not 100 %. The extra 4.8 % is the bookmaker's margin, built into every price. The shorter the price, the likelier the result: here the home side is the favourite.

Over/under goals

Over/under is a bet on how many goals both teams score in total. The line is usually a half goal, so the bet cannot be tied: over 2.5 wins if there are three goals or more, and under 2.5 wins on two or fewer. Common lines run from 0.5 to 4.5.

• Over 1.5: two goals or more.
• Over 2.5: three goals or more.
• Under 3.5: three goals or fewer.

Over 2.5 goals tips lists the matches where we make three or more goals likeliest today.

Both teams to score (BTTS)

Yes wins if each side scores at least once, whatever the final score: 1-1, 2-1 and 3-2 all count, while 1-0 and 0-0 do not. No wins if at least one side fails to score. BTTS tips lists the matches where we make it likeliest today.

Double chance

A double chance covers two of the three results in one bet. 1X is home win or draw, X2 is draw or away win, and 12 is a home or an away win, which loses only on a draw. Covering two results makes the bet likelier to win and the price shorter. See double chance tips.

Draw no bet

Draw no bet is a bet on one side to win, with your stake returned if the match is drawn. It loses only if your side loses. It pays less than the same side to win outright, because a draw no longer costs you. See draw no bet tips.

Handicaps

A handicap gives one side a head start in goals to even out a mismatch. With a half-goal line the bet cannot be tied: home -1.5 wins only if the home side wins by two goals or more, and away +1.5 wins if the away side wins, draws or loses by a single goal. Whole-goal and quarter lines can return all or part of your stake, and the settlement rules are the bookmaker's, so read them before you bet.

From a price to a chance

In any of these markets the chance a price implies is 1 divided by the decimal price. A price of 1.80 implies 55.6 % and a price of 2.20 implies 45.5 %. To compare a price with a real chance you must first take the margin out; implied probability and fair price shows how.

How our football pages show it

For every match, Dawn Odds shows how likely we make each result and our pick for the game. Beside our chance we give the fair price, one over the chance, which is the price at which a bet would break even over time. A tip is a likely bet whose best price is higher than that. Today's matches are on football tips today, and the same prices in the other formats are in betting odds explained.