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Odds
Also known as the price. The chance a Bookmaker offers for a selection to win. May be shown as:
a ratio expressed as a fraction (as in Oddschecker) e.g. 4/1 (or 4-1) usually called traditional odds. In this example, for a winning £1 bet you would get back £5 (£4 winnings, plus your £1 stake).
a ratio expressed as decimal number e.g. 5.0, usually called decimal odds. In this example, for a winning £1 bet you would get back £5 (£4 winnings plus your £1 stake). The return is calculated by multiplying the odds by the stake. 5.0 in this notation is the same as 4/1 in the fractional form. Similarly 1.62 is 8/13 (or 13/8 on).
Odds Against
Describes the odds when the amount you receive for a winning bet, not including your returned stake, is more than the amount you staked.
Odds Compiler
See odds layer
Odds Layer
The person working for a Bookmaker who sets the odds. The odds layer is usually an expert on one or two sports and concentrates entirely on setting the odds for those sports.
Odds-On
Describes the odds when the amount you receive for a winning bet, not including your returned stake, is less than the amount you stake. For example you stake £1 at 8/13 (13/8 on) and receive £1.62, made up of your £1 stake and 62p winnings.
Off The Board
Term used to signify that the Bookmaker is not accepting bets on a particular event.
Off-Course
Away from the racecourse or event. This covers Bookmakers operating retail outlets, telephone and Internet services.
Off-Shore
Bookmakers who are based outside the UK. There are three types of off-shore Bookmakers - firstly, those that are the off-shore site run by an existing British Bookmaker; secondly, those that are existing off-course Bookmakers in another country, often Ireland; and the third type are Internet and/or telephone Bookmakers set up specifically to conduct off-shore business.
On-Course
At the racecourse or event.
Outsider
A participant in an event considered unlikely to win, which will have large odds to reflect this.
Over/Under
A type of bet in which the punter bets on whether the total combined points, runs, goals, etc of both teams in the game will be more or less than a number chosen by the Bookmaker.
Over-round and Over-broke
Adding up the probabilities as shown by the odds of all the participants in an event for a particular Bookmaker gives a percentage. While mathematically the total probabilities of all participants in an event must be 100% (one participant - and only one - can win) Bookmaker?s total percentages are set to add up to over 100% because it?s the amount over 100% that represents the Bookmaker?s profit. A book with a total percentage over 100 is called over-round. A book that adds up to less than 100% is called over-broke which means that a punter could back all the participants and know that the total of their lost stakes will be less than their winnings if they have staked accordingly (a good, if rare, thing).
