How Do You Read Oscar Odds?

For those new to the gambling realm, you may be asking how Oscar odds are read as they are typically displayed using the American Odds system as opposed to fractions.

In reality, American odds tend to be easier to understand than fractions.  We’re guessing most of our readers were not fans of fractional math in High School, nor were we.

Let’s look at the 2014 Oscar odds being offered up by Bookmaker.eu.

The Best Supporting Actress category offers competitive odds for two of the nominees: Jennifer Lawrence in “American Hustle” and Lupita Nyong’o from “12 Years A Slave”.

Lawrence is listed with +150 odds, Nyong’o had odds of -175. 

The (+) indicates a payout of more than the amount that you risk.  In this case, if you were to bet $10, you would win $14 on Lawrence.  If you were to bet $100, yu would win $140. 

The (-) sign indicates the favorite and there is more of a risk.  In the case of Nyong’o, you would risk $17 to win $10.  If she wins, you get your $17 bet plus $10 so essentially, the $10 is thought of as a profit.

When it comes to the Oscars, a -170 number is actually pretty good compared to some of the categories where a nominee is considered a “lock” with odds like -800 where you would need to bet $80 to win $10.  Ouch!

To maximize one’s reward assuming Nyong’o is to win, you would bet $100 to win just shy of $60.  The risk vs. reward is higher when betting favorites but your odds of winning are much better. 

You can place all your bets online with the use of a credit card here.

- Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com