What are Sports Betting Calculators? The Most Important Formulas, Equations in Sports Betting

In this article, we’ll be discussing the most important sports betting calculators. As a Positive EV sports bettor, it is critical to understand how the various sports betting calculators work.

Parlay Calculator

A parlay calculator is fairly straightforward. This sports betting calculator takes the odds of each leg in a parlay and calculates the total odds on the parlay. An example of the parlay calculator in action is shown in the screenshot above. A three leg parlay where each leg is -110 odds will always come out to +595 odds.

Here’s an example three leg parlay on FanDuel sportsbook where pick has -110 odds. As seen, the parlay comes out to +595 odds (e.g. staking $100 to win $595 profit). As long as all three picks have -110 odds, the parlay will come out to +595 on any sportsbook.

Parlay betting strategy is all about finding a variety of legs to include in your parlay that are all Positive Expected Value.

Odds Converter Calculator

An odds converter calculator simply translates between the various formats of sports betting odds. For example, +110 in “American odds” is equal to 2.1 odds in Decimal format or 1.1 odds in Fractional. Some sportsbooks offer different odds formats, which is why this sports betting calculator is useful. An odds converter calculator helps you compare prices between bookmakers that have different odds formats.

An odds converter calculator also converts between odds and implied probability. Every odds has an associated implied probability.

No-Vig Odds Calculcator (e.g. “Fair Odds”)

A “No Vig” Odds Calculator is the most important calculator on OddsJam. This calculator removes the vig, or juice, from a sportsbook’s market to get an indication of the “fair odds” with the vig removed.

For example, in the screenshot above, you can see that FanDuel sportsbook is offering +120 moneyline odds on the Jaguars (against. the Colts). The Indianapolis Colts are the favored team, currently sitting at -142 moneyline odds on FanDuel.

We know that this sports betting market has a spread known as the vig, so the question is: “Well…what are the true or fair odds with the vig removed?”

An example of the no vig odds calculator is above. We can see that the true odds on the Jacksonville Jaguars with the vig removed is +129. The “no vig” betting odds on the Colts would be -129. This is a “fair” market with no juice baked into it.

The no vig odds calculator just removes the “spread” from a sportsbook’s market. According to the betting odds on FanDuel, the Jaguars have a “no vig” line of +129. In other words, +129 is the price that FanDuel believes is fair or accurate for the Jaguars moneyline odds. FanDuel adds in their juice and offers +120 odds (e.g. a worse price) on the Jaguars to sports bettors, which is exactly how sportsbooks make money. They juice their markets.

Understanding the fair markets with Oddsjam’s “No Vig” Odds Calculator can help you make more calculated decisions on your sports betting and stay ahead of the sportsbooks.

Expected Value Calculator

An expected value calculator takes the win probability of your bet, as well as the odds of your bet, and tells you the expected profit margin. For example, if you stake $100 on a bet at -110 odds, and you believe your wager is winning 55% of the time, then your “Expected Value” is $5. The formula for expected value is below.

Expected Value = (Win Probability) x (Profit if Win) – (Loss Probability) x (Stake)

Understanding expected value and betting accordingly is crucial to becoming a profitable sports bettor. Sportsbooks are counting on those who take whatever lines they see first or simply betting exclusively on one site.

Why would you bet on your favorite team’s moneyline at -140 on one book when another is offering that same pick at -110? Becoming a Positive EV sports bettor with OddsJam gives you the tools to seek out profitable lines.

Arbitrage Calculator (e.g. “Hedging Calculator”)

An arbitrage calculator, or “hedge calculator,” will tell you exactly how much to bet on a different sportsbook to hedge out of your current risk.

As an example, imagine you bet $500 on the Dallas Mavericks at +250 moneyline odds. We’ll say that the Mavs are playing the Milwaukee Bucks. The Mavericks go on a run and are leading the game by 8 points at halftime, and the Bucks/Mavericks are both now offered at -110 odds.

The arbitrage calculator will tell you how to “hedge” or “trade” out of your Mavericks bet if you want to lock in a risk-free profit. As seen in the screenshot below, if you have $500 on the Mavericks at +250 odds, then the arbitrage calculator tells you to stake $916.67 on the Bucks at -110 to guarantee yourself a risk-free profit of $333.33.

Vig Calculator

A vig calculator simply tells you how much juice the sportsbooks are charging. For example, if a sportsbook has both the over/under for a game at -115 odds, then the vig = 6.98%. This means that sportsbooks are charging a 6.98% tax on sports bettors.

Kelly Calculator

The Kelly Criterion is a common formula used by sports bettors to manage their bankroll. A Kelly calculator tells sports bettors exactly how much to wager on each bet. For example, if a sports bettor is placing a bet at +110 odds that is 49% to win, the Kelly Calculator tells the sports bettor to wager 2.64% of their bankroll on this play.