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Finding the best boxing odds is of paramount importance to anyone who bets on the noble art. The problem is that there are a huge amount of operators out there and boxing betting odds vary considerably.
Luckily, we are here to help with our boxing odds comparison guide. In this article, we will explain the importance of discovering the best boxing odds and fill you in on all of the factors you need to consider when betting on the sport. Itโs all designed to help you find the best boxing odds today.
First things first, why is it so important to discover the best boxing odds? And how different can boxing odds really be? Surely most betting sites offer pretty much the same markets and odds?
Surprisingly, you will find some big variations in the boxing betting odds offered by different sports betting operators. For instance, a fighter priced at evens on one site could be as high as 6-4 elsewhere. Finding the best boxing odds will increase your potential profits by 50% in that case. Now consider longer odds markets such as โround bettingโ or โmethod of victoryโ and you will find even bigger variations in boxing betting odds.
But with so many operators and markets out there, how can you find the best boxing odds? The answer comes in the form of a boxing odds comparison tool.ย These tools will help you find the best boxing odds, save you time and hassle, as well as hopefully boosting your profit line.
When bookmakers calculate odds, they have to take into account the likelihood of an event happening, plus their exposure at betting exchanges and their profit margin. When putting together boxing betting odds, bookmakers also assess important factors such as form, historical records, the venue, injuries and any previous meetings between the fighters. All of which could impact the outcome of the bout.
The good news for gamblers is that bookies want you to bet with them, so they will try to make their odds favorable and competitive.
One way of doing this is in the form of odds boosts. This is when bookmakers offer special prices on certain markets – this is often for a limited time and usually focuses on big fights. Sometimes odds boosts are for all customers, and sometimes they are exclusively for new customers as a way of enticing them to join.
When you visit a betting site, you will see boxing betting odds displayed in one of three ways – American, decimal, or fractional. Typically, UK-based bookmakers display their odds fractionally, US sites opt for the American system, whilst most other countries have adopted the decimal method. Ultimately, the odds format you use does not impact upon the attractiveness of the odds, so your choice of format really boils down to personal preference. Which format do you find easiest to understand?
In this next section we will briefly explain how these three formats work so you can make an informed decision on which one to use.
In many ways decimal odds are the easiest format to understand. Decimal odds show the amount of money you would win for every $1 staked. Please note that this figure includes your stake, so it reflects your total payout rather than your profit.
This means that working out your potential payout when using decimal odds can be done simply by multiplying your stake with the decimal odds offered.
For example, Errol Spence is priced at 3.0 to win a bout and you want to bet $10 on him. This means that your payout if he wins will be 3.0 (the odds) x $10 (your stake) = $30.
Decimal odds are not always whole numbers. Quite often, especially with short odds markets, the price can be a tenth or even a hundredth of a point. But because of the simple equation, it is still straightforward to work out your potential winnings.
You will find decimal odds the standard format in most European countries, plus in Australia, New Zealand, and most parts of Canada.
Fractional odds are traditionally used by bookmakers in the United Kingdom. This format involves the odds being displayed using two numbers separated by a slash. These two numbers show the ratio of your potential winnings to your stake.
For example, if a fighter is listed as 3/1 to win a fight, this means that you would win $3 for every $1 you stake if the bet wins.
To complicate matters slightly, fractional odds are often displayed using numbers other than 1 on the right hand side of the equation. For instance, 6/4 is commonly used. This means that for every $4 you stake you would win $6. At first this does make it harder to assess larger betting markets as the odds list will not have a common denominator, but you will quickly pick up which odds are larger than others once you have placed a few bets.
As well as being favored in the United Kingdom, fractional odds are often used by major bookmakers internally. They are the oldest and most traditional method for displaying odds.
American odds are displayed in two different ways. Firstly, the odds on the favorite in a market are displayed with a minus sign that tells you how much you would have to stake in order to win $100.
Any other option in a market (in other words the non-favorites) is displayed by a figure accompanied by a positive symbol. This figure indicates the amount you would win if you staked $100.
In both cases, the figure does not include the original stake, which you would receive back if the bet wins.
In the case of a boxing bout, typically there will be a favorite and an underdog. For example, if Tyson Fury is fighting Anthony Joshua, then the odds could be displayed like this:
Tyson Furyย -500
Anthony Joshua +400
This means that the bookies are strongly favoring Fury to win, so if you were to bet $100 on him to win you would make a profit of $20 plus your original stake. Whereas if you put $100 on Joshua to win, your winnings would be $400 plus your original stake.
Expected value is an extremely important concept for gamblers. It is an effective way of assessing the appeal of betting odds and identifying the best value. In simple terms it is a measure of what you can expect to win or lose per bet, if you placed a bet at the same odds multiple times. In other words:
(The amount you could win per bet x the probability of the bet winning)ย –ย (The amount you would lose if the bet does not win x the probability of the bet losing)
This equation is easy to work out if you are talking about events with fixed probabilities like betting on a dice roll or a coin toss, but obviously boxing betting odds are somewhat less rigid than that.
The task that gamblers have is to find markets with a positive expected value. Clearly this is a highly subjective principle, but if you study form and do your research you can find positive expected value when making a boxing odds comparison.
Alternatively, another way to spot positive expected value is to use a boxing odds comparison tool. This will show you the differences in odds between bookmakers and help you identify preferential markets and odds with high expected values.
Many gamblers always stick to the same bookmaker. After all, itโs less hassle than opening and running multiple accounts. Everything is in one place and it is easy to keep track of your bets. However, we would highly recommend that you do not adopt this approach and instead have accounts at multiple bookmakers. Here are two key reasons why:
A key problem with only having one betting account is that the best boxing odds are not always in the same place. Just because Bookmaker A has the best price for this weekโs big fight, it does not mean that they will have the best price for any other bout.
Indeed, over time you will find that using the best boxing odds requires you to have accounts at a large number of bookmakers. It sounds like a lot of hard work, but we can guarantee that if you do that and use a boxing odds comparison tool, you will see an upturn in your profits.
Remember when we talked about odds boosts? Well, these are often offered for big fights such as world title bouts. And there is no real pattern as to which site(s) will offer them.
If you are signed up with just one or two betting sites, then you are likely to miss out on the majority of odds boosts. But the more sites you are signed up to, the more likely you are to be eligible for an odds boost that greatly increases your potential winnings.
Likewise, betting sites will occasionally offer bespoke promotions relating to specific elements of big fights – for example, โdouble your winnings if Jeff Horn gets knocked down but still winsโ or โrefund on all markets if the fight ends in round oneโ. Again, there is no real pattern to where and when you will find these promotions, so it pays to join up to as many sites as possible.
By now, it should go without saying that boxing odds comparisons are hugely important and in the vast majority of cases you should bet with the site that offers the best boxing odds. That being said, there are a couple of circumstances in which it might pay to use a different site:
One advantage of using the same bookmaker repeatedly is that many of them run loyalty programs. These programs reward you in the form of free bets, odds boost, prize draw entries and other prizes. If you are approaching the threshold to receive a reward at a certain site, you need to factor in the potential benefit of using that site even if it is not offering the best boxing odds for a certain fight.
A bet club is a specific type of rewards program that typically gives you a free bet if you place a specified number of bets within a certain time period. For example, if you place five bets of $10 or more at a specific bookmaker in the same week, you receive a free $10 bet. If you are one bet away from reaching the trigger point for a free bet at a certain betting site, it can sometimes be advantageous to opt for this site as opposed to the one with the best boxing odds.
In-play betting is becoming more and more popular with gamblers. Some sports lend themselves to in-play betting more than others. For example finding the best soccer odds in-play is somewhat easier than looking at live horse racing odds for today. Betting in-play on boxing allows you to make judgements as the fight is progressing.
A big problem with in-play betting in a sport such as boxing is that things can change in an instant. An under siege fighter can suddenly produce a knockout blow and win, or a sudden cut or injury can drastically change the course of a bout.
Thereโs also the big issue of rapidly changing odds. Whilst futures markets are typically static until very close to the start of a fight, in-play odds can literally change every second.
The best way of mitigating the risk of in-play betting on boxing is to only bet in-between rounds. The markets are more likely to be static at this point, giving you a small window to use a boxing odds comparison tool and find the best boxing odds.
In-play betting is not for everyone, as it requires a combination of speed and concentration, but if done correctly it can be a great way of finding positive expected value from boxing betting odds.
Hopefully, you are now aware of the importance and benefits of finding the very best boxing betting odds. The bottom line is that, over time, using the best boxing odds will have a positive impact on your profits.
Just make sure that you are signed up with a wide array of bookies, do your research and look for expected value in markets. Then use a boxing odds comparison tool to find the best boxing odds, place your bet and (fingers crossed) you will soon be celebrating a big win. Good luck!
This can vary depending on your location as US gambling laws vary from state to state and are liable to change at any time. The number of states in which betting on boxing is legalized has risen sharply in recent years. So just because a certain site does not show the best boxing odds today, it does not mean it will not have the best boxing odds tomorrow. Exactly the same principle applies to golf odds today or odds for any other sport come to that!
There is no one answer to that question. Whilst you will find that over time some betting sites will regularly have better boxing betting odds, thereโs no guarantee they will always be the best sites to use. That is why it is so important to not only sign up with a wide range of betting sites but to also use a boxing odds comparison tool whenever you place a bet on the sport. This principle applies not only to boxing betting odds but also to other sports, such as golf odds today and cricket betting odds.
Boxing betting odds are usually fairly static in the days leading up to a fight, thus making it easier to use boxing odds comparison tools and place your bets. However, you also need to consider the fact that a lot can happen in the run up to a fightย – boxers can pick up injuries or the weigh-in may reveal surprising statistics. Essentially, betting nearer to the start of a bout gives you a more informed decision, therefore it is important to fully understand the pros and cons of all betting options before placing your bet.
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