Calculators for sports betting
Four questions cover most betting arithmetic. What does this pay, what does the price mean, how much should go on it, and what is this free bet worth. Each one has a calculator on this page or one click away.Calculators we’ve reviewed
Closing line value
CLV compares the odds you took against the odds at kickoff, which is how you tell a good decision from a lucky result. The guide does the sum in decimal odds and shows why the simple version overstates it. A calculator on the page does both.
Kelly stake calculator
Our own stake calculator, built for this guide. Enter a price, your own chance and your bankroll: it returns the stake in cash and as a share, with full, half and quarter Kelly one tap apart. It also shows the break-even chance sitting inside the price, your edge over it, and how fast the bankroll grows at the size you picked.
Odds converter
A converter for decimal, fractional, American, Hong Kong and Indonesian odds. It also shows the implied probability, the break-even win rate, and the return and profit on your stake. Enter both sides of a market and it gives the bookmaker margin and the no-vig odds.
Bet payout calculator: what you get back
Payout is everything the bookmaker returns. Your stake is inside it. Profit is what you keep on top.
Stake 100 at 2.50 and the payout is 250. The profit is 150. People mix up these two more than any other pair of numbers.
The calculator below shows both numbers separately, in any odds format.
Accumulator and parlay calculator
One name is British, the other American. The bet is the same.
Multiply the decimal prices together, then by the stake. Three selections at 2.00, 1.50 and 3.00 give 9.00, so 100 returns 900.
Check the chance underneath. Those same three legs imply an 11.1 percent chance of all of them landing.
→ Add selections in the calculator above. It multiplies the legs and shows that chance.
Odds converter and implied probability
Divide 100 by the decimal price. At 2.50 that is 40 percent.
Treat the answer as a target. It is how often a bet at that price has to win before you are level.
→ Odds converter converts between five formats and shows that percentage as you type.
Margin calculator: the bookmaker's cut
Convert both sides of a market and add the percentages. At one bookmaker the total is always above 100.
Two sides at 1.95 come to 102.56 percent. Two sides at 1.91 come to 104.71. The difference is the fee. It is larger than any single price gap you will notice on screen.
→ Enter both prices in the odds converter. It shows the fee and the fair price without it.
Kelly criterion calculator for stake size
The Kelly criterion turns a price and your own view of the chance into a share of your bankroll.
On a price of 2.10 that you rate a coin flip, it returns 4.55 percent. Most people stake half of that or less.
→ Kelly calculator sizes the stake and shows what happens if your estimate is too high.
Free bet calculator and the missing stake
Free bets usually come with the stake not returned. A 50 free bet at 4.00 pays 150, not 200.
Longer prices suit them better, because the lost stake is a smaller share of the return.
→ Use the payout calculator above, then subtract the stake. The free bet offers page shows which bookmakers return it.
What no betting calculator can check
They are exact with the numbers you type and know nothing else.
A payout calculator will price a bet that cannot win. A stake calculator will size a bet from a chance you invented. None of them check three things: whether the price is still there, whether the bet gets voided, and whether your account is about to be limited.
A calculator works with the price you type in. Finding the best price is a separate job, and the arbitrage scanners section covers the tools built for it.