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Curious about how much the house edge affects your bets?

This guide explains how a sports betting house edge calculator can help you understand the advantages that sportsbooks have. This calculator reveals the percentage of each wager that sportsbooks retain, which can impact your long-term success. 

Learning how to use this tool will significantly improve your betting strategy to your advantage.

Key Takeaways

  • Discover all the perks of using a sports betting house edge calculator.
  • Read a pro bettor’s experience to mastering the betting tool and become a savvy bettor.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Sports Betting House Edge Calculator? 

A sports betting house edge calculator helps you understand the advantage that sportsbooks have over you when wagering on your desired sports. 

Let’s take a look at the benefits of using this calculator:

  • Finding Good Bets: By looking at the house edge for different sports and bets, you can spot which ones are more likely to be profitable over time.
  • Adjusting Your Betting Strategy: Knowing the house edge helps you change how you bet to better take into account the sportsbook’s advantage.
  • Evaluating Offers: When you see sports betting promotions or bonuses, comparing them by taking into account the house edge helps you figure out if they are really worth claiming and using.

Personally, using this calculator has helped me focus on bets with a lower house edge, improving my chances of winning.

How Do I Use the House Edge Calculator? 

Using a house edge calculator is incredibly useful, as it ultimately helps you understand the sportsbook’s advantage.

Here are the steps you should take when making use of this calculator:

  1. Enter Bet Details: I enter the odds for the bet. For example, if the odds are +150, I enter this value.
  2. Enter the Odds Format: I select the odds format used, such as American, decimal, or fractional. I usually choose American for my bets, as I find this format to be easier.
  3. Enter the Payout: I enter the payout percentage, which is often provided by the sportsbook.
  4. Calculate: I press the calculate button to see the house edge.

Example: If I’m betting on an NFL game with odds of +150 and a payout percentage of 95%, the calculator tells me the house edge.

This helps me comprehend how much of an advantage the sportsbook has and adjust my bets accordingly.

Using House Edge Calculators: A Pro Bettor’s Experience

Betting with a sports betting house edge calculator has been a game-changer in my sessions, especially when betting on the MLB. Let me walk you through my most recent experience:

I was looking at a game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The odds for the Yankees to win were +150, while the odds for the Red Sox were -130. I decided to use the house edge calculator to figure out the sportsbook’s edge.

First, I entered the implied probabilities. Implied probabilities simply mean the possibility of an outcome or result happening based on the odds a sportsbook provides.

  • For the Yankees at +150, the calculation is 100 / (100 + 150) = 40%.
  • For the Red Sox at -130, it’s 130 / (130 + 100) = 56.52%.

Adding these probabilities gave me a total of 96.52%. The calculator then showed the house edge by subtracting this total from 100%, resulting in a house edge of 3.48%. This meant that the sportsbook had a 3.48% edge over me for this game.

With this information in hand, I chose to avoid placing a bet on this matchup because the edge was higher than I was comfortable with. Instead, I found another game with a lower house edge, and this wager improved my chances of and led to a profitable bet. 

Interested In Other Betting Calculators? Check Out Our Collection! 

Ready to take your sports betting sessions to the next level? If you’re after the best free tools for sports betting you’d be delighted to see our collection of tools. Explore our full range of practical tools and get the most out of every online gambling encounter.