Evens represents the actual odds of a bet placed. If a bettor takes odds of evens with a sportsbook, then the potential winnings are equal to the stake, meaning a successful $10 bet would return $20 to the bettor.
Learning more about odds, such as evens, and how they work is a great way of improving your understanding of betting. So, get ready as we share some tips and strategies to help discover ‘what is evens betting?’
What is Evens in Sports Betting?
The meaning of evens betting is simple, but the strategy behind it goes a bit deeper. Interestingly, it is one of the most common and popular betting strategies, and refers to even odds. Sportsbooks use the following three formats for displaying evens:
- Decimal odds: 2.00
- Fractional odds: 1/1
- Text: EVS
Odds of evens are common across most sports categories, making this one of the most popular betting strategies.
How Does an Evens Bet Work?
Despite the rapidly growing interest and engagement in sports betting, it’s surprising how many bettors aren’t familiar with basic betting strategies and odds terms, such as evens. And, with the global sports betting market expected to be valued at $155.49 billion by 2024, there is a thirst for knowledge when it comes to learning about betting.
Interestingly, betting at evens is potentially lucrative, which explains its popularity. As explained, evens odds are set at 2.00, meaning that your potential winnings are double your stake – so as an example, staking $50 on a bet selection with 2.00 odds returns you $100 ($50 x 2.00) .
It is also worth noting that evens odds are more common among toss-up games. This means that the probabilities of winning or losing are usually very close, albeit not always.
How is an Evens Bet Calculated?
Understanding how to calculate the potential payout for an evens bet is essential. Fortunately, it is based on a simple formula:
Potential Payout = Evens Odds x Stake
Using an example is the best way of illustrating the meaning of evens betting. As such, consider the following bet based on a soccer match between Union Berlin and Darmstadt:
Bovada, one of the top 12 best offshore sportsbooks, gives Union Berlin odds of 2.00 to win the soccer match. Based on these odds, your potential payout for a bet on Union Berlin would be double the stake. For example, a $10 wager would yield a $20 payout.
Betting on Evens Odds
Understanding the meaning of evens is one thing, but making it work to your advantage is different. To this end, understanding the potential risks and rewards of betting at evens is essential.
Overall, betting at evens is potentially safer and more profitable than other betting strategies. This is because the potential payout is usually double the stake, considering that evens odds are 2.00. However, betting is risky, so you need a reliable betting strategy to maximize your likelihood of winning.
How to Spot an Evens Favorite
The favorite teams/players win more often than underdogs in betting. To this end, success in betting depends on your ability to spot a favorite team/player. The favorite team/player in a bet always has lower odds than the underdog. As in the earlier example, Union Berlin is the favorite team in the following bet:
Darmstadt has higher odds (3.80) than Union Berlin (2.00), meaning that the bookie thinks that the latter has a higher likelihood of winning. However, it is worth noting that the team with the evens odds isn’t always the favorite, as shown in the following example:
Overall, researching the teams/players in a match is the best way to determine the favorite and underdog. As such, research each team’s or player’s form, injuries, and head-to-head histories before making a selection.