−400 odds: what they mean and what they pay
At −400 you bet $400 to win $100 in profit, $500 back in all. The price implies a 80.00% chance, so you need to win more than 80.00% of these bets to come out ahead.
The same price in every format
| American | −400 |
|---|---|
| Decimal | 1.250 |
| Fractional | 1/4 |
| Implied chance | 80.00% |
| Break-even win rate | 80.00% |
What −400 pays
| Bet | Profit if it wins | Total back |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | $2.50 | $12.50 |
| $25 | $6.25 | $31.25 |
| $50 | $12.50 | $62.50 |
| $100 | $25.00 | $125.00 |
| $250 | $62.50 | $312.50 |
| $1,000 | $250.00 | $1,250.00 |
Is −400 good odds?
It depends on how likely the bet is to win, not on the number itself. −400 is a good price on a side that wins more than 80.00% of the time and a bad one on a side that wins less. If a market kept nothing, the other side of a −400 bet would be +400; real books price it worse than that, and the gap is their cut. At −110 on both sides, the most common spread and total price, the cut is 4.76%. Which book keeps the least differs: every sportsbook's cut, measured.
As a price, −400 makes the side a heavy favorite.
What a better price is worth
Find −390 instead of −400 on the same bet and the win rate you need drops from 80.00% to 79.59%. Over 100 bets of $100 that win 80.00% of the time, −400 breaks even and −390 comes out about $51.28 ahead: the same picks, a better price. Books often differ by that much on the same game: the board shows which one pays the most.
−400 in a parlay
Two legs at −400 combine to decimal 1.562 (about −178): $100 would return $156.25. Each leg's cut compounds, so a parlay keeps more for the book than a single bet. Parlay calculator.
Questions
What does -400 mean in betting?
-400 means you bet $400 to win $100 in profit, returning $500 in all.
How much do I win on a $100 bet at -400?
$25.00 profit, $125.00 back in all if it wins.
What is -400 as a percentage?
-400 implies a 80.00% chance. That's also the share of bets you'd need to win to break even.
What is -400 in decimal odds?
1.250. In fractional odds it's about 1/4.
Is -400 a good bet?
Only if the side wins more than 80.00% of the time. The price alone can't tell you: compare it with other sportsbooks' prices on the same bet, since a better price lowers the win rate you need.