−900 odds: what they mean and what they pay
At −900 you bet $900 to win $100 in profit, $1,000 back in all. The price implies a 90.00% chance, so you need to win more than 90.00% of these bets to come out ahead.
The same price in every format
| American | −900 |
|---|---|
| Decimal | 1.111 |
| Fractional | 1/9 |
| Implied chance | 90.00% |
| Break-even win rate | 90.00% |
What −900 pays
| Bet | Profit if it wins | Total back |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.11 | $11.11 |
| $25 | $2.78 | $27.78 |
| $50 | $5.56 | $55.56 |
| $100 | $11.11 | $111.11 |
| $250 | $27.78 | $277.78 |
| $1,000 | $111.11 | $1,111.11 |
Is −900 good odds?
It depends on how likely the bet is to win, not on the number itself. −900 is a good price on a side that wins more than 90.00% of the time and a bad one on a side that wins less. If a market kept nothing, the other side of a −900 bet would be +900; 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, −900 makes the side a big favorite: one loss wipes out the profit of several wins.
What a better price is worth
Find −850 instead of −900 on the same bet and the win rate you need drops from 90.00% to 89.47%. Over 100 bets of $100 that win 90.00% of the time, −900 breaks even and −850 comes out about $58.82 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.
−900 in a parlay
Two legs at −900 combine to decimal 1.235 (about −426): $100 would return $123.46. Each leg's cut compounds, so a parlay keeps more for the book than a single bet. Parlay calculator.
Questions
What does -900 mean in betting?
-900 means you bet $900 to win $100 in profit, returning $1,000 in all.
How much do I win on a $100 bet at -900?
$11.11 profit, $111.11 back in all if it wins.
What is -900 as a percentage?
-900 implies a 90.00% chance. That's also the share of bets you'd need to win to break even.
What is -900 in decimal odds?
1.111. In fractional odds it's about 1/9.
Is -900 a good bet?
Only if the side wins more than 90.00% 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.