What is the meaning of even and odd in betting?

💡Even/Odd betting markets explained
🥇Which sports offer even/odd betting?
🎉Even/Odd betting tips and strategies
✨Examples of Even/Odd betting

Bets with fewer outcomes tend to offer punters more chances of success. A great example of that is the odd/even or even/odd market you can find available on many sports across a broad range of bookmakers. This bet is a very simple one to understand and it offers punters a relatively high chance of success (around the 50/50 mark). It also seems to be a bet with the same chance of being a winner compared to predicting the toss of a coin, or whether a spin of the roulette wheel will land on red or black.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about even/odd betting, the sports in which you can find it, examples of how it is utilised in a couple of different sports and then answer some common questions punters may have about this bet. But let’s begin by examining the different types of an even/odd bet.

Even/Odd betting markets explained

Even/odd bets can be made on both pre-match and in-play betting markets, although there are more options available for pre-match bets.

Pre-match even/odd bets

Total goals/Points even/odd

The most common and popular form of even/odd bet is based on the total number of goals or points scored in a sporting contest. It is a 50/50 bet which combines the goals or points from both teams for a total amount, which is then either even-numbered or odd-numbered which decides the outcome of the bet.

For example, in a football match Manchester United beat Chelsea 3-1. That means four total goals were scored, meaning Even bets were winners and odds bets were loses. In a basketball game, the Houston Rockets scored 88 points and the Dallas Mavericks scored 103 points. That is 191 points scored in total, meaning odds points bets were winners and even points bets were losers.

Home or Away team goals/Points even/odd

This even/odd bet is simply a wager on the home teams goals scored or points total in a match, rather than the total points scored. So, in the example above, where Manchester United scored three goals at home to Chelsea, the bets on the Home Team Goals - Odd bet would be winners, and the Even bets would be losers.You can also back the same bet but for the total number of goals or points the away team score in a fixture.

1st Half goals/Points even/odd

This is essentially the same bet as the Total Goals bet, but it accounts for goals or points scored only in the first half of a sporting contest.

In-Play even/odd bets

Total goals/Points even/odd

You can also bet in play on the Total Goals or Points scored in a contest. The odds on this bet may change as teams score goals or points and as the amount of time in the contest passes. This can lead to some better value odds for this bet, especially if you back the outside market late in a game.

For example, Manchester City are beating Liverpool 1-0 with five minutes to go. Therefore the odds on the Total Goals being even are higher as a goal needs to be scored to make this bet a winner in just five minutes plus added time in this fixture.

Which sports offer even/odd betting?

In theory, any sport that is decided by an outcome where a team scores goals or points or similar, is eligible for the even/odd betting markets. However, it is more commonly available in some sports than others. We have outlined these below, together with any markets in brackets which offer odd/even bets for that particular sport.

Football
Basketball (Team total only)
American Football (Team total only)
Rugby
Ice Hockey
Snooker (Total frames)
Tennis (Match total games)
Volleyball (Set total)
Table Tennis (Game & match total points)

Even/Odd betting tips and strategies

Stick to sports which you are familiar and confident with.
If you feel the contest will be a draw, always back the even option.
If a football match is likely to be low-scoring, then the odd option is a better bet as it covers four of the most common scores, 1-0, 0-1, 2-1 and 1-2.
Higher scoring options tend to slightly favour even bets (1-1, 2-2, 3-1, 1-3, 0-2, 2-0)
In-play betting can offer good value even/odd betting, especially late in games.

Examples of Even/Odd betting

Outlined below are some other examples of different types of even/odd bets made on a range of sports.

Even/odd betting in football

Punter 1 bets £10 on the total goals in the Liverpool v Arsenal match to be even. Liverpool win the game 3-1. This means four total goals so the bet is a winner.
Punter 2 bets £10 on the first-half goals in the Newcastle v Tottenham match to be odd. The half-time score is 1-1. That is two total goals in the first half, so the bet is a loser.

Even/odd betting in basketball

Punter 3 bets £100 on the home team Boston Celtics to score an even number of points in their game against the New York Knicks. The final score is 95-93 in Boston’s favour. This means the bet is a loser.
Punter 4 bets £100 on the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder team to score an odd number of points against the Los Angeles Lakers. The game sees the Lakers win 112-95. Thunder scored 95 points, an odd number, so the bet is a winner.

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Frequently asked questions

Although technically zero is neither even nor odd in mathematical terms, in the case of even/odd betting, zero goals or points scored in a game is viewed as an even number, as all drawn contests are.

As one total goal is an odd number, this is an odd outcome.

As two total goals is an even number, this is an even outcome.

With just two outcomes possible, the even/odd bet offers punters a close to 50/50 chance of winning a bet, which is considerably better odds than most sports betting markets.

No, with just two outcomes and each as likely as the other (in most cases), most of the time the odds you receive for even/odds bets is around the even money mark, or slightly under. You can get longer odds on even/odd bets by using them as part of an accumulator or similar multiple-selection bet, or by betting on the market in-play.

No. You can get bets on the number of games won in tennis, frames won in snooker, as well as bets on individual teams to score an even or odd number of points in a match.