What does 1/2 Odds Mean?
1/2 odds mean that for every £2 you bet, you will win £1 if your bet is successful. It is an example of fractional odds, which are commonly used in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They represent the profit you stand to make from a bet relative to your stake.
| Stake | Winning at 1/2 Odds | Payout at 1/2 Odds | Each Way Return (Win) | Each Way Return (Place) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1 | £0.50 | £1.50 | £3 | £1.50 |
| £5 | £2.50 | £7.50 | £15 | £7.50 |
| £10 | £5 | £15 | £30 | £15 |
| £25 | £12.50 | £37.50 | £75 | £37.50 |
| £100 | £50 | £150 | £300 | £150 |
Let’s illustrate this with a few examples. If you bet £1 at 1/2 odds, you would win £0.50. A £5 bet would yield £2.50, a £10 bet would yield £5, a £25 bet would yield £12.50, a £50 bet would yield £25, and a £100 bet would yield £50.
What is the Payout for 1/2 Odds?
The payout for 1/2 odds includes your original stake plus the winnings. So, if you bet £1 at 1/2 odds and win, your total payout would be £1.50 (£1 original stake + £0.50 winnings).
For a £5 bet, the payout would be £7.50, for a £10 bet it would be £15, for a £25 bet it would be £37.50, for a £50 bet it would be £75, and for a £100 bet it would be £150.
What Does 1/2 Odds Each Way Mean?
An each-way bet is essentially two bets in one: a bet on a selection to win and a bet on the same selection to ‘place’. If you bet £1 each way at 1/2 odds, you’re essentially placing two £1 bets.
If your selection wins, both bets win and each returns £1.50 (for a total return of £3). If your selection only places, you lose the ‘win’ part of your bet but win the ‘place’ part. The return on the ‘place’ part of the bet is typically a fraction of the win odds.
For example, if you bet £5 each way, you would get £15 if your selection wins (both the win and place parts of the bet win), or £7.50 if it only places (the place part of the bet wins).
The same principle applies to each way bets of £10 (£30 or £15), £25 (£75 or £37.50), £50 (£150 or £75), and £100 (£300 or £150).
What is 1/2 Odds as a Decimal?
Decimal odds are another way to express betting odds. They represent the total return from a winning bet, including the original stake. 1/2 odds as a decimal are 1.5.
This means that for every £1 you bet, you will receive £1.50 back if your bet is successful.
