In one line: decimal odds tell you what comes back for every R1 you stake, including the R1. Odds of 2.50 on R100 return R250: R150 profit plus your stake.
Decimal odds
South African bookmakers show decimal odds by default. Multiply your stake by the odds to get your total return if you win.
| Odds | Stake | Return if you win | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.50 | R100 | R150 | R50 |
| 2.00 | R100 | R200 | R100 |
| 3.40 | R50 | R170 | R120 |
| 11.00 | R20 | R220 | R200 |
Fractional odds
Racing and some older bet slips use fractions, and bonus terms often do too: Lucky Fish’s sign-up bonus asks for odds of “5/10 or greater”. A fraction is your profit over your stake. 5/10 means R5 profit for every R10 staked. To turn a fraction into decimal odds, divide and add one: 5/10 is 0.5 plus 1, so 1.50. 1/1 (evens) is 2.00. 5/1 is 6.00.
What the odds say about the chances
Divide 1 by the decimal odds and you get the chance the price implies. Odds of 2.00 imply 50%. Odds of 4.00 imply 25%. Odds of 1.25 imply 80%.
That’s the bookmaker’s view, with something extra built in. Which brings us to the margin.
The margin: how bookmakers get paid
Add up the implied chances of every outcome in a market and you’ll get more than 100%. Take a match priced Home 2.10, Draw 3.30, Away 3.50:
- Home: 1 ÷ 2.10 = 47.6%
- Draw: 1 ÷ 3.30 = 30.3%
- Away: 1 ÷ 3.50 = 28.6%
- Total: 106.5%
The extra 6.5% is the bookmaker’s margin, also called the overround. It’s how the bookmaker earns on every market, whatever the result. Lower margins mean better prices for you, which is why the same bet can pay more at one bookmaker than another.
Why the margin matters in multis
In a multi, the odds of each leg are multiplied together, and so are the margins. A small margin on one match becomes a big one across ten. That doesn’t make multis bad: it’s the price of a big payout from a small stake. Just know it’s there. How multis pay.
Odds move
Prices change with team news, weather and the weight of money. A price you took early is locked in at fixed odds, even if it shortens later. In live betting, prices can change between your tap and the confirmation: most bet slips have a setting for whether to accept changed odds.
Questions punters ask
What does 1.50 odds mean?
For every R1 you stake, you get R1.50 back if you win: R1 stake plus 50c profit. R100 at 1.50 returns R150.
What are evens?
Decimal 2.00, or 1/1 as a fraction. You double your stake if you win.
What does “odds of 1.60 or more” mean in bonus terms?
Only bets at decimal odds of at least 1.60 count towards the bonus rollover. Bets on heavier favourites, at say 1.30, don’t.
Last updated 11 November 2026