- Bookie Ledger
- Betting terms and conditions explained
- Fractional and decimal odds: what 5/1, 6.00 and evens mean
Term
Fractional and decimal odds: what 5/1, 6.00 and evens mean
Fractional odds show profit against stake: 5/1 pays €5 profit on a €1 stake. Decimal odds show the total return per €1 staked, so 5/1 is 6.00. Evens is 1/1, or 2.00. To convert, add 1 to the fraction. One divided by the decimal price gives the implied probability, 16.67% for 6.00.
What are the two formats?
In fractional odds a/b, you win a for every b staked, and you also get your stake back. In 5/1, a stake of €1.00 wins €5.00 profit.
In decimal odds, the number is the total return for a stake of 1, stake included. At 6.00, a stake of €1.00 returns €6.00.
Evens means 1/1: the profit equals the stake. In decimal it is 2.00. Write it as "evens (2.00)".
Bottom line: Fractional shows profit per stake; decimal shows total return per stake, stake included.
How do you convert between them?
- Fractional a/b to decimal: 1 + a/b.
- Decimal to fractional: subtract 1, then write the result as a fraction.
- Implied probability: 1 divided by the decimal odds. For a fraction, b divided by (a + b).
Results are rounded to two places, half up.
Bottom line: Decimal equals 1 plus the fraction; implied probability equals 1 divided by decimal.
What do the conversions look like?
The prices are invented examples, not offers.
| Fractional | Decimal | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|
| 5/1 | 6.00 | 16.67% |
| 11/4 | 3.75 | 26.67% |
| 9/4 | 3.25 | 30.77% |
| Evens (1/1) | 2.00 | 50.00% |
| 10/11 | 1.91 | 52.38% |
| 1/2 | 1.50 | 66.67% |
Going the other way, a decimal price of 3.50 minus 1 is 2.50, which is 5/2.
On a €10.00 stake at 11/4 (3.75), a win returns €37.50 in total: €27.50 profit plus the stake.
Bottom line: 5/1 is 6.00, 11/4 is 3.75 and evens is 2.00, all by the same formula.
Which format does a site show?
An operator chooses how to display odds and may let you switch. We have not yet recorded the display format used by three operators for customers in Ireland: could not be verified on 7 November 2026.
Convert to one format before you compare prices (see comparing odds fairly). Our bet slip simulator and expected value calculator accept both formats.
Bottom line: Convert first, then compare; operator display formats are not yet recorded.
Where to go next
Sources
- Formulas and examples: derived on this page from the stated definitions.
- Operator display formats: not yet recorded.
What changed
7 November 2026: first version. No later changes recorded.