Even Money
A bet where your profit matches your stake: decimal 2.00, fractional 1/1, American +100.
Even money describes odds where your potential profit is exactly the same as what you put down. Bet $100 at even money and win, and you get $100 in profit plus your original $100 stake back, for a total of $200. In decimal odds that’s 2.00. In fractional odds it’s 1/1 (also called “evens”). In American odds it’s +100.
Even money lines up with an implied probability of exactly 50%, which means the book sees both outcomes as equally likely. In real life, true even-money lines are pretty rare, because the book’s margin (vig) usually nudges each side just below even money. A coin-flip type bet, for example, might be offered at -105 on each side instead of +100, so the book picks up a small cut no matter what happens.
When people call a bet “even money,” they’re sometimes just speaking loosely about something close to a 50/50 shot, even if the real odds aren’t exactly +100.
Example
A sportsbook posts a tennis match between two closely ranked players. Player A is listed at +100 (even money) and Player B at -120. If you put $50 on Player A at +100 and Player A wins, you get $50 in profit plus your $50 stake back, for a total payout of $100.
Notice the other side here is -120, not also +100. That gap exists because the book’s margin has to be covered. In a perfectly fair market with no vig, if one side is truly +100, the other side would be +100 too. The -120 on Player B reflects both the vig and a slightly higher implied probability for Player B.
Key Points
- Profit equals stake: At even money, whatever you bet is exactly what you can win. That makes it one of the easiest payouts to picture and calculate.
- Implies a 50% probability: Even money means the market sees the event as basically a coin flip. Any move off +100 means one side is favored.
- Rare at standard vig levels: Since books fold their commission into the odds, true +100 lines on both sides are uncommon. You’ll more often see -110 / -110 or something similar.
- Useful as a benchmark: Even money is a handy reference point. Odds shorter than even money (below 2.00 or a negative American number) mean a favorite, while odds longer than even money (above 2.00 or a positive American number) mean an underdog.
- Common in proposition bets: Even-money odds show up most often in simple yes/no props, like whether a certain thing will happen during a game.