EV bet calculator

Using a bet calculator is a great way of working out just how much your bets will return. There are quite a few of them that can be used, and all are helpful in their own ways.

If you have placed a Canadian with 26 different bets to work out, you could use a Canadian bet calculator. Then there’s the Dutching technique to try and ensure the same profit figure from several different selections. That’s not easy to do without the use of a Dutching bet calculator.

Alternatively, you can use an EV bet calculator. If you aren’t sure exactly what that is, a visit to the footballjunkie website is advised. There you’ll find plenty of information about the EV bet calculator.

What does EV stand for?  Well it’s Expected Value and it will calculate the long-term value of a bet. This is achieved in a manner where it is highly advisable an EV bet calculator is used. It takes the value of the amount you can win and multiplies it by the probability of success. Then you take the sum of the possible losses multiplied by the probability of it losing. Take the second result away from the first and that’s the EV.

For example, it is now possible to place a bet on who will win the toss that takes place before a cricket match. The probability of the coin toss is 50-50, if the bookmaker offers 2.0 (evens) on each of the two results, the EV will be 0 due to the identical probability.

What if it’s 2.0 on heads but 2.15 on tails and you place £10 on each coin toss. A correct choice wins you £1.50, for a return of £11.50 but an incorrect choice sees you lose your £10, so what is the EV?  The calculation is 11.50 times the probability of 0.5 giving 5.75. Then subtract £10 (potential loss) times the 0.5 probability resulting in 5. Subtract that from the 5.75 to leave an EV of 0.75. This means you’d expect to make an average profit of £0.75.

This would be listed as a +EV as a long-term profit is indicated. If a long-term loss is calculated, then this will be a -EV. This is an important calculation to make as no one wants a -EV to come up as the result.

A negative EV doesn’t mean for certain you will make a long-term loss. It can’t predict the actual results just the probability of what will happen. Odds will fluctuate and surprise results happen. What if during the time you place the bets on a coin toss, your choice of heads suddenly has a winning or losing streak?

You can also use an arbitrage strategy. With this you look at the likely varying odds from different bookies/exchanges to work out a positive EV. Whichever method you use, it’s clear that using an EV calculator is going to be of great assistance to you.