What Does Plus 100 Mean in Betting? – Evens Betting Explained

If you place a bet at +100 it means that for every $100 you stake, you will win $100. These odds are alternatively known as ‘Evens’. We’re going to explore the question of what does plus 100 mean in betting, so that you totally understand how they work.

How Does +100 Betting Work?

If you see odds with a plus sign before a figure, it is showing you how much you would win if you staked $100 and the bet was successful.

So odds of +100 mean that with a $100 stake on a bet, you could win $100. With a winning bet you also get your stake back, so you would receive $200 in total ($100 stake + $100 winnings).

Of course, you don’t have to stake $100. A $5 bet at +100 would return $5 in winnings, a $10 stake returns $10 in winnings and so on.

You can hopefully see why odds of +100 are alternatively known as evens. The value of your stake and the potential winnings, are dead even.

This is best demonstrated by looking at the price using fractional betting odds. With the fractional odds format, there are two numbers separated by a forward slash. The second number denotes the stake, while the first number shows how much can be won. So with a 2/1(+200) bet, a $1 stake would win $2.

American odds of +100 are expressed in fractional odds as 1/1. The potential winnings are perfectly equal to whatever the stake is.

What Does Plus 100 Odds Mean?

Let’s take a look at what +100 means in terms of that selection’s probability of success.

Odds represent the implied probability of a bet winning. The bigger the potential winnings are in proportion to the stake, the less of a probability there is of that bet winning. On the flip-side, the smaller the potential winnings are in proportion to the stake, the greater the possibility of that bet winning.

With odds of +100, or 1/1 in a fractional format, the stake and potential winnings are equal. Therefore, the implied probability of a +100 wager is 50%.

There is a 50/50 chance of this type of bet winning or losing.

Example of a Plus 100 Bet

Your understanding of Evens betting will be greater improved by giving you an example. Take a look at the odds in the Total market for an MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees.

The Totals market is over on the right. We are betting on whether there will be over or under 9 runs in the game. The odds of over 9 runs are +100, which the bookie has expressed as Evens.

So if you bet $100 on there being over 9 runs in this game and there are 10 or more, you will win $100.

If there are exactly 9 then the bet will be tied, resulting in a push, which is where the wager is essentially cancelled and your $100 stake returned to you. Should there be less than 9 runs, your bet will lose and the bookie gets to keep your $100 stake.

Something that you might have noticed is that while the odds of over 9 are +100, the odds of under 9 are -120.

We have established that there is a 50/50 chance of a +100 bet winning. Logically, doesn’t that mean that the other selection in this market should also have a 50/50 chance of winning and should therefore have the same price?

Instead we have under 9 at -120, which is the favorite in this market.

Odds of +100 have an implied probability of 50%. Odds of -120 have an implied probability of 54.55%.

When you add those two implied probability figures together you get 104.55%. In any betting market the total implied probability figure will be over 100%. The extra 4.55% is known as the vig, which is the amount of profit that the bookmaker takes from the betting market.

What Does -100 Mean in Betting?

So if you can have a +100 wager, is there -100 betting? In theory the answer is yes, though in practice, you’re unlikely to see odds expressed in this way.

Let’s take a step back and explain how plus and minus betting works at offshore sportsbooks.

With these type of odds, a minus sign indicates a favorite that is odds-on. The figure that follows the minus shows how much you have to bet to win $100. So in our example earlier, we had odds of -120, which means that you would need to stake $120 in order to win $100.

Meanwhile, a plus sign indicates an underdog that is odds-against. The figure that follows the plus sign shows how much you could win from a $100 bet. So odds of +200 mean that from a $100 stake you stand to win $200.

Going back to negative US odds, a -100 bet would indicate that you would have stake $100 in order to win $100. It’s therefore exactly the same as +100.

As we’ve shown, an online sportsbook is far more likely to express these odds as Evens.

Popular Plus 100 Betting Sports

Now it’s time to take a look at some of the most popular sports in the US and where you can find betting opportunities for a +100 wager.

NFL

American football is a high-scoring sport, in which teams win by relatively large margins, so you won’t often see evens available on the moneyline odds. A game would have to be perceived as being a very close contest for that to be the case. It’s more likely on the spread, which is specifically designed to create an even betting contest.

The same is true of the main totals market, which is set at a figure where the odds will be close. There are also lots of game props and player props available, such as will there be an octopus, will a player score a touchdown, or the passing yards of a quarterback, for example. These present plenty of bets where the probability is rated at 50/50.

NBA

Basketball is an even higher-scoring sport than football and features big margins of victory. So amongst the main betting markets, the spread, or totals, is again where you’re likelier to find odds of +100.

Off all the popular American sports, it is basketball that has the most prop bets, particularly when it comes to players. Common types include how many points, assists, rebounds or steals a player will record, with many more options available.

NHL

With hockey being a lower scoring sport, there is more opportunity of an Evens wager on the moneyline. This is particularly true considering that a three way moneyline is also an option for hockey, in which the tie is an option to bet on.

The puck line – hockey’s version of a spread bet – is set at 1.5, so that too can feature odds of +100. Totals and prop options are numerable, with goalscorer, assists and goalkeeper saves available to bet on.

MLB

Baseball is similar to hockey in that it is a low scoring sport, with the main spread – known as the run line – always set at 1.5. So on both the run line and the moneyline, you can find opportunities for a bet at evens.

There are a wide range of total runs markets and lots of props. NRFI (no run first innings) is a popular game prop, while for players you can bet on the number of hits, home runs and strikeouts.

Other Sports

There are a wide range of other sports where 50/50 chances occur. The most popular sport to bet on across the world is soccer and it is very common to find the betting favorite on the moneyline, available at, or around, evens. Soccer is a sport with a deep range of markets where other such opportunities can be found, while the same is true for tennis or golf.

The other sport which is hugely popular amongst bettors across the world is horse racing. You might think that this would be a sport where you would see a horse rated at 50/50, but it does occur. There might be a heavy favorite amongst the field, or it could just be a race where there are relatively few runners.

Pros & Cons of the +100 Bet Explained

Any exploration of the question of what does plus 100 mean in betting, needs to consider both the pros and cons. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of these types of bets, as we see them.

What Does Plus 100 Mean in Betting Strategy?

By now you may be eager to scan your sportsbook account to find picks of +100 which you can bet on. Before you do, consider these betting strategies.

FAQs

What is a plus 100 bet?

With a with a plus bet, the figure after the plus sign shows how much you could win if you staked $100. So with +100, a $100 stake could return winnings of $100. This type of bet is often referred to as evens.

Is it better to bet plus or minus?

It all comes down to weighing up the value. You can win more with a plus bet, but the higher the potential winnings, the less likely it is that it will be successful. In contrast, you stand to win proportionally less with a minus bet, but it is likelier to be a winner. 

What percentage of plus 100 bets win?

The implied probability of +100 is 50%, which means that in theory it has a 50/50 chance of winning. That doesn’t necessarily mean that these bets will win 50% of the time, but the sportsbook prices up betting lines in this way, due to their belief that this will be the case. 

Can two different outcomes on the same event have plus 100 odds?

It is unlikely that two betting options from the same event with both have a price of +100. That’s because the implied probability of a +100 wager is 50%. So two selections at this price comes to 100%, which gives no room for the bookie to make a profit. If one pick is +100, the other pick will be shorter odds.

Is plus 100 and an Evens bet the same thing?

Yes, +100 and evens are exactly the same best, just presented in a different way. Odds of +100 mean that if you stake $100 you could win $100. So your winnings are even to your stake, hence the term ‘evens’.