Margin or Margin is the difference between rates, prices for a specific product, as well as interest rates. This term appears not only in bookmakers. It is relevant for the banking sector, as well as in the trading industry.

Considering the term from the perspective of market relations, we can say that margin denotes the relationship between the actual price of a particular product and its price set at a certain time.

Bookmakers margin

Players who visit bookmakers solely for pleasure may want to focus their attention on this concept don't sharpen it. For small bets, the margin size is very small. For those who are used to playing big, calculating the margin in bets is very important.

In fact, any bookmaker is a legal entity. The business plan of any such organization is always supplemented with special data: experts monitor public opinion on various events. The office, regardless of the outcome of each game, must have a certain profit. Actually, the margin in sports betting is the stable “income” for any bookmaker. The margin can always be calculated using special calculators.

Bookmaker. It works based on the entered coefficient values ​​for two or three outcomes, reflecting the percentage probability of an event occurring with and without margin. Margin calculator useful for bettors who want to find out the true (pure) value of the odds.

2 outcomes 3 outcomes

In reality, odds include a so-called commission - the difference between the actual value in the odds and its market value. How larger size the commission is included by the bookmaker in the quote, the more difficult it is for the bettor to gain profit over the course.

Therefore, when betting, it is important to take into account the company’s margin policy. If a bettor misses this parameter, then as a result he reduces the size of his profit at a distance.

How to calculate bookmaker commissions

Most bettors don’t think about why they enter the market of equivalent outcomes, where the chances of success are 50 to 50, the odds are best case scenario fluctuate at the level of 1.90-1.96 instead of the required 2.0. The deviation downward from the net value of the quote is the bookmaker’s commission, which ensures a stable profit for any outcome of the sporting event.

A betting operator rarely advertises its commission policy when offering odds. Therefore, to make promising and profitable bets, professionals are looking for offers where the commission for the chosen outcome will be lower. For calculation use the formula:

Mr=(100/cat.1+100/cat.2+100/cat3)-100, where

Мр - commission amount in percentage;

cat. — coefficients (quotations) of the company.

If in a conventional bookmaker’s office the line of main outcomes for a football match looks like W1(2.25) X(3.30) W2(3.0), then Mp=(100/2.25+100/3.30+100/3.0)-100=44.4+30.3+ 33.3-100=8%. Consequently, the company receives a fixed profit of 8% from the total volume of bets on the match for any outcome of the match.

How does margin affect a bettor's success?

Nobody wants to top up their account mobile phone through a payment terminal with a commission of 10%. In betting the situation is similar.

For example, player 1 bets with company “A”, betting on equal odds with a commission of 2.5%, and player 2 bets with company “B” on the same outcomes, but with a commission of 6%. Second player with each winning bet loses 3.5% net profit, in contrast to the first player, who took care of the maximum benefit. If you estimate a distance of 1000 bets, then the potential losses look significant.

By betting on odds with a minimum commission, the bettor not only increases the efficiency of the bet, but also his own profitability.

Why you need to register with several bookmakers

Due to the high competition in the betting market, companies are forced to attract attention not only with loud advertising campaigns, but also with decent odds. Only monitoring the line of several companies allows you to choose best odds for bets. With accounts in different bookmakers, a bettor will easily select the best offer.

For example, Asian companies offer a minimum commission built into the odds of football matches. European brands specialize in decent odds offered for betting on horse racing or greyhound racing. To maintain interest in national sports, Russian operators attract audiences with decent odds for the RPFL or tennis tournaments with the participation of Russian athletes.

The commission policy significantly affects the bettor's profitability. To avoid wasting time on manual margin calculations, autonomous algorithms have been developed.

As you know, the bookmaker is always in the black, that is, in profit. Even if your bet wins, it's still the same. To understand this, you need to understand what margin is in sports betting.

What is margin in sports betting?

Margin is the difference between the real probabilities and those set by the bookmaker in his line. It determines how much profit the bookmaker will receive from bets. It can be calculated by taking two or three opposite outcomes for the same event and expressing their probability as a percentage. If we add up these probabilities for the outcome of two or three opposite events and subtract 100 from the resulting number, we get a margin.

As you understand, the higher this number is, the more profit the office will receive. But it also cannot be too high, since then no one will place bets - the odds will be very low. Important principle success of a bookmaker is to find golden mean between too low and too high margins.

Let's look at all this with an example.

How to calculate bookmaker margin - examples

Let's take the football match Arsenal - Manchester City and try to calculate the odds and margin.

Let’s assume that as a result of the analysis we were able to find out the teams’ chances:

• Arsenal – 30%;
• draw – 20%;
• Manchester City – 50%.

As you can see, the rivals are not equal at all. Let's try to calculate the odds in the traditional, European format. We get the following result:

• Arsenal – 100/30=3.3;
• draw – 100/20=5;
• Manchester City – 100/50=2.

Most players will decide to bet on the favorite. The bets will be divided approximately as follows:

• Arsenal – 35% (that is, 35% of all bets fall on the triumph of the “Gunners”, 35% of bettors believe in them;
• draw – 10%;
• Manchester City – 55%.

Let's try to calculate the bookmaker's possible profit. Let the total amount of bets be equal to 1000 rubles. That is, 350 was bet on an Arsenal win, 100 on a draw and 550 on City. Let's say Arsenal win, then the bookmaker will have to pay 350*3.3=1155 rubles if there is a draw, 100*5=500 if Manchester wins, 550*2=1100.

That is, in two cases the company will be in the red, and it simply cannot allow this to happen. The solution is to reduce the coefficients. Let them now become like this:

• Arsenal – 2.8;
• draw – 4;
• Manchester City -1.7.

The ratio of bets to the total amount is the same. Now we count. If Arsenal wins, you will need to pay 350*2.8=980 rubles, if there is a draw - 10*4=400, if City - 550*1.7=935 units Russian currency. It turns out that with such odds, the bookmaker simply cannot be in the red.

Let's convert these coefficients back into probabilities. We get this:

• Arsenal – 100/2.8=35%;
• draw – 100/4=25%;
• Manchester City – 100/1.7=58%.

Let's add it all together 35+25+58=118%. If we subtract 100 from this value, that is, 118-100, we get 18% - this is the bookmaker’s margin! As mentioned above, this is the difference between the odds given by the bookmaker and the real ones.

If you are just starting your journey in big betting, keep this in mind:

1. When choosing a bookmaker, always calculate the average margin yourself. Bookmaker representatives may embellish real values. You already know what margin in betting is and you have enough knowledge for this.
2. Choose those bookmakers where the margin is lower than others. Yes, her line may be less extensive, then you will have to choose what is best for you.
3. Always consider margin in sure bets. Because of its meaning, the entire scheme may not work.

This allows the office to make a profit regardless of the distribution of bets. The higher the margin, the higher the profit of the bookmaker.

Let's take a closer look at what betting margin is and how to calculate it.

What is margin in sports betting?

Each player paid attention to the fact that events that in another situation would be equally probable, in the bookmaker's office have odds of 1.85-1.95.

Let's look at an example. A bookmaker offers to place a bet on a tennis match. A draw is impossible here, the opponents are approximately equal. Chances – 50*50. We convert the probability of victory for each of them into odds: 100% / 50% = 2.

The margin is set individually in each office. In some it does not exceed 2%, in others it reaches 10 or higher. It all depends on how much the bookmaker plans to earn, and how he feels about the fall in bets - most players prefer to play in bookmakers with a small margin.

How to calculate bookmaker margin

Finding out the margin that the bookmaker puts into the odds is very simple. To do this, it is enough to know the formula.

Margin = (100 / K1 + 100 / K2) – 100. This formula suitable for two possible outcomes.

Margin = (100 / K1 + 100 / K2 + 100 / K3) – 100 – situation with three possible outcomes.

For example, let's calculate the margin for a tennis match. Bets are divided into the victory of the first athlete and the victory of the second athlete. P1 = 2.30, P2 = 1.60. There is no draw in tennis.

Margin = (100 / 2.3) + (100 / 1.65) – 100 = 104.08 – 100 = 4.08 . This is the margin that the bookmaker has included in this odds.

We carry out a similar calculation for football match. There are three possible outcomes:

• Victory of the first team P1 with odds of 1.5
• Draw with odds 4.0
• Victory of the second team P2 with odds of 2.6

We calculate the margin using the formula:

Margin = (100 / 2.5 + 100 / 4.0 + 100 / 2.6) – 100 = 103.46 – 100 = 3.46 – the amount of margin that the bookmaker puts into bets.

In some cases, it is not possible to determine the margin in this way - for example, if the match involves a 100% favorite, and the bookmaker sets double-digit odds for the underdog to win. In this case, the size of the coefficient is influenced not only by the chances of both teams to win and the margin, but also by the number of bets placed on the victory of the favorite and the underdog. The bookmaker can vary the odds to even out the statistics a little.

In most cases, the margin can be calculated and this data can be used in the future when choosing a bookmaker for a bet. The lower the margin, the higher the coefficient, and the more amount potential profit at sure bet . If you place bets rarely and little by little, this factor will not be important to you. However, if you plan to receive a stable income from betting, long term(1000 bets or more) even half a percent will result in a substantial amount.

22.11.2017

It's no secret that bookmakers always win, regardless of the circumstances. The whole point is that the office includes a certain percentage of its profit (margin) in any coefficient. The company's margin is directly reflected in the amount of return from bets.

Of course, the margin is constantly different. This can be explained by the fact that the share of foreign exchange compensation depends on the importance of the event in sports and, of course, the policy of the bookmaker company itself. For events that are not very popular, bookmakers often underestimate the margin percentage, thereby attracting novice players to place more and more bets, since bets are their percentage, their benefit, their income.

Legal bookmakers with the lowest margins

Margin calculation rules

Many beginners are accustomed to thinking that bookmakers create odds based solely on their personal perceptions. Of course, there is some truth in this. However, we need to look even deeper.

Employees of bookmaker companies can accurately predict the winner of a particular event, which is due to their vast experience. However, a low coefficient does not mean that the event is a sure thing. If all the favorites won, then bookmaker companies simply would not exist. When setting odds for a certain event, bookmaker companies first of all think about how to motivate players to bet on one team or another.

For this reason, they need to manipulate the numbers by offering the most tempting odds in order to attract new players. However, you should always remember that each odd includes the bookmaker’s margin. By adding a certain percentage to the probability, the bookmaker company guarantees its income.

Note that what more people and, accordingly, the bets, the greater the commission. Of course, it is quite difficult to find a balance between bets on all victories and defeats, which is why bookmaker companies offer a huge list that allows you to earn extra money.

Equal Opportunity Market

This concept assumes that the bookmaker selects opponents whose chances of winning are fairly equal. To understand we will use famous example with a coin. The odds of getting heads or tails are absolutely equal: 50/50. If the bookmaker accepted bets on a coin toss and did not include his commission, then we would have odds of 2.00 on heads and 2.00 on tails.

IN real world such miracles do not happen, since bookmakers include their own commission in each odds. Therefore, even odds odds will vary from 1.80 to 1.95. Therefore, when choosing a company special attention It’s worth paying attention to what percentage of margin a particular bookmaker puts into its odds. Importance this fact The point is that at a distance a difference of even 0.1 has a big impact.

Margin calculation rules

A market that has 100% equal odds is a worthless market. If the market odds are estimated at less than 100%, then it can be indicated that the value of the bet is increasing. It’s another matter if the market is more than 100%, which happens much more often. The value of the bets, in this case, is lower. Determining the value of the market, as well as the bookmaker's margin, is quite easy. To do this, you first need to determine the probability of each outcome as a percentage, and then use a simple formula.

Formula to calculate margin:

(1 - (1/market percent)) * 100

Let's give an example. R. Nadal - P. Cuevas. Tennis coefficient. ATP tournament. Paris. France. Indoor Hard. The odds for the Spaniard to win are 1.02. Converting to probability, we get 98%. The Uruguayan's victory is estimated at odds of 13.50. Accordingly, the probability of Cuevas' triumph is 7.4%. It turns out that the market percentage for the given event is 105.4%.

We calculate the margin:

(1 - (1 / 1.054)) * 100 = 6%

Search for markets with minimum margins

Many novice, inexperienced bettors, as a rule, do not attach any importance to margin, considering it not so significant indicator. Real pros first look for Value, and only then place bets.

Note that arbers who make money by finding outcomes with the smallest margin are especially successful in this. As a rule, bookmakers do not like such players and quickly block their accounts. However, there are a number of companies that are quite loyal to such players. It should be said that the success of such cappers lies in the fact that they are excellent at finding events with the smallest margin.

As noted above, even a minimal difference in odds plays a huge role. Therefore, it is very important to always determine the margin, since at a distance it plays one of the decisive roles.

Of course, calculating the margin of each event is a labor-intensive task. However, there are options in which this is not necessary. First of all, we're talking about about betting exchanges. Yes, we can say that even there you have to pay a commission on your winnings, but there are a number of significant advantages. In addition, it is worth mentioning special paid services that allow you to find the most profitable odds.