You’ve seen the odds are 50/1 but you aren’t sure how much your returns will be if you place the bet, well worry not as all will be explained!

When working out odds the simplest way to do so is to understand that if you wager the second number (1) then your returns will be the first number (50). So if you put £1, €1 or $1 on a 50/1 and the bet wins you will get back £50, €50 or $50. The maths are the same in each currency to make it that bit simpler!

If the odds are short, when the difference between the two numbers is small, this means your chances of winning are good. This does, however, mean you have to be careful of the sport you are betting on when placing a 50/1 bet.

If you are a tennis fan and one of the players is at 50/1 this is a BAD sign. In a two-player sport such as tennis, you would expect the odds to be a lot closer. So if the bookies are offering you 50/1 odds on a player to win, the likelihood is neither you nor that tennis player have much of a chance of winning.

However such rules don’t apply to all sports. Take golf for example. If a golfer is at 50/1 odds but they had been in good form of late this could be a good bet. There’s nothing to say they couldn’t have an unbelievable round and there is potential for your 50/1 bet to become a winner. The bigger odds are better to back when there are multiple teams/players/horses and not just two against each other.

50/1 WIN BETS

£1 @ 50/1 = £50
£2 @ 50/1 = £100
£5 @ 50/1 = £250
£10 @ 50/1 = £500
£25 @ 50/1 = £1250
£50 @ 50/1 = £2500
£100 @ 50/1 = £5000

Some bookmakers will also give you the option of a ‘Place’ or ‘Each-way’ depending on the sport. Again, the odds on which they will payout will vary between each bookmaker. For the purpose of explaining it in this instance, we will say it’s a quarter odds.

When backing the ‘Place’ or ‘Each-way’ option this means that you could still win money even when your horse/team/player doesn’t win but does finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th in whatever competition they’re in. However, when considering these types of bets it’s important to understand that your stake will be double and you are betting on both a win and a place. So now a £1 bet becomes a £2 bet as you’ve bet on two outcomes.

If your 50/1 bet comes in and you are a winner you will get £50 (From win bet) + £1 (From your stake) + £12.50 (From your bet placing a 1/4 odds) + £1 (From your stake). This means from a £2 ‘Place’ or ‘Each Way’ bet you’ll end up with £64.50! If your bet doesn’t come first but does place you’ll get £12.50 (From your bet placing a 1/4 odds) and £1 (From your stake) meaning £13.50 back from £2.

Effectively that’s all there is to know about calculating a 50/1 bet. However, if you need more help with working out other odds then use our online bet calculator! Below are examples of some bets placed at 50/1.

50/1 EACH WAY BETS (2nd, 3rd or 4th Place)

£1 @ 50/1 = £12.50
£2 @ 50/1 = £25
£5 @ 50/1 = £62.50
£10 @ 50/1 = £125
£25 @ 50/1 = £312.50
£50 @ 50/1 = £625
£100 @ 50/1 = £1250

Amounts above do not include returned stakes and assume the bet is settled each way at a quarter odds.

You can use both sets of examples above to work out your returns. For example, you put £5 on to win at 50/1 which pays out £250 plus £5 on to place at 50/1 which pays out £62.50 your overall profit £312.50. You will also get your stake back which overall is £10 so your total returns would be £322.50.

If you’re interested in placing bets online with a reputable bookmaker then William Hill has a great bonus bet deal for new customers.