Someone please explain to me at an elementary level how odds/gambling works. My Dad explained and I understand a little bit.. but the best I can get is 2-1 and then anything higher than that makes my hair fall out. Everytime I read or hear somewhere about the odds of someone winning, I never know if theyre good or not. EW has an online article about the AI and whos gonna win like every year, and they give the odds for four people and I dont understand at all. So Ill give the odds as an example and someone explain to me which one has the better odds and such because Im totally :crazy: over here.

Anwar Robinson: ODDS 9-2
Carrie Underwood: ODDS 3-1
Bo Bice: ODDS 6-1
Mario Vazquez: ODDS 2-1

My mother tried explaining the 2-1 thing.. that for every 2 votes I get, she gets 1 vote. Yah, she was making stuff up because my Dad said no. :lol: And whats with this 9-2 stuff? Couldnt they have narrowed it down or something. My head feels like a blur now.

Yeah it's very confusing, and i decided to find out how to read it because it's always associated with AI.

I just look at it like....

Okay, Anwar is 9-2.. [divide 2 by 9 -- get 0.22] he has a 22% chance at winning
Carrie is at 3-1 [divide 1 by 3 -- get 0.33] she has a 33% chance at winning
Mario, obviously has a 50% chance at winning [1-2]
Bo Bice has a [divide 1 by 6 -- get 0.16] 16% chance at winning

some other people explained to me using money, but i didn't really understand. BTW, who does have the best odds right now, Mario?

The odds of me answering this question are slim to none. I understand the odd's system less than you Crystal. Sorry.

Yeah it's very confusing, and i decided to find out how to read it because it's always associated with AI.

I just look at it like....

Okay, Anwar is 9-2.. [divide 2 by 9 -- get 0.22] he has a 22% chance at winning
Carrie is at 3-1 [divide 1 by 3 -- get 0.33] she has a 33% chance at winning
Mario, obviously has a 50% chance at winning [1-2]
Bo Bice has a [divide 1 by 6 -- get 0.16] 16% chance at winning

some other people explained to me using money, but i didn't really understand. BTW, who does have the best odds right now, Mario?
I think so. :D It's about time one of my people won.

Like probability? Isn't that the easiest part of math? What with the tree diagrams and the the the um...heads and tails and ****? :grr:

As for AI? I've never watched a full episode in my entire life, but I can tell you for a fact a boy will win. The last few times girls have won, no? Narrows it in half right there. I know how these "reality" shows work. I ain't no freekin ritarde. You're welcome. :)

Odds are simply ratios...it's not that complex.

Yeah it's very confusing, and i decided to find out how to read it because it's always associated with AI.

I just look at it like....

Okay, Anwar is 9-2.. [divide 2 by 9 -- get 0.22] he has a 22% chance at winning
Carrie is at 3-1 [divide 1 by 3 -- get 0.33] she has a 33% chance at winning
Mario, obviously has a 50% chance at winning [1-2]
Bo Bice has a [divide 1 by 6 -- get 0.16] 16% chance at winning

some other people explained to me using money, but i didn't really understand. BTW, who does have the best odds right now, Mario?
I hope so!! Well, they only gave 4 examples, so I hope.

Odds are simply ratios...it's not that complex.
I DONT GET RATIOS.

I hope so!! Well, they only gave 4 examples, so
I hope.

Ooohh.. I just found an article with the same numbers on it and Nadia Turner has the best odds right now. 67% (to my surprise)

Ooohh.. I just found an article with the same numbers on it and Nadia Turner has the best odds right now. 67% (to my surprise)
o0o0o0o thanks! Nadia?! Are they SERIOUS?! Well, thats EW and they havent picked the winner right yet :lol:

I would like to thank everyone here, I now understand odds.

Here are the complete odds that you can actually bet on:



Amadda Avila 30-1
Anthony Fedorov 25-1
Anwar Robinson 4-1
Bo Bice 13-2
Carrie Underwood 4-1
Constantine Maroulis 22-1
Janay Castine 100-1
Jessica Sierra 13-1
Lindsey Cardinale 60-1
Mario Vazquez 3-1
Mikalah Gordon 35-1
Nadia Turner 15-1
Nikko Smith 25-1
Scott Savol 22-1
Travis Tucker 50-1
Vonzell Solomon 18-1

The odds are not that hard to figure out. Assume you bet 1 dollar on "Vonzell" at 18-1, you just multiply the number of dollars you are betting by the first number - so betting $1 dollar would win you $18. It is like saying you get $18 for every $1 you bet. At 3-1, you win $3 for every $1 you bet. If you bet $10, you would win $30.

At 13-2 you win $13 for every $2 you bet, or $6.50 for every $1. So again, it would be winning $13 for every $2 you bet.

NO WAY IN HELL DOES AMANDA HAVE BETTER ODDS THAN LINDSEY.

I'll slit my wrists before I'll believe that ****.

Plus, Ashlee's right, a guy is going to win.

Here are the complete odds that you can actually bet on:



Amadda Avila 30-1
Anthony Fedorov 25-1
Anwar Robinson 4-1
Bo Bice 13-2
Carrie Underwood 4-1
Constantine Maroulis 22-1
Janay Castine 100-1
Jessica Sierra 13-1
Lindsey Cardinale 60-1
Mario Vazquez 3-1
Mikalah Gordon 35-1
Nadia Turner 15-1
Nikko Smith 25-1
Scott Savol 22-1
Travis Tucker 50-1
Vonzell Solomon 18-1

The odds are not that hard to figure out. Assume you bet 1 dollar on "Vonzell" at 18-1, you just multiply the number of dollars you are betting by the first number - so betting $1 dollar would win you $18. It is like saying you get $18 for every $1 you bet. At 3-1, you win $3 for every $1 you bet. If you bet $10, you would win $30.

At 13-2 you win $13 for every $2 you bet, or $6.50 for every $1. So again, it would be winning $13 for every $2 you bet.
Thats the way my Dad explained it and Im confused again. So would 18-1 be better than 3-1 since youd be winning $18 instead of $3?! Thats where I get all.. UGH.

Well you would win more money if the odds are 18-1 than if they were 3-1. On the other hand, it is much more likely that someone who has the 3-1 odds will win than someone who has 18-1 odds.

The odds are not scientific, it is just what an oddsmaker comes up with to encourage an equal amount of betting on both sides of a bet.

Well you would win more money if the odds are 18-1 than if they were 3-1. On the other hand, it is much more likely that someone who has the 3-1 odds will win than someone who has 18-1 odds.

The odds are not scientific, it is just what an oddsmaker comes up with to encourage an equal amount of betting on both sides of a bet.
o0o0o thanks! I get it... I think lol.

Well you would win more money if the odds are 18-1 than if they were 3-1. On the other hand, it is much more likely that someone who has the 3-1 odds will win than someone who has 18-1 odds.

The odds are not scientific, it is just what an oddsmaker comes up with to encourage an equal amount of betting on both sides of a bet.

Yeah... when looking at 18-1 vs. 3-1 .... the person with the 3-1 odds is more likely to win. But with all the betting stuff, as you can tell the person with an 18-1 odds has a low chance of winning, therefore the person betting would get $18, rather than $3 for the person with 3-1 odds, because it's obvious, but predicting that the 1-18 person will win is a better "accomplishment", therefore they get more money.