Ian Bruce became interested in betting in 1987, when he landed a winning Yankee on his first attempt. That stroke of luck (and he its that's exactly what it was) sparked an interest in understanding the strategies behind successful wagers. Over the years, he has become one of the UK's most prolific writers on betting and gaming, and is best known for his systematic approach to winning. Ian's career in the industry now spans over three decades. His favorite betting method is Dutching because, in his words, "It's the one I win with more often than not."
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Pavel dedicated seven years to working with Unibet, the flagship brand of Kindred, before ing SportsCasting.com in 2024. He holds an MBA in Marketing and, as a Senior Editor, ensures the accuracy and reliability of the site's content. Pavel is committed to promoting responsible gambling, stressing the importance of setting limits and making informed choices to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.
All posts by pavelpudakov“What is evens in betting?” is one of the most common questions asked by those who are new to the hobby of sports betting. The short answer is that evens is verbal shorthand for betting odds of 1/1 in fractional format or 2.00 in decimal format. In this article, we’ll tell you all you need to know about evens in betting, including where the term is thought to have originated and how an even money bet works.
Evens Meaning – The Term Explained
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “evens” was first used by a Church of England clergyman named John Planke in 1608. While we don’t have any historians on the team to this, we have no reason to doubt the experts at the OED, and we do know that the word has been used for longer than any of us care to .
The basic idea when describing a bet at evens (also referred to as even money and just as often abbreviated as EVS) is that if the bet is successful, your profit will be exactly equal to the sum of money staked. Bet £10 at even money, and you’d make a profit of £10 if it were to succeed. Bet £20, and you’d make £20. Of course, you’d also get your original stake back, so a bet at even odds will effectively double your money if it wins.
If we were to set odds that accurately reflected the chances of an event taking place, a bet at even odds would have a 50% chance of success. Even odds would, therefore, be fair when betting on the toss of a coin, for example, where there are just two possible outcomes and both have an equal – or even – chance of occurring.
Evens in Betting – An Example
For the benefit of those who are brand new to sports betting, here’s an example of how betting on an even money shot works. In the image below, you’ll see a betting market for a greyhound race. Note that the dog called Jaguar Jacob is shown at evens in decimal format (2).
We have added this selection to our bet slip and entered a stake of £10. As soon as we entered the stake, the bet slip displayed our potential returns of £20. That would be our £10 stake returned, plus £10 profit. We’d therefore double our money if the selected dog wins the race.
What’s So Special About Even Money?
You might wonder why the evens odds of 1/1 (or 2.0 in decimal) are notable enough to have been given a nickname. Well, there are a couple of things that make evens in betting fairly distinct, as we explain below:
Easy to Understand
First, even money bets are particularly easy to understand. If an evens bet is successful, you get double your stake money back. That’s probably the most straightforward calculation there is to work out your potential returns from a bet. And, unless you’re particularly bad at mental arithmetic, you can do it in your head. This is why so many bets in casino games offer even odds to winning players, as we’ll explain shortly.
A Clear Dividing Line
Second, even odds are important because they represent a clear line of division between “odds on” and “odds against”.
The first term, odds on, refers to odds that will give you less profit than the amount you stake on the bet. For example, if you bet £10 at odds of 1/2, you’d make a profit of £5 if the bet wins.
The second term, odds against, refers to odds that will give you a greater profit than the amount you stake on the bet. A £10 bet at odds of 3/1, for example, would give you a profit of £30 if it is successful.
Sandwiched between odds on and odds against is even money.
Even Odds in Casino Games
Visit the table games at online casino sites (or land-based casinos, for that matter), and you’ll notice that many of the most popular bets available pay odds of 1/1. As we mentioned in the previous section, that’s usually because they’re so easy to understand. You’ll find even money betting opportunities available in roulette, craps, blackjack, baccarat, Sic Bo, Pai Gow Poker, Casino War and more.
Evens betting is just as straightforward in casino games as it is in sports betting markets. To illustrate, take a look at the roulette table layout below:
The bottom row of the layout shows a variety of betting options. These allow you to bet on the next number being in the range 1 to 18, an even number, a red number, a black number, an odd number, or a number in the range 19 to 36. And all of them pay even money when you win.
Let’s say that we put a £5 casino chip on the red diamond. If the next number on the wheel were to be a red one, as we would like, our bet would be paid at odds of 1/1, giving us a £5 profit. Our stake, as always, would also be returned.
Sports in Which Even Money is Common
Evens in betting is very common and can be found in all sports. However, because these odds reflect a roughly 50/50 chance of winning, you are most likely to find them in events that have just a handful of possible outcomes. That means football matches, tennis matches, horse races with small fields, and so on.
Even odds are less common in events with a larger number of potential outcomes or those in which there’s a great deal of uncertainty about which participant is most likely to win. You won’t often find even money in the betting market for the Grand National, for example, or for the winner of a big golf tournament that might have scores of entrants.
Advantages of Evens Betting
Now that we’ve discussed the even odds meaning, let’s take a quick look at some of the advantages of EVS betting in practice. There are several advantages, and the most notable ones are as follows:
Roughly 50/50 Chance of Winning
With the EVS betting meaning odds of 1/1, you have a roughly 50/50 chance of winning when betting at this price. We say roughly because bookmakers and casinos generally give odds of even money when there’s a slightly less than 50% chance of success (see What is Overround in Betting? to find out why). But, generally speaking, when you bet at even money, you have almost as much chance of winning as you do of losing.Easy to Calculate Returns
As we said earlier, odds of 1/1 (or 2.00, which is evens odds in decimal) make it ridiculously easy to calculate your expected returns. Simply double the amount that you intend to stake on the bet, and that’s how much profit you will make if it succeeds.Qualifies for Most Betting Bonuses
Another good thing about evens bets is that they usually qualify for bonus offers. Most betting sites have bonus offers and promotions running from time to time, and the and conditions often stipulate that you need to bet at odds of 1/1 or bigger to qualify for them. An even money bet would therefore qualify and also give you a decent chance of winning.Gives a Worthwhile Return
While you might have an even better chance of winning at lower odds (which means odds-on), an even money bet will give you a worthwhile return. , success with an evens bet will double your money, and that won’t be the case when you bet at lower odds.
Conclusion
What does evens mean in betting will always be a common question, but we trust that we have now provided an answer and explanation that clears it up for you. The EVS odds meaning is simply that an outcome is priced at odds of 1/1 and that you’ll double your stake if you win.
Evens in Betting FAQs
What is the meaning of evens in betting?
Does evens mean 50 50?
What is an example of even odds?
Is 2:1 the same as evens?
What is evens in decimal odds?
