Favourite Betting Term Meaning

The definition of favourite is ‘preferred over all others’ and that is exactly what it means as a betting term as well.

The term ‘favourite’ in any kind of betting refers to the horse, dog, player or team that is most likely to win in the bookmaker’s opinion. The odds given will indicate how favored that selection is, and with decimal odds that means the lower the number, the more likely it is. 

A good example would be Liverpool to beat Fulham at odds of 1.25 in the English Premier League. Liverpool are a heavy favorite for this game, sometimes referred to as the ‘chalk’. 

You may see a favourite with quite high odds, such as Leicester to beat Burnley at 2.45 in the English Premier League, in this instance, Leicester would be seen as a slight favorite. 

Betting on the favourite of an event does seem like a sensible betting strategy as they are expected to win. The snag is that there are no guarantees when it comes to betting, which is what makes it appealing and frustrating at the same time. 

When backing the favourite, you are looking for the minimum risk, but this also carries the minimum reward for backing a winner. This can be off-set by upping the stakes, but that heightens the risk if your selection doesn’t win. It’s a classic catch-22. 

Looking at the Liverpool vs Fulham game highlighted above, Liverpool are 1.25 to win at bet365. A £10 wager would make you a profit of £2.50. Let’s assume you placed two other single bets at the same odds (1.25). 

That is a total profit of £7.50 you now have. This is three winning bets but you still haven’t made more profit than your stake amount. Assume bet number 4 lost, you are -£2.50. Multiples and combination bets are one way to increase your betting returns. 

A simple treble with three selections priced at 1.25 would return a profit of £9.53 from a £10 stake. That is £2.03 more than placing straight-up single bets. For extra security, a full coverage bet such a Lucky 15 is possible. 

This would result in a return if only 1 selection won, but most likely make a profit if you landed 3 out of 4 wins. Betting on favorites can be profitable, but you still need to do your research.

You might find a better value in a field or that the market is priced incorrectly. Don’t bet simply on blind faith just because the bookmaker has listed a certain name as the favorite that it will win.