In order to fully understand the world of sports betting, it’s important to have a solid grasp of how odds work. Odds are actually published by sports betting sites, also known as bookmakers. The bookmakers define the odds and offer a range of choices for different football matches, including the Vysshaya Liga in Belarus. For each sports bet, it is the amount invested that determines your potential winnings (in the event that your sports bet wins). As this article is focused on the Vysshaya Liga, we will naturally refer to the Vysshaya Liga odds.

How are Vysshaya Liga odds calculated?

All bookmakers work in the same way as their global counterparts. They use their own algorithms along with hundreds of statistics from their data for each Vysshaya Liga match to calculate different odds on the same game. For sports bettors, it's easy enough to understand: odds reflect the probability of an outcome happening or not. So when it comes to Vysshaya Liga matches, the mechanism remains exactly the same as for any other football match on the planet. In short, you need to bear in mind that the higher the odds on a match, the less likely it is to come to pass. And, conversely, the lower the odds, the higher the probability of the result occurring, according to the statistics calculated by the bookmakers.

To understand all this, let's take the example of a match in the Belarusian first division between Soligorsk (league leaders) and Belshina (12th-place). Soligorsk play a leading role every season in the Belarusian league and are three-time title holders. Opposing them is a team struggling in the Vysshaya Liga, and let's imagine that Belshina are 35 points behind their hosts in the overall standings. With all this information, it is only logical that the home side should be favoured by the bookmakers to claim victory at the end of the game. A bet on "Soligorsk to win" will be displayed at low odds (around 1.10) because the chances of one of the best clubs in the Belarusian league winning are very high. Conversely, the odds offered for "Belshina to win" will be fairly high (at least 6.00), as the chances of this team winning are highly speculative based on the standings and the history of head-to-head meetings between the two clubs. It's also worth noting that odds on Vysshaya Liga matches vary from one bookmaker to another. In fact, there are various aspects that come into play when calculating the probability of victory for one team or another, such as the balance of power between the two sides, the venue of the match, the team line-ups (injury and/or suspension), the rivalry of the match (if it's a derby), but also the style of play of the teams in the Belarusian league, etc.

To conclude, you should also know that your odds will fluctuate for the same match over the course of the different Vysshaya Liga matches. This will be the case if a number of key events occur during the match that are likely to alter the final score. To make things clear, let's take the example of the match between Soligorsk and Belshina and imagine that it was the visitors who opened the scoring in the first half. This is a very surprising scenario, as it was not at all what the various bookmakers had predicted before kick-off. As a result, the various betting sites will be taking precautions and will have to recalculate the new probabilities by updating the match odds. Punters following the game live will therefore notice a significant change in the odds concerning the final outcome of the match. For example, the odds for Belshina's success will fall from 6.00 (at the start of the match) to 2.50 with the score in their favour. On the other hand, the odds for favourites Soligorsk will increase significantly, reaching 2.00 after the interval instead of 1.10 at the start of the game. Logically, it is the odds for a draw that will plummet, as both teams are likely to finish with 1 point apiece. The same thing will happen in every game in the Vysshaya Liga, and the sports betting sites will act instantly according to the situation of the match.

How do I use Vysshaya Liga odds?

The odds on Vysshaya Liga matches will differ from one bookmaker to another, which is beneficial for players. In fact, the most important thing for all punters is to be able to calculate their winnings quickly for each of their bets. To find this out, you need to do a very simple calculation: multiply the odds by the amount you wish to invest (odds X stake = bet winnings). It's vital to remember this calculation, as you'll be using it for all your sports bets from now on. You also need to understand the relationship between your analysis (prediction) and the odds (chance) that the bookmakers will estimate. This is the only way you can really know whether your Vysshaya Liga prediction is in line with the logic of the market. Let's take another example with an opposition between Bate Borisov (3rd) and Dinamo Brest (at the bottom of the league). Before looking at the odds, you've studied the match very carefully and you've picked a win for Bate, who are playing at home against a weak team with uncertain momentum and who are fighting to stay in the Belarusian top flight. Next, you take a look at the various odds for the match, and you realise that the local club's success is being offered at 1.50 by the bookmakers. This makes sense if you compare your personal analysis with the odds on offer, because you and the sports betting sites believe that there is a high probability that the home side will win. In this case, your betting logic matches up with the market.

On the other hand, if you see that there is a fairly large discrepancy between the posted odds (for Bate to win) which are higher than expected (say 1.85), then you are in a situation that warrants a closer look. There's an anomaly in the home team's rating, so you need to understand where the discrepancy comes from. It may be that you lack information about the match and have missed a key point in your analysis. For some matches, we don't have all the information beforehand, leading us to misinterpret the match. Nonetheless, it's still important to have as much information as possible to ensure that your analysis isn't distorted by a lack of knowledge that makes your prediction wrong. The first thing to do is to check the official line-ups of the two teams to understand the intentions of the two coaches for the match in question. If the home team's starting XI is still very competitive and you still can't explain the odds of 1.85, make sure the match isn't being played behind closed doors or on neutral ground!

Bet on the winner of the Belarusian championship with futures markets

You can now make your Vysshaya Liga predictions on the competition itself. What are known as ‘futures’ are very interesting for players, as they offer opportunities to bet on the various teams in the Belarusian top flight. This allows you to not only bet on the winner of the competition, but also pick which teams finish on the podium, or choose which teams will be relegated at the end of the season, among others. An advantage of being able to bet on these types of bets is that you can do so at different times of the season. Logically, you can place these bets before the Ukrainian top flight championship starts, but you can also wager right in the middle of the season, and even a few days before the end of the championship. Inevitably, the odds will fluctuate according to the overall standings at the time the bet is placed. Unlike traditional bets, which last for 90 minutes, futures betting markets allow you to follow the results of the various teams you bet on throughout the season. This is sure to keep you on your toes day after day until the end of the championship!

Sign up everywhere!

The main goal of sports betting is to maximise profits from your predictions. In order to best achieve this task, it’s important to take advantage of the best possible odds on the market. For the same sports bet, the odds can vary by up to 10% per match. That's a considerable difference, especially over an entire season. Let's take one last example: a Vysshaya Liga match between Vitebsk and Isloch where you want to invest €100 on the visiting team winning. After comparing the odds, you realise that Isloch's win is offered at an average of 1.85, except at one bookmaker who offers it at 1.95. You would therefore be wise to invest your €100 with this bookmaker in order to obtain a net profit of €95, compared with an average of €85 with his competitors.

To benefit from even bigger winnings, you'll have to do this for all the Vysshaya Liga matches, by registering with as many bookmakers as possible to benefit from a wider choice of odds. With this strategy used by experienced punters, you will be able to considerably increase your winnings over the long term for the same sports bets, so be sure to take advantage of it! On our site, we present the most attractive bookmakers of the moment along with access to our various tips and betting predictions. Make sure to take a look before making your next Vysshaya Liga bets! To conclude this article, you can also access our free odds comparator, which will enable you to quickly find the best odds on the market to maximise your winnings for your future sports bets.