What is a favourite in betting?
The favourite is the team, player or runner with the lowest odds in a market, meaning the bookmaker and the betting public consider it the most likely winner of the event.
Shortest price on the board: that’s the favourite. It’s spelled “favourite” in the UK and “favorite” in the US, where you’ll also hear “the chalk”. British racing shortens it to “the fav” or “the jolly”, and if two runners share the shortest price they’re joint favourites.
How to spot one in each odds format:
- Decimal: the smallest number (1.50 beats 4.20).
- Fractional: the smallest fraction (1/2 beats 3/1).
- American: the minus sign (−200). With point spreads, the favourite is the side giving points, like −6.5.
Example
A football match is priced like this:
| Outcome | Decimal | American | Implied chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 1.50 | −200 | 66.7% |
| Draw | 4.20 | +320 | 23.8% |
| Team B | 6.50 | +550 | 15.4% |
Team A are the favourite. A $30 bet on them returns $45, a $15 profit. Note you’re risking $30 to win $15. A favourite priced under 2.00 is called odds-on.
Watch out
“Favourite” means most likely, not certain. At 1.50 the market itself says Team A fail to win about one match in three. Back five such favourites in an accumulator and the chance that all five win drops to roughly 13%, even though each one “should” win.
The other trap is price. Favourites win often, which feels good, but winning often and making money are different things. If a team’s real chance is 60% and you take 1.50, you lose in the long run while cashing most of your slips.
The opposite of the favourite is the underdog. Neither is a better bet by default. It’s always about the price.