Note from the editors:_ This article is for educational and entertainment purposes only. If you want to use the presented model for real bets, do so at your own risk. Please make sure that this is in alignment with the terms and conditions of your bookmaker._

When Saturday Comes

It’s quarter-to-three on a Saturday afternoon. You’ve given up your ticket to the football match this weekend, deciding not to follow your dad to the ground as you have another appointment later in the evening (at least that’s what you’ve told him- the truth is, you can’t be bothered to watch your team play rubbish again).

Still one thing to do before kick-off though. Whipping out your mobile, you open up the insert favourite bookies’ name here app to view what the bookie makes your team’s odds to win this weekend. Relentlessly, you scroll through the betting coupons, looking at the match odds of many a team across the land. All of a sudden, you experience one of those inquisitive moments, wondering (not for the first time) “why these odds are what they are”. It would be nice to know a little more about the thoughts and processes that go into pricing these matches, given that you’re always trying to pick winners every weekend.

Anyway, you select your three teams for the accumulator. £10 on at 15/2. This is the one.

5 p.m arrives, and the results are in- two of the teams win, and the third comes away with an unlucky draw. Your acca lay in ruins. Seething, you put your phone away to prepare for your evening appointment. Your housemate, sensing the disappointment, reminds you “two out of three isn’t too bad”. You try to distract yourself for the rest of the day from the bad result. Right now, you couldn’t care less about those bloody odds.

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