Guides
How to read Pinnacle odds: decimal prices, handicaps, totals and periods
A plain guide to Pinnacle's odds: decimal and American formats, implied probability, Asian handicaps and quarter lines, totals, team totals, periods and limits, with worked examples.
Pinnacle's prices are the reference line for a lot of bettors and modellers, but the notation can be confusing the first time: decimal prices, quarter handicaps, team totals and numbered periods. This guide walks through each piece with examples. To see real prices while you read, open the Pinnacle odds board in another tab.
Decimal odds
Pinnacle quotes decimal odds by default. A decimal price is the total return per unit staked, stake included:
- A price of 2.50 returns 2.50 for every 1 staked: 1.50 profit plus the stake back.
- A price of 1.80 returns 1.80: 0.80 profit.
The implied probability is 1 / odds: 2.50 implies 40%, 1.80 implies 55.6%.
If you think in American or fractional odds, the free odds converter switches between all formats:
| Decimal | American | Fractional | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.50 | -200 | 1/2 | 66.67% |
| 1.91 | -110 | 10/11 | 52.36% |
| 2.00 | +100 | 1/1 | 50.00% |
| 2.50 | +150 | 3/2 | 40.00% |
| 4.00 | +300 | 3/1 | 25.00% |
Why the probabilities add up to more than 100%
Add the implied probabilities of every outcome in a market and you get slightly more than 100%. The extra is the margin. Pinnacle's margin on major markets is low, often around 2-3%, which is a big part of why its prices are used as a reference. Removing it gives the fair price; the no-vig guide shows how.
Moneyline (match winner)
The moneyline is the price on each side to win. In two-way sports (tennis, basketball, American football) there are two prices; in soccer and hockey regulation markets there are three, home / draw / away, often written 1X2.
Spreads and Asian handicaps
A spread gives one side a head start. Home -1.5 @ 2.20 means the home team must win by 2 or more for the bet to win.
Soccer uses Asian handicaps, which include whole and quarter lines:
- Whole line (-1): win by 2 = win, win by exactly 1 = stake returned (push), anything else = loss.
- Half line (-0.5): the team simply has to win. No push is possible.
- Quarter line (-0.25 or -0.75): the stake is split across the two neighbouring lines. On -0.25, half goes on 0 and half on -0.5, so a draw returns half the stake and loses the other half.
Pinnacle lists many lines per match. The "main" line is the one priced closest to even on both sides; that is what the board shows.
Totals and team totals
A total is the combined score: Over 2.5 @ 1.95 wins with three goals or more. The same whole, half and quarter logic as handicaps applies to totals. A team total is the same thing for one team's score only.
Periods
Pinnacle prices each part of a match separately. In the PinnRadar API they appear as numbered periods:
num_0: the whole match (usually regulation time, check the sport's rules)num_1: the first half in soccer and basketball, the first period in hockey, the first set in tennisnum_2and up: the following halves, quarters, sets or maps, where offered
A price on num_1 and a price on num_0 are separate markets. Compare like with like.
Limits
Every Pinnacle market has a maximum stake, its limit. Limits are low when a market opens and rise as kick-off approaches and the price becomes more reliable. Many modellers read a high limit as a sign that the price has absorbed more information. Drop alerts from the dropping odds API include the limit for that reason.
Reading a price move
When a Pinnacle price shortens, say from 2.10 to 1.95, it usually means money arrived on that side and Pinnacle moved the line rather than turning the bet away. The odds dropper lists the biggest recent moves, and the free Telegram channel posts a digest every hour.
Getting the prices into code
Everything above maps directly onto the JSON the PinnRadar API returns: one object per event, with periods, and inside each period money_line, spreads, totals and team totals. The docs describe every field, and a free key is enough to start.
PinnRadar is an independent data service, not affiliated with Pinnacle, and provides data rather than betting advice.
Questions readers ask
What odds format does Pinnacle use?
Decimal odds by default. A decimal price is the total return per unit staked, including the stake. You can convert to American or fractional with the odds converter.
What does -0.25 mean on Pinnacle?
It is a quarter Asian handicap: half the stake goes on 0 and half on -0.5. If the match is drawn, half the stake is returned and half is lost.
Why are Pinnacle odds used as a reference?
Pinnacle runs a low margin on major markets and moves its line in response to informed money instead of limiting winning players, so its prices are widely treated as a good estimate of true probability.
What are periods num_0 and num_1?
num_0 is the whole match and num_1 is the first half, first period or first set, depending on the sport. Each period is priced as a separate market.
Pull Pinnacle prices into your own code
The PinnRadar odds APIcarries Pinnacle’s live and prematch markets, drop alerts included, over REST, SSE and WebSocket. Compare the plans, or start on a free key: just an email, and no Pinnacle account needed.