“Then how do they make their money?”
“Sometimes off a percentage, sometimes . . . but that’s another story. What we’re talking about is odds. Okay?”
“I guess so,” I shrugged.
“Now, the situation I described is the ideal. It assumes the teams or fighters or whatever are evenly matched. That way, some people bet one side, some the other, but overall it evens out. That’s even odds or l-l.”
She shifted her weight a bit, ignoring the glares from our fellow patrons when the entire row of seats wobbled in response.
“But suppose things were different. What if, instead of an even match, one side had an advantage . . . like say if Badaxe were going to fight King Rodrick?”
“That’s easy,” I smiled. “Nobody would be on the King.”
“Precisely,” Massha nodded. “Then everybody would bet one side, and the bookies would have to cover all the bets with their own money . . . bets they stood a good chance of losing.”
“So they don’t take any bets.”
“No. They rig things so that people will bet on the king.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her.
“They could try, but I sure wouldn’t throw my gold away like that. I’d back Badaxe.”
“Really?” Massha smiled. “What if, instead of betting one gold piece to win one gold piece, you had to bet ten gold pieces on Badaxe to win one back?”
“Well…”
“Let me make it a little harder. How about if you bet one gold piece on the King, and he won, that instead of getting one gold piece back, you got a hundred?”
“I… um … might take a long shot on the King,” I said, hesitantly. “There’s always a chance he could get lucky. Besides, if I lose, I’m only out one gold piece.”