Confusing Odds with Probability.

[slickpoppa]

In this forum and many other forums I consistently see people using the term odds like it means probability and vice versa.

So for anyone who is unaware:

Odds is written as the number of times an event will not happen per each time that it will happen. For example, the odds of a coin coming up heads is 1:1. The odds of someone guessing a number between 1 and 5 is 4:1.

Probability on the other hand is the fraction of times an event will occur on average. So the probability of a coin coming up heads is 1/2. The probability of someone guessing a number between 1 and 5 is 1/5.