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Betting Exchanges and the Tote Pool use what is known as decimal odds instead of what most people recognise as betting odds prices. A better name for them would be "what you see is what you get back" prices as they are the total return you would receive including stake.
But why change what people already recognise?

For instance it is easy to understand 2 to 1 as being if the horse wins then you will get 2 back and the original stake. This is known as fractional odds and most of us have seen such prices when horse racing is being discussed.
But what about prices like 6 to 4 or 13 to 8? Now the price is not so clear and quick calculations have to be made as to what you would get back if your horse won.

The prices shown on the Exchanges make this easier, not child’s play, but a lot easier than the fractional system when trying to work out what you can expect to receive, or what something is going to cost if you are considering laying. A simple rule is to deduct 1 from the number and you get your price.

For example a price of 3 on the exchange would be 2 to 1 in normal terms (3 – 1 = 2), another example would be an exchange price of 6 would be 5 to 1 in normal terms (6 – 1 = 5).
It really is that simple. Taking this on a little bit further would be to say that an exchange price of 3.5 on a £1 stake would mean you risking £2.50 on a lay bet (3.5 – 1 = 2.5).