Vig In Betting Odds
The vig — a hidden fee tucked into every betting line — is the bookmaker's margin. Juice is another common term. In the simplest terms, it is the house edge. But it is not explicitly added at the end like a casino betting fee. Rather, it is embedded in the prices you see for the action, which makes it trickier to measure. Read on to learn how to find it, pull it out of the quoted odds, and shop for the lowest-cost way to take your action.
The Margin
Vigorish, also called the juice, hold, or overround, is the fee sportsbooks charge for taking a wager. It is not a commission separate from the odds, nor is it a fee added on top. Rather, it is built into the betting line you see, and the sportsbook makes a profit on every player's action, not just the side that loses. Put another way, we get to see the lines that include the vig, we don’t get to see two sets of lines, one with and one without.
Pulling Out Juice
In a two-sided handicap market, the implied probabilities of each side's chance of winning are simply added together, and the amount above 100% is the margin baked in. According to at least one guide, you can convert odds into implied probabilities, add them, and subtract 100 to find the overround, by using this algorithm: (1 / Odds Side 1) + (1 / Odds Side 2) - 1 = Juice as Estimated.
The Standard Line
Point-spread and total lines are widely quoted as a standard -110, which lets you see exactly how a standard book takes their margin. If you bet $100 at -110, you risk $110 to win a profit of $100. This means the book is clearly charging a margin on every dollar you risk, on a two-way market. When you strip a standard line of vig, each side's chance is not balanced at 50%. Rather, it is closer to less than 50% to a side.
Digging for the Lowest Price. Every betting source repeats that lighter margins translate into more wagering and better long-term results, because skill guessing becomes worth more with each win. The key is to find the line that gives you the highest implied probability per play, and shopping helps to isolate the cheapest price for the same market. Remember, a book that rounds up implies your chance is eating into their margin.
The Practical Angle. The key is to strip a line for its juice, but remember, no market will not have it. The house wins. Perhaps you are an affiliate marketer who entertains readers with sports takes, seeking to insulate you from bad bets. In some books, a -110 is the norm, where you add on $11 for every $100 play, but that loss will compound and those extra fees must change your decisions.
What to read next
Written by the IGCS DeskExplanatory desk covering online casinos, sportsbooks and the money that moves through them. We do not rank operators and we do not take bets: every page here is meant to answer one question and then get out of the way.
