Vig Calculator

A vig calculator measures the margin (the vig, juice, or hold) a sportsbook builds into a market — the extra implied probability beyond 100% that guarantees the book a profit.

Enter both sides of a market and instantly see how much vig the sportsbook is charging, the implied hold on balanced action, and the fair no-vig price for each side. Lower vig means more of your money stays in play — use it to compare books before you bet.

Sportsbook vig

Market

Odds

Enter both sides of the same market (e.g. both moneylines, or the over and under).

Vig (margin)

4.76% standard

Total implied probability: 104.76%

Hold

4.55%

Sides

Two-way

Fair no-vig odds

+10050.0%

Need the full devig breakdown? Open the devig calculator →

What is vig?

Vig — short for vigorish, and also called juice, the cut, or the overround — is the margin a sportsbook bakes into its prices. A fair coin flip should pay +100 on both sides, but a book will price it -110 / -110. Convert -110 to an implied probability and you get 52.38%; both sides together sum to 104.76%. That extra 4.76% above 100% is the vig, and it's the book's built-in edge.

The vig is what makes most bettors long-term losers even when they pick winners at a 50% clip. Beating the vig is the entire game: you either need to win often enough to overcome it, or find prices where the vig is small and the line is soft.

Vig vs. hold — what's the difference?

The two terms are closely related and often used interchangeably, but they're measured slightly differently. Vig here is expressed as a share of the total implied probability — how much of the priced market is margin. Hold is the book's theoretical profit margin on perfectly balanced action: 1 − 1 / (sum of implied probabilities). On a -110 / -110 market the hold is about 4.55%. Both numbers tell the same story — the bigger they are, the more the book is taking.

What's a good (low) vig?

1–3% — sharp-book territory (Pinnacle, Circa). Tight margins, fast-moving lines.
4–5% — standard retail two-way markets (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM).
6–10%+ — high-vig markets, typically player props, same-game parlays, and longshots.

All else equal, bet at the lowest-vig book offering the price you want. Over thousands of bets, the difference between 2% and 6% vig is enormous.

When to use this calculator

Use the vig calculator to size up how much a sportsbook is charging on a given market before you bet, and to compare margins across books. A market with 8% vig is a much worse deal than the same market at 3% elsewhere — even if the headline number looks similar.

Want the fair price each side should be, not just the margin? The devig calculator removes the vig and returns the no-vig odds. To convert a single price into a win probability, use the implied probability calculator. For automatic, real-time vig and fair-odds analysis across 20+ books, see the live +EV feed.

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Frequently asked questions

What is vig in sports betting?

Vig (vigorish, also called juice or the overround) is the margin a sportsbook builds into its odds. It shows up as implied probabilities that sum to more than 100% across a market. On a -110 / -110 two-way market, the two sides imply about 104.76% total — the extra ~4.76% is the vig, and it is the book's edge over bettors.

What is the difference between vig and hold?

They measure the same margin slightly differently. Vig is often quoted as how much the market exceeds 100% (the overround), while hold is the book's theoretical profit on balanced action, calculated as 1 − 1 / (sum of implied probabilities). On a -110 / -110 market the hold is about 4.55%. Both rise and fall together — bigger means the book takes more.

What is a good vig percentage?

Lower is better for the bettor. Sharp books like Pinnacle and Circa run 1–3% vig; standard retail two-way markets are around 4–5%; player props and same-game parlays often carry 6–10% or more. All else equal, bet the lowest-vig book offering the price you want.

How is vig calculated?

Convert each side's odds to implied probability, add them up, and the amount over 100% is the vig. For example, -110 converts to 52.38%; two of them sum to 104.76%, so the overround is 4.76%. The vig is independent of which devig method you use — it only depends on the total implied probability.

Does lower vig mean a better bet?

Lower vig means the book is taking less, so more of the true value is left for you — but it does not by itself make a bet +EV. You still need the price to beat the fair no-vig odds. Use the devig calculator to find the fair price, then compare it to what each book offers.

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