Gambling 101: What Is The Vig/Juice In Sports Betting?

Our Gambling 101 series continues with an explanation of what "juice" is, why it matters to oddsmakers and why it should matter to you.

Gambling 101: What is Juice? /

Most people enjoy a healthy intake of juice, except when it comes to sports betting. Also referred to as a commission or vigorish, let’s break down this sports betting term.

What is Juice on Betting Odds?

Juice, also known as the vig, is the cut a sportsbook keeps for taking your bet if your bet wins. It's most commonly seen in the point spread, where the bettor gets -110 odds on either side of the bet. In this case, if you bet $10 and your bet wins, you receive roughly $9.10 back for winning. That $0.90 difference is the vig or juice. The other way to look at it is you have to bet $11 to win $10.

On most action, sportsbooks don’t want a vested interest in the final result of competitions they offer odds on. Instead, a bookmaker’s main goal is to get equal action on both sides of the and game total options they post. While prices vary depending on the sport and betting option, the most common juice amount is ten-cent pricing (-110). On every $110 wager, bookies pay out $100 to the winning side and collect $110 from the losing side.

Not all bets have -110 odds, of course. Sometimes sportsbooks will make the premium higher, like -120 or -130, depending on how much is being bet on one side or the other. That means you have to bet $12 or $13 to win $10, or the profit goes down if you only bet $10. Sportsbooks have action on both sides, so for every bet you make, they collect on the other side, which gives them an advantage.

How Do Bookmakers Profit From Juice?

While a $10 profit may not appear impressive, the total handle on a single bet can be a million dollars or more. If there is $500K wagered on both sides of a two-way (-110) betting option, bookmakers pocket $45,454 in risk-free profit. That’s a good gig if you can get it.

If a sportsbook has too much risk on one side, they often adjust the juice to attract action on the other side. In the example below, the books were trying to bring in money on Houston. By adjusting the odds to -105, bettors only needed to invest $105 to win $100.

NFL Point Spread Juice

Houston Texans +10 (-105)
Kansas City Chiefs -10 (-115)

Juice Example

Using the point spread above, if you bet on the Chiefs to cover a 10-point spread, you need to wager $11.50 to win $10. However, if you bet $10 and they cover, you win $8.70.

On the other side, if you bet the Texans +10, meaning they have to win the game or lose by 10 or fewer points, you wager $10.50 to win $10 and a $10 bet would profit $9.52 if they cover.

How to Calculate Juice

There is a formula for calculating juice, but the important thing to understand is the odds represent the implied probability of an outcome occurring. So, -110 odds indicates a 52.4% chance of that bet occurring. Here's how you calculate that with a negative (-) number:

Negative Odds / (Negative Odds + 100) x 100

Here's how you calculate it for a positive (+) number.

100 / (Positive Odds + 100) x 100

In both examples, you don't have a + or - in front of the number. You just put the number in there. So, if the odds are -110, here's how it looks:

110 / (110+100) x 100

In this example, the number is 52.4, which is the implied probability.

Does the Vig Matter?

Absolutely. It's how much the house takes home on either side of the bet. It also dictates how much you profit if your bet wins. It can be used as a guide for where to bet, and also informs bettors where money is being bet on either side of the wager.

More importantly, it's a reminder that the house has an advantage going into any bet. As explained above, if two people bet $100 on either side of the bet, the house keeps the $10 discrepency in payout. Over thousands of bets, that adds up quickly.

Bettors Should Shop Around For Lowest Price Juice

Price shopping is an important part of proper bankroll management. Just as one would do when buying a vehicle, bettors should check the juice at several sportsbooks before placing their bets. Winning a $1000 wager with (-105) juice returns a $952.38 profit. The return drops to $869.57 on bets with (-115) juice and lost returns add up substantially over the long run.

For bettors with access to online betting price shopping has never been easier. For example, bettors receive added value betting Carolina (-110) with the first set of odds while Las Vegas (-105) has better priced juice in the second set of odds.

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