What is vig?
Vig (short for vigorish, also called juice or overround) is the commission a sportsbook charges on every bet. It's not a separate fee — it's baked directly into the odds themselves. The book prices both sides of a market so that, over time, it collects a percentage of every dollar wagered regardless of the outcome.
The most common example is the standard NFL spread line: -110 on both sides. That means you bet $110 to win $100. If a book takes equal action on both sides of a game, they collect $220 in bets, pay out $210 to the winners, and keep $10. That's a 4.55% cut — the vig.
How to calculate vig
To find the vig on any market, convert each side's odds to an implied probability, then add them together. The amount the sum exceeds 100% is the vig.
# Step 1: Convert American odds to implied probability side A (-110): 110 / (110 + 100) = 52.38% side B (-110): 110 / (110 + 100) = 52.38% # Step 2: Sum the implied probabilities total: 52.38% + 52.38% = 104.76% # Vig = total − 100% vig: 104.76% − 100% = 4.76%
A 4.76% hold is typical for NFL and NBA spread markets. Moneyline markets on heavy favorites can have vig well above 6–8%, while some offshore books run as low as 2%. Pinnacle, known as a sharp book, often posts under 3%.
How much vig do different sportsbooks charge?
| book | typical spread vig | typical ML vig | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle | ~2.5% | ~3% | Sharpest market, limits accepted |
| FanDuel | ~4.5% | ~5% | Standard US retail book |
| DraftKings | ~4.5% | ~5% | Standard US retail book |
| BetMGM | ~5% | ~5.5% | Slightly higher on some props |
| Caesars | ~4.5% | ~5% | Occasional promos offset vig |
These are approximate figures — actual vig varies by sport, market type, and time to game. Line shopping (comparing odds across multiple books) is the simplest way to reduce the vig you pay on each bet.
Why vig matters for serious bettors
At -110 on both sides, you need to win 52.38% of your bets just to break even — not 50%. That 2.38% edge the book has on every bet adds up enormously over thousands of wagers. A bettor who wins 51% of spread bets at -110 is actually losing money.
This is why professional bettors are obsessed with line shopping and "beating the closing line." The goal isn't just to pick winners — it's to find prices that are better than what the market's true probability justifies.
De-vigging gives you the no-margin "fair" price. When you can consistently bet at odds better than the fair price, you have positive expected value — even if you lose individual bets.
Try it: De-Vig Calculator
Enter the odds from any market to see the hold percentage and the fair no-vig price for each side. Try a typical spread (-110/-110), then try a moneyline with a heavy favorite to see how vig inflates on lopsided markets.
Enter American odds
De-vig method
Scales each implied probability proportionally. Most common method — assumes the book applies margin evenly across all outcomes.
fair probability split
What does "de-vigging" mean?
De-vigging (removing the vig) is the process of adjusting the book's implied probabilities so they sum to exactly 100%. This gives you the "fair" price — what each outcome would be worth in a zero-margin market.
There are three common methods: multiplicative (scale each probability proportionally), additive (subtract an equal margin from each side), and Shin (model the margin as protection against informed bettors). The calculator above lets you compare all three.
Key takeaways
Vig is the sportsbook's margin built into the odds — not a separate fee.
Standard spread markets run ~4.5–5% vig. Sharp books like Pinnacle are under 3%.
At -110, you need to win 52.38% of bets to break even — not 50%.
De-vigging reveals the true fair price the market is setting for each outcome.
Consistently betting above the fair (closing) price is the foundation of long-term edge.