Vig Calculator: What the Juice Costs You
Vig, or juice, is the commission built into a line. At -110 on both sides you risk $110 to win $100, so you must win 52.38% of bets to break even. The calculator shows the vig in percent, each side's break-even rate and the average cost over any number of bets.
Key facts
- Vigorish, or juice, is the commission a bookmaker takes built into the odds (Wikipedia, Vigorish).
- At -110 on both sides the break-even win rate is 52.38%.
- A -110/-110 line has a vig of about 4.55%, or about $4.55 per $100 bet at fair chances.
The vig is the price of placing a bet. It never appears as a fee, but it's baked into the odds, and over many bets it's the biggest cost most bettors face. Here it's shown as a percentage, as a break-even win rate and as dollars over a run of bets. It runs in your browser, sends nothing anywhere and forgets your numbers when you close the page.
Vig calculator
Turn on JavaScript to use the calculator. The worked example below shows the same math by hand.
What you enter and what you get
You enter
- Odds, side 1: American, decimal or fractional.
- Odds, side 2: American, decimal or fractional odds.
- Stake per bet ($): an amount in dollars.
- Number of bets: a number.
You get
- Vig on this line
- Break-even win rate, side 1
- Break-even win rate, side 2
- Fair chance, side 1 (vig removed)
- Fair chance, side 2 (vig removed)
- Average expected cost per $100 bet
- Expected cost over n bets of your stake
How the calculator works
- Convert both sides to implied probabilities and add them.
- Vig = 1 − 1 ÷ total, the margin in percent.
- Each side's break-even win rate is its implied probability.
- Expected cost per bet = stake × the average expected loss at fair chances. Multiply by the number of bets.
A worked example
A -110/-110 line, $100 per bet, 100 bets.
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Vig on this line | 4.55% |
| Break-even win rate, side 1 | 52.38% |
| Break-even win rate, side 2 | 52.38% |
| Fair chance, side 1 (vig removed) | 50% |
| Fair chance, side 2 (vig removed) | 50% |
| Average expected cost per $100 bet | -$4.55 |
| Expected cost over 100 bets of $100 | -$454.55 |
What the calculator leaves out
- Cost per bet assumes fair chances; if you are better or worse than that, your own result differs.
- Lines on props, parlays and futures often carry more vig than main lines.
- It prices one line, not the cost of using several books.
How we checked it
Before it went on the page we checked it against a case worked by hand: -110 on both sides has to cost about $4.55 for every $100 bet. The calculator is also run against thousands of odd entries such as blanks, zeros and huge numbers, so a bad entry shows a plain prompt and never a wrong number. The worked example above comes from the same code the calculator runs.
At a sweepstakes sportsbook
At a sweepstakes sportsbook the vig sits in the prices the same way, so comparing lines across sites is the easiest way to see which is cheaper. Watch for extra costs outside the line, such as how winnings are redeemed. Gold Coins vs Sweeps Coins explains the coin types.
Betting math is not betting advice. Only play with money you can afford to lose, and if gambling stops being fun, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal vig?
About 4.5% on a standard -110/-110 line. It's often higher on props and parlays.
Is vig the same as hold?
Hold is the margin across a whole market and vig is usually quoted per line. For a two-way line they are the same number.
How do I beat the vig?
You need a win rate above the break-even rate, or better prices. The calculator shows the rate you need.
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