What Is Hold Percentage (Vig) in Sports Betting?

What is Hold Percentage in Sports Betting? (Quick Answer)

Hold percentage is the share of all money wagered on a market that a sportsbook expects to keep, built into the odds through the vig (also called juice). On a standard NFL spread priced at -110 on both sides, the hold is about 4.55%.

To calculate it, convert the odds on every outcome to implied probability and add them up. Anything above 100% is the sportsbook's margin (the overround). Then use hold = 1 - (1 ÷ total implied probability). The lower the hold, the less you pay for the same bet.

The Problem: You Never See the Fee

If a store suddenly added an 18% fee at checkout, you'd question it at the very least. Sportsbooks charge a version of that on some bets, but it's baked into the odds so it never appears as a line item. Most bettors focus on the pick, but two books can pay you differently for the same outcome and some bet types carry much bigger margins than others.

The video below shows the whole process and this article gives you the formulas and examples in written form.

Hold, Vig, Juice, and Overround: What's the Difference?

These terms overlap and are often used interchangeably but here's a quick look at what they really mean:

• Vig (vigorish) or juice: The commission built into the odds. At -110, you risk $110 to win $100, and that extra $10 is the vig.
• Overround: The amount by which the implied probabilities of all outcomes exceed 100%. For -110/-100, that's 104.76%, or 4.76 points of overround.
• Hold percentage: The margin expressed as a share of total money wagered. For -110/-110. that's 4.55%.

Overround and hold are the same margin measured two ways which is why 4.76 and 4.55 describe the same market.

How to Calculate Hold Percentage

Step 1: Convert odds to implied probability

• Negative odds: |odds| ÷ (|odds| + 100)
• Positive odds: 100 ÷ (odds + 100)

For example, -110 is 110 ÷ 210 = 52.38%

Step 2: Add every outcome

You need every outcome in the market because one side's odds can't show you the margin. Two sides at -110 add up to 104.76%. A fair two-way market would total 100%.

Step 3: Apply the formula

Hold = 1 - (1 ÷ 1.047619) = 4.55%

Check it with real dollars

Say one bettor puts $110 on Team A (-3.5, -110) and another puts $110 on Team B (+3.5, -110). The book collects $220. Whoever wins gets $210 back (stake included) so the book keeps $10. That's $10 ÷ $220 = 4.55%, the same number as the formula.

This assumes balanced action. Real results swing game to game but the margin is built into the price either way.

How to Remove the Vig (No-Vig Odds)

Removing the vig gives your a reference price for comparing other books. Say the favorite is -150 and the underdog is +13-:

• -150 → 60%

• +130 → 43.48%
• Total: 103.48% which is a hold of 3.36%

Divide each side by the total and then convert back to odds to get roughly -138/+138. That's a no vig-estimate rather than the "true" odds but it's the benchmark you measure other books against.

Theoretical Hold vs Actual Hold

Everything above is theoretical hold, the margin the prices imply. Actual hold is what the sportsbook really keeps after results come in. They can differ a lot on a single game because betting is rarely perfectly balanced and outcomes are random.

Hold Percentage by Bet Type

Margins vary widely by book and market. These are real examples, not fixed rates:

Player props carry nearly double the margin of a spread. Over -130 and Under -110 add up to 108.90%, which is an 8.17% hold.

Parlays compound the margin. Three -110 legs pay about +596, but hitting three 50/50 outcomes in a row is a 1-in-8 chance, so the fair price is +700. That gap is about a 13% expected loss on your stake. Add a fourth leg and it rises to about 17%. These figures assume independent 50/50 legs with no pushes or boosts.

Futures are the biggest surprise. Adding up the implied probabilities for all 32 teams on a DraftKings Super Bowl board (snapshot from September 24, 2026) gave 122.50%. Only one team can win, so the hold is about 18.37%, roughly four times the spread example. Your money is also tied up for months.

Same-game parlays (SGPs) are pushed hard in most apps. Flutter, FanDuel's parent company, cited Deutsche Bank research showing SGP margins rising from 13.1% in 2019 to 18.5% in 2023. These are historical industry figures, not a quote for any specific ticket.

Why Same-Game Parlays Are Hard to Price

SGP legs are correlated. If a quarterback throws for 350 yards, his tip receiver probably had a big day too. So you can't just multiply the odds to find a fair price and part of the payout adjustment reflects that correlation rather than extra margin. What you can do is price the identical ticket at more than one sportsbook and compare the payouts.

How to Use Hold to Bet Smarter

None of this means you should never bet a parlay or a future. It just means that the payout deserves as much attention as the pick. Three habits that help:

1. Add up every outcome: Anything over 100% is the margin.
2. Remove the vig: Use the no-vig estimate as your reference price.
3. Shop the same line across books: The lowest overall margin isn't always the best price on the side you want, so check both.

FAQ: Hold Percentage and Vig in Sports Betting

What is hold percentage in sports betting?

Hold percentage is the share of all money wagered on a market that a sportsbook expects to keep. It comes from the margin built into the odds. A standard -110/-110 spread has a hold of about 4.55%.

What is vig in sports betting?

Vig (vigorish), also called juice, is the commission a sportsbook builds into its odds. At -110, you risk $110 to win $100, and the extra $10 is the vig.

How do you calculate hold percentage?

Convert the odds on every outcome to implied probability and add them up. Then calculate 1 − (1 ÷ total). For -110/-110, the total is 104.76%, so hold is 4.55%.

What is the hold on -110 odds?

When both sides of a market are priced at -110, the hold is about 4.55%. A sportsbook that takes equal $110 bets on each side collects $220, pays out $210, and keeps $10.

What's the difference between vig and hold?

They describe the same margin. Vig is the commission built into the price, while hold is that margin as a percentage of total money wagered. For -110/-110, the overround is 4.76 points and the hold is 4.55%.

Is a lower hold percentage better for bettors?

Yes. A lower hold means a smaller built-in cost for the same bet. Because the lowest overall margin isn't always the best price on your side, also compare prices on the specific outcome you want.

Which bets have the highest hold?

In our examples, standard spreads were about 4.55%, player props about 8.17%, three-leg parlays about 13%, and a Super Bowl futures board over 18%. Same-game parlays are among the highest, with industry margins cited at 18.5% in 2023. Actual margins vary by book and market.

What are no-vig odds?

No-vig odds are an estimate of a market's odds with the sportsbook's margin removed. For -150/+130, the no-vig estimate is about -138/+138. They're a reference point for comparing other books, not the "true" odds.

What's the difference between theoretical and actual hold?

Theoretical hold is the margin implied by the posted prices. Actual hold is what the sportsbook really keeps after results come in, which can differ because betting is rarely balanced and outcomes are random.

How can I find the lowest hold on a bet?

Compare the same line across multiple sportsbooks and calculate each book's hold. ProfitDuel's tools shows prices from supported books side by side, so you can compare quickly.

See the Margin Before You Bet

Hold is the cost of every bet you place, and it's easiest to understand when you see it on real lines. Start a ProfitDuel trial to compare odds across the sportsbooks we cover and watch the video at the top of the article for the full walkthrough.