WHAT DOES JUICE MEAN IN THE CONTEXT OF SPORTS BETTING? The initial objective of anyone who starts their adventure in sports betting is definitely making money. We can treat it as a hobby, or even as a leisure activity, or we can be purely professional, but at the end of the day, we all want to be profitable. Juice is another name for vig, which is the cut or amount charged by a sportsbook for taking a bet. The sportsbook only collects the juice if the bettor loses the wager. For example, a point spread is often listed with -110 odds. If the Eagles are -6.5 point favorites, that would be at -110 odds. If there was no juice, it would be at even odds, or +100. With the juice, a $100 bet would result in a $190 payout.

• What Does Juice Mean In Sports Betting
• V 8 Ingredients
• What Does Juice Mean In Betting
• What Is The Juice In Betting

What is the vig in sports betting? Quite simply, the vig, vigorish, or juice, is the house edge. The word itself carries a bit of a negative connotation because it is also used to describe the usually high interest charged by loan sharks.

The goal of every sportsbook is to set lines that draw an equal amount of action to either side of a bet. Once that happens, the sportsbook can earn the vig from the difference between what the losing side lays on the bet and how much the winning side is paid out.

That means, in a perfect world, online sportsbooks would have no interest in the outcome of the sporting events you bet on. They don’t have to sweat results and can rely solely on the vig to earn profits that most players agree the sportsbooks are entitled to. In actuality though, it is difficult getting the action evenly split across lines, which means the sportsbooks can lose money if the action is not balanced.

Read on for more on how it works, how sportsbooks use the vig to earn money, and how you can calculate vig yourself just by looking at the lines.

How do sportsbooks make money?

Sportsbooks earn money by collecting a commission on bets. This is the vig.

Most of the time, that vig is less than 5%. It’s an amount most gamblers are happy to part with in exchange for the service provided by the sportsbooks.

While sportsbooks don’t post the vig, it’s easy enough to calculate yourself using the odds. That’ll tell you when a sportsbook is getting out of line with the vig on a bet and help you avoid it.

How is the vig calculated?

Unfortunately, sportsbooks don’t post the vig on bets, so it’s not that easy to find. However, sportsbooks do post the odds, and the odds will ultimately tell you everything you need to know about the vig.

You just need to do a little math first.

The complete formula you can use to calculate vig yourself is:

(Favorite odds/(Favorite odds + 100) X 100) + (100/(Underdog odds + 100) X 100) – 100 = Vig

How to calculate the juice yourself

Of course, not every bet with only two possible outcomes pays the same odds on both sides as in the example above.

The moneyline for the same NFL opener described above might be Texans (+350) @ Chiefs (-460).

In this case, or any other where one side is a favorite over the other, you can calculate the vig yourself by converting the odds to implied probability.

Then, you simply add the two probabilities together and compare that number to 100%. The difference is the vig.

You can convert negative moneyline odds for the favorite to a probability by extrapolating the figure and using it in the following formula:

Odds/(Odds + 100) X 100 = Probability

What Does Juice Mean In Sports Betting

Therefore, at -460, sportsbooks are giving the Chiefs an 82.14% chance of winning (460/(460 + 100) X 100 = 82.14%)

You can convert positive moneyline odds for the underdog to a probability by extrapolating the figure and using it in the following formula:

100/(Odds + 100) X 100 = Probability

Therefore, at +350, sportsbooks are giving the Texans a 22.22% chance of winning (100/(350 + 100) X 100 = 22.22%)

Add 82.14% to 22.22% and you get 104.36%. The difference between 104.36% and 100% is 4.36%

That means the sportsbook is earning a 4.36% vig on the Texans @ Chiefs moneyline.

How does vig work?

Perhaps the best way to see how vig works in betting is to look at a simple example.

The Houston Texans are scheduled to visit the Kansas City Chiefs to open the NFL season.

Most sportsbooks have set the totals line for the game somewhere around O/U 54.5. That means you can bet either the total combined score at over or under that line of 54.5 points. At most sportsbooks, you’ll book the bet at -110 odds, whether you bet the over or the under.

The sportsbooks have set the line at a point where it should draw an equal amount of bets on the over and the under. If there is heavier betting on one side, a sportsbook will move the line to incentivize people to bet the other side until there is an equal amount of betting on both sides.

The -110 odds means whether you bet the under or over, you’ll have to lay down $110 to try to win $100, plus your bet back. For the purposes of this example, let’s say $110,000 is bet on each side for a total of $220,000 in wagers.

Remember, for a totals bet including a half-point, there are only two possible outcomes and only one side can win. For argument’s sake, let’s say the game ends 31-27 Chiefs, making for a total of 58 points. That means the over wins.

Since $110,000 was bet on the over at -110 odds over, bettors will be paid out $100,000 in winnings, plus the $110,000 originally bet, for a total of $210,000.

The sportsbooks will take the $110,000 bet on the over and return it to the winners. The other $100,000 will come from the $110,000 lost on under bets.

That leaves the sportsbooks with a $10,000 profit, meaning the vig earned on the $220,000 in totals bets for this game was $10,000.

Of course, $10,000 is approximately 4.5% of $220,000, meaning the sportsbooks earned a 4.5% vig on the bet.

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What’s the difference between vig and overround?

There really is no difference between vig and overround in gambling. Although the number might be expressed differently, both the vig and overround are how sportsbooks make money.

Whether you call it an overround or a vig, it is still the profit margin sportsbooks factor into the price, or odds, of any bet.

Point spread betting is the most popular form of sports betting. The vast majority of sports wagers use a point spread thanks to the popularity of football and basketball. Even though this type of betting is so popular, it may take awhile to understand.

The point spread is sometimes known as an equalizer for sportsbook operators. All teams aren’t created equally, so sportsbooks can create a point spread for a game so that each team playing has an almost even chance of winning the game. In a way, the point spread will even the field for both teams.

The point spread gives a reason for bettors to risk money on both teams. The better team playing in the game is considered favorite. They have to win by the point spread offered by the sportsbook. The favorite in a game is listed as being minus (-) the point spread.

The worse of the teams playing in the game is called the underdog. The bettor wins if this team wins the game outright or loses by an amount smaller than the point spread. The underdog in a game is listed as being plus (+) the point spread.

Let’s use this past Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs as an example.

Using this example, the Chiefs were 3-point favorites over the Buccaneers. The Chiefs needed to win by 4 or more points to cover the spread.

Likewise, the Buccaneers were 3-point underdogs. That means the Buccaneers needed to win the game outright or not lose the contest by 4 points or more. At Chiefs -3, if they won by exactly 3 points, the betting result would have been a “push” and bettors for both sides would have gotten their wagers refunded.

The Buccaneers pulled off the upset, winning by a score of 31-9, and rewarded bettors who backed them at +3.

V 8 Ingredients

Point spread betting odds

Point spreads are usually set with -110 odds, but pricing often fluctuates at online sportsbooks. This is the sportsbook operators’ house edge. The odds guarantee the sportsbook operator will see a little money over time. When the odds are set at -110, the bettor must wager $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10).

The odds on a point spread are most commonly known as the vigorish or “vig” for the sportsbook. You might hear this small profit margin for the sportsbook called the “juice” by some sports bettors.

Point spread FAQs

What does ‘pick em’ or ‘pick’ mean in NFL betting?

A “pick em” (sometimes seen as “pick”) is when the teams have a point spread of zero, meaning neither team is favored. In this instance, you’re essentially picking moneyline and your bet will be determined on the winner alone.

What does -7 and +7 mean in NFL betting?

A spread of minus-seven (-7) means that a is favored to win the game by a touchdown (technically, a touchdown and the extra point). A team favored by -7 must win the game by eight or more points to win the bet. If the team wins by seven, the result is a “push” and the bet is refunded.

A spread of +7 means the team must win the game or lose by fewer than seven points to win the bet. A loss by seven would result in a push.

What does -3 and +3 mean in NFL betting?

What Does Juice Mean In Betting

A -3 spread means that the favorite must win by more than a field goal to win the wager. A three-point win would result in a push and the sportsbook would refund the wager.

A spread of +3 means the team listed as the underdog must win the game or lose by fewer than three points to cash the bet. A three-point loss would be graded as a push by the sportsbook and the bet would be refunded.

Why are point spreads in the NFL so much lower than in college?

In 2019, the Baltimore Ravens led the NFL in point differential per game at +13.7 points; the Miami Dolphins ranked last in the NFL in point differential per game at -11.7. Even Kansas City– known for their explosive offense– had an average point differential in 2019 of just 9.7 points. The net point differential in the NFL is -14.1, or -0.9 points per game. Basically, the talent differential in the NFL is so minute that even mismatched teams often draw games within a score of each other.

NFL spreads are most commonly between one point and four, with six being a heavy favorite and extremes coming out around 15-20 point favors. (For those wondering, the 1941 Chicago Bears hold the NFL record of point differential at +15.7 points per game. Conversely, Ohio State had a +33.1 average point differential in 2019.)

Point spread and odds movement

Sportsbook operators often aim to have equal money on both sides of a point spread. When the money is exactly split the sportsbook operator will see the exact vigorish as their profit margin. If all things are equal over time this will maximize how much money the sportsbook operator can make.

In an effort to have equal money on both sides of a wager, the sportsbook operator will move the point spread to attract money on the side that customers aren’t betting on. The odds for a point spread might change before the actual point spread. There are certain point spread numbers, like 3 and 7 in football, the sportsbook operators would like to avoid moving away from since the final score margin falls on these two numbers most often.

For example, if a lot more money is wagered on the New England Patriots -3, the vig may shift from -112 to -115 and -120 before the line moves to -3.5.

Run and puck lines

Football and basketball games are mostly bet using a point spread. The less popular major sports, baseball and hockey, are mostly bet using a moneyline. In an effort to make baseball and hockey more appealing to point spread bettors, the sportsbook operators offer run and puck lines, respectively.

What Is The Juice In Betting

These alternative lines give point spread bettors a chance to wager on other sports using a more familiar method of betting. Since points (runs and goals) aren’t as easy to come by in baseball and hockey, the odds with the lines may have a wider spread than a football or basketball game.