Enter both sides of any market, or all three outcomes for soccer and hockey, and this vig calculator shows the exact vig percentage baked into the price, along with the fair odds and true probability behind the line. It is the quickest way to see how much margin a sportsbook is charging before you place a bet.
Vig Odds Calculator
The tool takes American, decimal or fractional odds in the same box and handles both two-way markets and three-way markets like soccer and hockey where the draw is priced separately.
Work Out the Juice on Any Line
Vig, also called juice or vigorish, is the commission a sportsbook builds into its odds. It is the reason both sides of an even matchup are priced at -110 rather than +100; that extra margin is the book’s cut. This calculator measures it exactly, so you can see how expensive a market is and compare one book’s price against another before you bet.
What is a Vig Calculator
A vig calculator measures the sportsbook margin built into a betting market. It converts each price to an implied probability, adds them up, and subtracts 100. Whatever is left above 100 is the vig, the edge the book holds across the market. The calculator also strips that margin out to show the fair odds and the true probability of each outcome.
What sets this tool apart is three-way support. Two-way markets like sides and totals are simple to measure, but soccer and hockey add a draw, so the market has three outcomes rather than two. This calculator handles both, while most vig tools stop at two-way and cannot price a soccer market at all.
How to Calculate Vig (Vigorish)
Convert each outcome to an implied probability, add them together, and subtract 100. The remainder is the vig.
Vig Formula for 2-Way Markets
On a two-way market, add the two implied probabilities and subtract 100. Take a standard -110 versus -110 line. Each side implies 52.38%, so the total is 104.76%, and subtracting 100 leaves a vig of 4.76%. That worked example is the baseline every other market is measured against.
Vig Formula for 3-Way Markets
Three-way markets work the same way, with three probabilities instead of two. Convert home, draw and away each to an implied probability, add all three, and subtract 100. Take a soccer market priced at +165 home, +205 draw and +190 away. The three sides imply 37.74%, 32.79% and 34.48%, totalling 105.01%, so the vig is 5.01%. Three-way markets carry noticeably more vig than two-way ones, so soccer and hockey bettors are usually paying more margin than they realise.
Understanding the Results
The calculator returns three numbers: the vig percentage, the fair odds, and the true probability of each outcome. The vig tells you how expensive the market is, the fair odds show what the price would be with no margin, and the true probability is the book’s real assessment of each outcome once its edge is removed. A lower vig means a cheaper market to bet into.
Standard Market Vig Percentages
These benchmarks show the vig and fair odds across common market types. Use them to judge any number the calculator returns.
| Market | Odds | Vig | Fair odds |
|---|---|---|---|
|
NFL Spread |
-110 / -110 |
4.76% |
+100 / +100 |
|
Reduced Juice |
-105 / -105 |
2.44% |
+100 / +100 |
|
MLB Moneyline |
-150 / +130 |
3.48% |
-138 / +138 |
|
NBA Total |
-115 / -105 |
4.71% |
-104 / +104 |
|
Live Betting |
-120 / -102 |
5.04% |
-108 / +108 |
Reduced juice markets at -105 carry the lowest vig at 2.44%, while live betting runs highest as books widen their margin for the speed and uncertainty of in-play pricing. Most standard main markets sit between 3 and 5%.
3-Way Vig Example for Soccer and Hockey
Three-way markets add a draw, which pushes the vig higher than a comparable two-way line. This soccer example shows a home, draw and away market with the vig measured and the fair odds stripped out.
| Outcome | Odds | Implied prob | True prob | Fair odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Home Win |
+165 |
37.74% |
35.94% |
+178 |
|
Draw |
+205 |
32.79% |
31.22% |
+220 |
|
Away Win |
+190 |
34.48% |
32.84% |
+205 |
|
Total |
|
105.01% |
100% |
Vig 5.01% |
At 5.01%, this three-way market costs more than the 4.76% on a standard two-way spread, which is typical. Real three-way soccer and hockey vig usually runs 4 to 7%, so the draw is quietly expensive, and it is why line shopping matters even more on three-way markets than on two-way ones.
Why Vig Matters in Sports Betting
Vig is the single biggest recurring cost a bettor faces. Every point of it is margin you have to overcome before you turn a profit, so understanding it is the difference between betting that looks break-even and betting that actually is.
Impact on Long-Term Profitability
Vig compounds over every bet you place. A 4.76% margin might sound small on a single wager, but across hundreds of bets it is the steady drag that turns a coin-flip bettor into a losing one. Lowering the average vig you pay, by shopping lines and favoring reduced juice books, directly improves your bottom line without your having to win a single extra bet.
Break-Even Win Rates by Vig
The higher the vig, the more often you must win just to break even. At reduced juice -105, break-even is 51.22%. At standard -110 it is 52.38%. At -115 it climbs to 53.49%. That gap between 51.22% and 53.49% does not look like much, but over a season it is the margin between a winning and a losing record.
Line Shopping Benefits
Line shopping is the simplest way to pay less vig. Holding accounts at several books and taking the best price on each side lowers the effective margin on every bet, and occasionally the combined price crosses into an arbitrage opportunity. When you find a strong price, check the best sign-up offer with our current sportsbook promos to add value on top.
Types of Betting Markets and Their Vig
Vig is not fixed; it varies by book and market type. Knowing where it runs high and low is how you keep more of your bankroll.
Shop for Better Lines
The same market is priced differently across books, and those small differences in vig add up. Taking the best available number on each bet is the highest-value habit in betting, and it costs nothing but a few extra seconds.
Sharp Books vs Recreational Books
Reduced juice and sharp books price main markets tighter, often at -105 rather than -110, which is a 2.44% vig instead of 4.76%. US-facing examples include BetOnline and books that advertise reduced juice pricing, where the lower margin is the whole selling point. Recreational books carry more vig but often post softer lines and bigger promotions, so many bettors hold both.
Working Out Your Required Win Rate
Your required win rate is set by the vig you pay. The higher the margin, the more of your bets have to land. Knowing the break-even rate for a given price tells you exactly how accurate you need to be, and it is why sharp bettors chase the lowest vig they can find rather than the biggest headline odds.
Advanced Vig Concepts
Once you can measure vig, you can strip it out to find the fair line. Removing the margin from a market leaves the fair odds, the prices that reflect true probability with no house edge. Our tool to strip the juice out of a line does this for two-way markets, and this calculator shows the fair odds for three-way markets in its own results.
Fair odds are the benchmark sharp bettors measure against. If a book prices one side better than the fair odds, that side carries positive expected value. Feed the gap into our expected value calculator to turn it into an expected return, or check for an arbitrage opportunity across books. The arbitrage example of +110 and +105 across two books produces a 96.40% market and a -3.60% margin, a positive expected edge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is vig in sports betting?
Vig, short for vigorish and also called juice, is the commission a sportsbook builds into its odds. It is why both sides of an even market are priced at -110 rather than +100. The vig is how books make money regardless of which side wins.
How do you calculate vig on a bet?
Convert each side’s odds to an implied probability, add them together, and subtract 100. For a -110 versus -110 market, each side implies 52.38%, totalling 104.76%, so the vig is 4.76%. For three-way markets, add all three probabilities before subtracting 100.
How much money is a vig?
In dollars, the vig is what the margin costs you per bet. At -110 on a 100 dollar bet, the juice costs about 4.76 dollars per 100 dollars staked across both sides of the market. Lower vig markets, like -105 reduced juice lines, cost roughly half that.
What is a good vig percentage?
For a bettor, lower is always better. Reduced juice at 2.44% is excellent, a standard 4.76% is the main-market norm, and anything above 6% is expensive. Three-way soccer and hockey markets naturally run higher, usually 4 to 7%.
Is vig the same as the book’s overall margin?
Vig and a book’s overall margin describe the same edge from different angles. Vig is the commission expressed on a single market, while a book’s hold is the share it keeps across all its action over time. On one market the two point to the same number, the margin built into the price.
Does lower vig always mean a better bet?
A lower vig means a cheaper market to bet into, so you keep more of your expected return, but it does not make a losing selection win. Low vig improves the bets you would make anyway; it does not replace picking the right side.