Every sportsbook charges a hidden tax on every bet you place — and knowing how to calculate it tells you exactly how much edge you need just to break even.
The hold percentage (also called the overround or vig) is the amount a sportsbook expects to keep from a market, expressed as a percentage of total handle. A standard -110/-110 spread has a hold of about 4.55%. Knowing this number — and how it varies across book, sport, and market — is essential to finding where the real value lives.
The Formula for Hold Percentage
Convert each side's odds to implied probability and add them together. The amount over 100% is the hold.
For a -110/-110 market: each side implies 52.38% probability. Added together: 104.76%. The hold is 4.76%.
For a -115/-105 market: -115 implies 53.49%, -105 implies 51.22%. Total: 104.71%. Hold is 4.71% — nearly the same, but the -115 side is slightly worse value.
For a moneyline of -200/+165: -200 implies 66.67%, +165 implies 37.74%. Total: 104.41%. The hold is 4.41%.
Hold Percentage by Market Type
Standard spreads and totals at top US books typically hold 4–5%. Moneylines on competitive games hold similarly. But futures? Hold percentages of 15–30% are common. Parlays? The hold compounds with each leg — a three-team parlay at -110 per leg carries an effective hold of about 12.5%.
Proposition bets are often quoted at -115 or -120 on both sides, pushing the hold to 6–8%. Some player props at offshore books carry holds above 10%.
Using Hold to Evaluate Books
Comparing holds across books is a fast way to identify where you're getting the best deal. A book that consistently prices markets at -108/-108 instead of -110/-110 has a hold of 3.8% — and that 0.95% difference compounds significantly over a full season of betting.
Use Oddible to track your average vig paid across all bets and identify which books are taking the most out of your bankroll.
