What is vig in sports betting?

What is a vig in sports betting? Vig is short for vigorish — the sportsbook's cut on every bet. In plain terms: it's the built-in fee the book keeps for taking the bet, folded into the price you're offered. It's also called juice, and it's how the book earns money whichever side wins. “It's called vig — it's what keeps the house in business. I don't get down anywhere that has over 10 percent vig, personally.” Let's use this example. If both straight-spread sides are minus 110, break-even is 110 divided by 210, which is 52.38 percent — so you have to win 52.38 percent of the time, not 50. Add both sides together and you get 104.76 percent. Real probability cannot exceed 100, and that 4.76 above it is the book's built-in cut. And the cut is not the same everywhere: a corner book like Slow-Pay Donnie's posts minus 120 both ways and calls it a favor — that is more than nine percent baked in, double the standard cut. Realized hold depends on prices and accepted action, but the rule never changes: the price, not the pick, decides who profits over time. Lines move and books differ. Nothing here is a guarantee or a command to bet — it's how the number works.