---
slug: "juice-vig"
title: Juice / Vig
depth_tier: entry
side: UNIVERSAL
category: Sports Betting
source_id: "BET-0004"
created: 2026-04-20
updated: 2026-04-20
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/juice-vig
aliases:
  - juice
  - vig
  - vigorish
  - the take
  - commission
---
# Juice / Vig

## Short Definition

The sportsbook's built-in commission embedded in betting odds—at standard –110 juice, you must win 52.4% of bets just to break even.

## Definition

Juice—also called vigorish or vig—is the sportsbook's built-in commission on every bet, embedded in the odds rather than charged as a separate fee. Standard juice on spread bets is –110, meaning a bettor must wager $110 to profit $100. If the book takes exactly equal action on both sides of a game at –110, it collects $220 and pays out $210 to winners regardless of the outcome—the $10 difference is the juice.

The juice is why breaking even in sports betting requires winning more than 50% of bets at standard odds. At –110, a bettor must win approximately 52.4% of spread bets just to stay flat. Every bet below that threshold loses money over time even with a coin-flip edge on picking winners, because the book's percentage comes out of every single wager.

Juice varies by book, bet type, and market. Some books offer reduced juice—–105 or –107—as a competitive differentiator. Prop bets and exotic wagers often carry much higher juice, sometimes –130 or –150 on both sides. Parlays carry compounded juice because each leg multiplies the book's edge. Identifying where the juice is lowest is part of how professional bettors manage their long-run profitability.

When analysts describe a bet as "bad value," they often mean the juice relative to their assessment of the true probability. A team they estimate wins 55% of the time is a good bet at –110 but a break-even proposition at –120 and a losing bet at –150. The juice determines where the break-even threshold sits.

## Example

"Both sides are –110—that's standard juice. You're paying the book a dime on every hundred to play. Win 52% and you're breaking even. That's the hill every bettor has to climb."

## Common Confusion

Juice is not a fee charged on top of a winning bet—it is built into the odds themselves. When you see –110 on both sides of a spread, you are not paying 110 for a chance to win 100. You are paying 110 for a chance to profit 100, meaning a win returns 210 total. The book's edge comes from collecting 110 from losers while paying out 210 to winners on 220 wagered—the difference is the juice.

## Related

- point-spread
- moneyline
- over-under
- closing-line-value
- sharp-vs-square

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/juice-vig