What is a Vig and How to Avoid it

A vig, sometimes called "juice" or "betting margin," is the quiet fee that makes traditional sportsbooks profitable. If you care about getting the best price every time you play, you should care about the vig, because it is the thing that makes you lose even when you pick winners.

What is a vig?

Short version: the vig is the built-in edge that a traditional sportsbook charges on every side of a bet so the house makes money no matter which team wins.

Take a simple two sided market that a traditional book lists at –110 / –110. Each side is “paying” a tiny fee to the house.

• Implied probability of –110 = 110 ÷ (110 + 100) = 52.38%
• Two sides of the same event should add to 100%, but 52.38% + 52.38% = 104.76%
• That extra 4.76% is the vig - the house’s built-in edge.

So even if you’re good at making picks, you’re always fighting that 4-5% headwind.

‍

Why do traditional sportsbooks use a vig?

With a traditional sportsbook, you are betting against the house. The house needs to make sure that they make money no matter which team wins. As a result, they charge a “vig”, which ensures that no matter which side of the bet ends up winning, they end up with a predictable, and guaranteed cut. It’s almost like a commission that you have to end up paying on every dollar you spend or win with the book. This vig is how they make money as the counterparty while minimizing their risk and exposure to unlikely events. 

‍

How can you place a trade without working with a traditional sportsbook

You can place a trade without a traditional sportsbook by using a prediction market like Novig. You trade directly with other players, so there is no vig taken out of winning bets. Since users can post their own prices, the market can support a wider range of plays across more sports than a fixed sportsbook menu.

‍

How to use Novig (and reap the benefits of no vig)

1. Find the game / event you want to trade on
   
   • Search for the matchup, click into it, and you’ll see the current prices other users are offering. Each price shows how much you’d win for every dollar you risk.
2. Choose the best current price
   
   • If you like one of the listed prices, tap or click it to place your bet. Because Novig is commission-free, that number is already better value than you’d see at a traditional sportsbook.
3. Set your own price if you want better odds
   
   • If none of the prices look good to you, you can list your own offer. For example, “I’ll take the Lakers at slightly better odds.
   • When another user agrees, your trade is matched automatically.
4. Track your position
   
   • You can watch how your price moves and even sell your position back to other users before the game ends - all with no vig.