Rex says
The fast lane for the math you almost remember from school. Type the numbers, get the answer, move on with your day.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Hold percentage
4.76%
Side A implied probability
52.38%
Side B implied probability
52.38%
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How to use this
- 1Enter side a odds (american).
- 2Enter side b odds (american).
- 3Read your hold percentage on the right — it updates as you type.
- 4Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Hold percentage (also called vig, juice, or overround) is the built-in edge a sportsbook has on a market before any bets are placed, expressed as a percentage of total handle the book expects to keep across a perfectly balanced book. This calculator takes both sides of a two-way market in American odds and computes the exact hold percentage, giving you a quick way to compare pricing quality across sportsbooks or bet types. Standard game lines (spreads, totals) at major US books typically hold 4-5% at standard -110/-110 pricing; reduced-juice promotions can bring that down to 2-3%; player props and same-game parlays commonly run much higher, sometimes 8-15% or more. Checking hold before betting regularly is one of the simplest, lowest-effort habits that meaningfully improves long-run results, since a lower-hold market requires a smaller true edge to be profitable than a high-hold one offering the same bet.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Side A odds (American): -110
- Side B odds (American): -110
Results
- Hold percentage: 4.76%
- Side A implied probability: 52.38%
- Side B implied probability: 52.38%
What each field means
Inputs
- Side A odds (American)
- The side a odds (american) used in the calculation. Starts at -110 so you have a working example on load.
- Side B odds (American)
- The side b odds (american) used in the calculation. Starts at -110 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Hold percentage
- Returned as a percentage and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Side A implied probability
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Side B implied probability
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's considered a 'good' hold for a standard game line?
Around 4.5% is standard for a typical -110/-110 spread or total in the US market. Anything under 3% (often seen in reduced-juice promotions or on very liquid markets like NFL sides at sharp books) is considered good value; anything meaningfully over 5-6% on a plain two-way line is worth shopping elsewhere.
Why do moneylines on lopsided games have higher hold than close spreads?
Pricing a heavy favorite's moneyline (like -400) alongside its underdog (+320) tends to produce more hold than a balanced spread, partly because there's less two-sided betting interest to keep the book competitively tight, and partly because small odds movements near large numbers translate to bigger implied-probability swings.
How does hold percentage relate to my required win rate?
Higher hold directly raises the win rate you need to break even, since more of the total pool is being taken by the book before payouts happen. This is the same underlying math as the break-even win rate calculation for a single line, generalized to describe the whole two-way market rather than just one side.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are rounded for display; the underlying calculation keeps full precision.
- Very large or very small inputs may hit floating-point limits in the browser.
- Inputs outside the accepted range are clamped rather than rejected.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Sportsbook Hold Percentage Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sportsbook-hold-percentage-calculator
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sportsbook-hold-percentage-calculator" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sportsbook Hold Percentage Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Sportsbook Hold Percentage Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/sportsbook-hold-percentage-calculator) (2026).