What is Vigorish?
Almost every sportsbook in the world claims to have the highest odds available in the industry, but in most cases, that is just a marketing strategy, and the truth is slightly different. To be able to distinguish excellent sportsbook from average, bettors should take into consideration many factors. Vigorish (the Vig) is one of the most important factors without any doubt.
In short, Vigorish is the sportsbooks charge bettors for the privilege of placing a bet on their websites. The concept of vigorish (vig, margin, juice) is actually quite simple, but it is vital to understand it because it affects bettor’s performance in the long-term. Bettors must realize that the vig isn’t static one-time fee, but dynamic expense sportsbooks place into the betting odds.
How to Calculate Vig at Your Sportsbook?
Learning how to calculate vig is one of the most important skills every bettor needs to learn to be able to find the best odds in the market for a particular game. We don’t need to say that higher vig means there is less value for the bettors.
To calculate the vig in two-way market is a simple equation.
(1/decimal odds) * 100 + (1/decimal odds) * 100 = Vigorish
Here is the example in a basketball game with decimal odds:
Dallas Mavericks (2.50) vs. LA Lakers (1.50)
Bodog offer: (1/2.50) *100 + (1/1.50) *100 = 40 + 66.6 = 106.6 = 6.6% vig.
Dallas Mavericks (2.48) vs. LA Lakers (1.54)
Betonline offer: (1/2.48) *100 + (1/1.54) *100 = 40.3 + 64.9 = 105.2 = 5.2% vig.
With this simple calculation, you may see that Betonline offers a slightly better vig than Bodog for this event. It is essential always to find the best odds to increase your potential profit in the long run.
Conclusion
It is always smart to shop around for the best possible odds. Some sportsbooks have low vig on one sport, but higher vig on another, so it is essential to have several accounts at different sportsbooks. And remember that sports betting isn’t an easy discipline and never bet more than you can afford. Sports betting can be dangerous, and if you feel that you lost control over your betting habits, seek help.