Hold
What does "hold" mean in sports betting?
The sportsbook's built-in margin on a market: the share of all money bet it expects to keep if action is balanced across every side.
Add up the implied probabilities of every side. Anything over 100% is the book's cut. Hold is that cut as a share of total money bet: 1 minus 1 divided by the total implied probability.
Lower hold means a cheaper market for you. It's one reason line shopping matters: the same game can carry a different hold at different books.
Example
At -110 on both sides, each side implies 52.38%, for a total of 104.76%. Hold is 1 - 1/1.0476, or about 4.55%. At -120 / +100, the sides imply 54.55% and 50%, for a hold of about 4.35%.
Related terms
Vig (juice)
The vig, also called juice or the hold, is the commission a sportsbook builds into its prices so it profits no matter which side wins.
Implied probability
Implied probability is the win chance a price suggests. It turns odds into a percentage so you can compare them with your own estimate.
No-vig odds (fair odds)
No-vig odds are a market's prices with the sportsbook's margin removed, showing the probability the market really gives each side.
Go deeper
Pull up to the board.
Every play on the board comes with its price, its confidence and the reasoning, written for the books you actually use. It's free to join.
Join DARIMARKET free