Hold Calculator
Enter the odds for a two-way or three-way market. See the bookmaker's hold percentage and the no-vig "fair" prices.
How the hold calculator works
The hold (also called vig or juice) is the bookmaker's built-in margin on a market. In a perfectly fair market โ like a coin flip โ the implied probabilities of all outcomes add up to exactly 100%. In a real sportsbook market, they add up to more. That excess over 100% is called the overround.
The math: convert each outcome's decimal odds to implied probability (1 รท decimal) and sum them. The hold is 1 โ 1 รท total, multiplied by 100: the percentage of all money staked that the book keeps if both sides are backed in proportion to its prices.
What's a "good" hold percentage?
- Under 3%: Sharp. Pinnacle and Betfair Exchange routinely operate here. This is where pro bettors live.
- 3% โ 4.5%: Competitive. Many U.S. books on standard moneylines and spreads.
- 4.5% โ 6%: Industry average. Most retail sportsbooks on most markets.
- 6% โ 8%: Soft. Common on three-way soccer markets and lower-profile sports.
- 8%+: Avoid if possible. Common on player props, novelty bets, futures.
Why hold compounds in parlays
Hold is bad on a single bet. In parlays it gets worse, because every leg carries its own hold and the margins multiply together. A 4-leg parlay where each leg has a 5% hold has an effective hold of roughly 18-19%. This is why sportsbooks aggressively promote parlays โ they are the most profitable product on the book.
If you bet parlays, the way to defend against hold is to (a) keep them short, (b) shop the lines on every leg before combining, and (c) make sure each leg has positive expected value. Use the Value Calculator on individual legs before stacking them.
The "fair odds" column
Strip out the hold and you get the bookmaker's underlying probability estimate. The calculator divides each outcome's implied probability by the total implied probability (which mathematically removes the margin) and converts the result back to decimal odds. These "fair" prices are what a market with zero margin would look like โ useful for comparing across books or building your own model.