Learn/hold
What is vig / hold / juice?
The juice is a tax
Books do not charge a fee at the window. They bake it into both prices so the two sides add up to more than 100%. That extra is the juice.
4 min read
peel
−110 / −110 is not a fair coin
That extra 4.8% is the house cut. True is the 50/50 hiding under it. Value is a shop still paying more than True.
If both sides are −110, each implies about 52.4%. 52.4 + 52.4 = 104.8. The extra 4.8 is the hold. You are paying a toll to walk through the door.
A lopsided moneyline hides the tax in ugly minus numbers. That is why we de-vig off Pinnacle (POWER True) instead of trusting the raw minus.
When a soft book still pays more than True, they are selling you a ticket cheaper than the tax. That gap is +EV — not a promise the ticket cashes.
takeawayTrue peels the tax. A ‘fair’ coin would be 2.00 / 2.00. −110 / −110 is a coin that already owes the house.