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What Does The Vig Mean When Betting On Sports?

The adage that “sportsbooks were not developed on winners” is undoubtedly true. Sportsbooks, whether they are legal or not, have become increasingly widespread across the nation. And every line they produce for their customers to wager on has an inherent advantage for themselves. An extensive portion of that is the Vig. Every line that a customer looks at, whether online or in-person, includes a Vigorish for any point spread. Today at Jackpotfinder.com, let’s give you some detailed information on Vigorish, what it means, and how it affects your betting options.

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Vig In Sports Betting

The Vig has a variety of names, including Vigorish, Juice, House Edge, and others. But essentially, they all refer to the same thing. It’s as old as the sport of sports betting. It’s also a fact that sportsbooks operate a business, and that all businesses, especially ones dealing with betting, carry a risk. Because significant losses are less likely when odds are marginally adjusted in the customer’s favour, bookmakers are able to gain an advantage. The term “vigorish” refers to the cost that sportsbooks charge for each wager. Look at it as a commission. However, keep in mind that it’s also the sportsbook that has set actual odds for each wager you place. Now you can see how they control both ends of the betting market.

The only difference between the two is Vigorish.

In other words, in an ideal environment, online sportsbooks wouldn’t care how the jackpot games you gambled on turned out. Additionally, they can rely completely on the Vig and don’t have to worry about any outcomes. They will be able to receive the earnings that most gamers believe the sportsbook is due. However, it is quite challenging to distribute the lines uniformly. This means that if on a rare occasion, the action is not equal, the sportsbook could lose money, whilst you increase your jackpot winning chances at the same time.

The Impact On Your Winnings

cricket

Consider a hypothetical 50/50 wager on the outcome of the coin toss before a cricket match. There’s an equal likelihood that both sides of this bet will be successful. It makes sense that if you make the right choice, you will receive an equal amount. Therefore, assuming the sportsbook delivers the correct odds, a $100 wager should be expected to return a $100 profit. But notice that the sportsbooks often provide odds of -110 on each side of the wager. This means you will only receive close to $91 in profit back from a $100 wager. The sportsbook keeps 9% of the total wagers as its own profit. And this is the Vig.

The ideal situation for a sportsbook like 22Bet Sportsbook would be for many customers to place the incorrect wager, but that rarely occurs. Instead, the sportsbook prefers to consider two teams that generate similar amounts of wagers. Therefore, the sportsbook would need to make $20,000 from that wager if the bettors placed $10,000 wagers on one side and $10,000 wagers on the other. No matter what happened, they would only have to fork over $18,180. The crucial thing to keep in mind is that your wins will be significantly impacted. By implication, the larger the Vigorish, the less money you win.

The Vig Plays Both Sides

There is no assurance that you will favour one side of a wager over another, thus giving the sportsbook a quick profit. Operators instead aim to accept an equal amount of wagers on both sides of any particular market. But with Vig factored into those odds, the bookmaker can frequently ensure a profit, regardless of how the game turns out. 

Assume that Team A and Team B are competing against one another in a jackpot football match. To cover the spread, both are listed at odds of 100. Consider that the sportsbook receives bets totaling $50,000 on Team A and Team B, or $25,000 on each team. The sportsbook pays out $22,727.27 to the winners regardless of the outcome. Furthermore, they still make a profit of $2,272.73 from the lost wagers. As additional bets are accepted, the odds will adjust to ensure that each one goes toward the operator’s guaranteed profit.

Calculating The Vig

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Using this formula, you can calculate the Vig on bets. 

  • V=100*(1-(p*q)/(p+q))

In the calculation, the letters p and q stand for the payouts for the two possible outcomes. You can also convert them into decimal odds. Keep in mind that the Vig only functions if both bets sides receive the same amount. As a result, sportsbooks frequently change the odds prior to the start of a game. This increases the appeal of the side with less action.

The Vigorish will assure a profit for the bookmaker once both sides of the wager have received equal amounts in bets. Nevertheless, when deciding on the Vig, sportsbooks must be careful not to turn away bettors. If they go overboard and give less advantageous odds, a bettor will ignore them. Instead, they will search out other betting sites, like 22Bet Sportsbook for better odds with a lower Vigorish.

Conclusion: The Sneaky Vigorish In Sports Betting

A sportsbook’s only goal is to make money. As a result, they create slightly sneaky tactics to make a good profit. In sports betting, the Vig is an essential ingredient of this process. As such, your whole sports betting experience depends on it. We suggest you spend the time doing the calculations for yourself. This will allow you to see the payout without the added Vig. With this knowledge in hand, it’s easier to choose the best sportsbook to bet with in order to increase your profit margin and win the jackpot online.

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