Hold

Vig is what books charge in theory; hold is what they actually keep. The two are usually close but can diverge significantly when betting volume tilts toward one side.

How They Relate

Vig is the expected margin built into the odds — the amount above 100% that combined implied probabilities sum to. Hold is the actual margin the book realizes after settlement.

In a perfectly balanced market with money split evenly across all outcomes, hold would equal the vig. In practice, the two diverge because betting volume is rarely balanced and books take on some risk on every event.

Example: A book offers Celtics -110 / Lakers -110 (4.5% vig).

• If $1,000 is bet on each side: 50/50 split, hold equals vig (~4.5%)
• If $1,500 is bet on Lakers and $500 on Celtics, and Celtics win: book pays out winners but takes more losers, hold could be much higher than vig
• Same imbalanced betting but Lakers win: book pays the heavily-bet side, hold could be much lower (or even negative)

Why It Matters

Hold is the metric that drives sportsbook business decisions. Industry-average hold percentages:

• Major US retail books: 7-9% on parlays, 5-6% on game lines, 8-12% on player props
• Sharp books (Pinnacle, Circa): 2-4% on game lines
• Exchanges: Effectively 0% (they make money from commission, not hold)

Higher hold means a more profitable market for the book. This is why books push parlays so aggressively — parlay hold percentages are dramatically higher than straight-bet hold, even though individual leg vig is similar. The compounding effect of multiplying vigged numbers means parlays can hold 20%+ in some cases.

For bettors, low-hold markets (and low-hold books) are where edges are easier to find. Mathematically better prices flow directly from lower hold.

For more on how vig and hold work together, see The Vig Explained.