vig calculator

[lasker]

Probably another simple question for many of you, but I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

I was just looking at the odds for a doubles match in tennis, and I saw -125 for one side and -115 for the other. It seemed to be a lot of juice, given the typical -110 you often find with over/unders or spreads.

At -110 for each side, the implied vig is about 4.5%. At -125/-115, it's about 8.3% (http://www.sbrforum.com/betting+tool...alculator.aspx). That's a much bigger book edge to go up against, obviously. So my question is, is there a certain percentage of juice beyond which one should generally not bet? Of course, if you see value you'll make the bet anyway, but should a bettor usually try to avoid situations in which the implied vig is higher than, say, 5% or 6%?

[arwar]

it has always been my contention that it is usually irrelevant what the theoretical hold is, as you are only playing one side anyway. however there may be cases where you are on both sides, such multiple hedge parlays, etc., where it is obviously relevant, but these are special cases. regardless of the juice, you always want the best price you can get for your play. towards that end, i find certain books that consistently have better or worse prices on chalk, etc.

[IrishTim]

I believe we've had this conversation before. To me, the theoretical hold tells me: 1) how easy or difficult it will be to find value and as a corollary 2) how confident or unsure a book is of its line.

[Flight]

I play prop bets all the time with 30-cent juice (-115/-115) and 40-cent juice (-120/-120)

Theoretical hold is 6.5% (20-cent) or 8.3% (40-cent)

Actual hold is quite different.

IrishTim's 2 points are good conclusions.