Vigorish Explained

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The exact origins of the English term vigorish are unknown. The French use a similar term vignes which was likely adapted from a Yiddish version aquired from the Russian word vyigrysh. Regardless, the term vigorish is commonly used in the sports betting community to describe the sportsbook's cut or commission. Ironically, this important concept is not well understood in the sports betting world. Because of its huge implications on your profitability and success as a profitable gambler, bettors must understand the concept. This article clarifies the mystery of the 'Vig'.

The biggest misconception about Vigorish is that the loser pays it. In reality, the opposite is true. When an individual loses his bet, he would have lost the same whether betting with or without a bookie. The winner, however, has to pay the bookie's commission for taking the bets. In order to illustrate this concept we will first review the fundamentals of bookmaking.

Let's say two people want to bet on each side of an event. They are going to make the bet between each other without using the services of a bookmaker. Each person is willing to risk $110 to win $110. After each person pays their $110, there is a total of $220 in the pot. The person who loses receives nothing and the winner receives the full $220.

When using a sportsbook, each person must risk or "lay" $110 to win $100. The money each person risks is the same, yielding a total of $220. When one person loses, he loses the same as if he had bet the event straight up with another person, their $110. The winner, however, wins only $100, a deduction of $10 from the previous example. This $10 is the sportsbook's fee, vig or service charge for taking the bets. In our example of a typical 11-10 bet, the vig calculates out to be 4.55% ($10/$220). Since the internet has revolutionized the bookmaking world, sportsbooks now offer 107 and 105 instead of 110. This offers customers distinctly less vigorish than 4.55%.

In summary, if someone loses $100 on 100 separate games, the will lose all $100,000 whether they bet against another person for no fee or at a sportsbook with vigorish. On the other hand, if they win all 100 of their bets, they will end up with 9.1% less than they would if they had bet directly against another person. Instead of having $200,000, they will have $190,900 from paying the vigorish for both the winner and the loser.

The entrepreneurs behind BetFair and BetDaq have addressed this issue by creating their betting exchanges. These sites offer to match bettors on each side of an event for a nominal service fee. The fee is small and paid by both the winner and loser. In this way, bettors can reduce the cost of sports betting by directly with one another. Although these exchanges are the next wave in sports betting, sportsbooks will continue to thrive because of their convenience, security, offers and other extras features.

Understanding the ‘vig’ is a crucial step in the education of a professional sports better. Check the vigorish chart to see how the vigorish increases as your winning percentage increases.