Hold calculator

Enter every side of a market, from one sportsbook to see its hold or from two books to see what a pair costs. See each side's implied chance and the cost of betting all of them.

Odds format
Market

At the book where you need to bet

Same book for its hold, another book for a pair

What you need to bet, say for a playthrough

Round the other stakes to
Hold
1.20%Bet every side so each returns the same, and this share of the total staked is lost whichever side wins.
Implied total
101.22%1.22% over 100%. Some sites quote this overround as the vig; the hold is the same margin as a share of what you stake.
Cost to bet every side
-$24.00$1,976 staked in all: -$23.62 if side 1 wins, -$24.00 if side 2 wins.
Cost per $100 on side 1
$2.38Exact stakes. What each $100 bet on side 1 costs once the other side is covered; compare prices with it when clearing a playthrough.

Each outcome

  1. Side 1 at -105

    Stake
    $1,000
    As entered, returns $1,952.38 if it wins
    Implied chance
    51.22%
    With the margin removed
    50.61%

  2. Side 2 at +100

    Stake
    $976
    Exact $976.19, returns $1,952.00 if it wins
    Implied chance
    50.00%
    With the margin removed
    49.39%

What hold means

A sportsbook prices every side of a market so the implied chances add up to more than 100%. The hold is the share of the money staked that the book keeps when the action is balanced: 1 − 1 ÷ the implied total. A standard -110 / -110 line implies 52.38% on each side, 104.76% in total, and holds 4.55%. The 4.76 points over 100% is the overround, which some sites also call the vig.

Low holds and bonus playthrough

Deposit matches and site credit often come with a playthrough: you have to bet a set amount before you can withdraw. Betting one side risks the whole stake. Betting both sides, at two books, swaps that risk for a small cost you know in advance, and the lower the hold of the pair, the smaller the cost.

A worked example

You need to bet $1,000 at book A, which has one side at -105. Book B has the other side at +100. Implied, that is 51.22% and 50.00%, 101.22% in total: a hold of 1.20%.

Bet $1,000 at -105 and $976.19 at +100, and either side returns $1,952.38 on $1,976.19 staked. The cost is $23.81 whichever side wins, about $2.38 per $100 of playthrough. Round the second bet to $976 and the cost is $23.62 or $24.00. Clearing the same $1,000 on a -110 / -110 line at one book costs $90.91.

Finding low holds

ArbWins's arbitrage board has a Low holds view: the pairs of prices that cost the least to bet both sides, cheapest first, with each side's stake. If you hold a bonus bet rather than a playthrough, the bonus bet converter finds the price that turns it into the most cash.

Either way, check that both books settle the market the same way first. Our settlement rules table shows how each book grades each market.