What is Hold?

The hold percentage is a sportsbook's profit margin — the share of the total Handle it retains after paying out winners. If $100 is wagered and $95 paid out, the hold is $5, or 5%. It is calculated as 1 − (payout ÷ handle), and it is the sports-betting equivalent of the casino's house edge. Standard holds run from about 4.5% to 10%, depending on sport and market. Worked example: a two-way market priced at −110 each side (1.91 in decimal) implies a probability of 110 ÷ 210 = 52.38% per outcome. The two sides sum to 104.76%, so the 4.76% overround is the theoretical hold, also expressed as the Vig, that the book earns if the money is balanced on both sides. Hold matters because it is how books make money and a key gauge of how competitively a market is priced — high-traffic markets such as NFL point spreads run lean holds of around 4.5-5%, while exotic and niche markets carry much higher ones. The common mistake is confusing theoretical hold, derived from the odds, with realised hold, which comes from actual results. If bettors pile onto one side and that side wins, the book can hold far less — even take a loss — despite a healthy margin in the prices. See also the Hold, the Vig, the Handle, the overround and the House Edge.