Sports Betting Percentage to Win
Written June 23, 2008 by Jack Jones
If you have ever done any sports betting, then you know that consistently beating the books for a profit is no easy task. But have you ever wondered just what the percentage is that you have to win in order to break even?
The person that you are trying to beat is the odds maker, not necessarily your bookmaker. The bookmaker just acts as a sort of middle man who operates at a small profit margin who is looking to take equal action on both sides of the game (and thus rake in the juice or vigorish). If the action on the game is too heavy on one side, then the bookmaker just moves the point spread to motivate bettors to back the other side. This balance is what ensures the bookmaker makes a profit.
If you are betting with the normal juice of -110 or $11 to win $10 then you are going to have to win 52.4% of your bets to overcome the bookmaker’s profit and break even. While that may not seem like very high win-ratio, watching sports from a lazy-boy chair is one thing, while betting and winning them is quite another.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
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- How Sportsbooks Set Betting Odds
- Sports Handicapping Methods
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