The percentage of total money wagered that the sportsbook keeps as profit. Related to but not identical to overround.
Hold (or hold percentage) represents how much of the total handle a sportsbook retains as profit. While related to vig/overround, hold is an ex-post measure — it depends on how the betting action is distributed across outcomes.
A market with a 5% overround might have a 2% actual hold if action is balanced, or 8%+ if it's heavily one-sided. The theoretical hold from a -110/-110 market is about 4.5%.
Some books also use 'hold' loosely to mean overround. In our tools, the Hold Calculator shows the market's overround/margin.
theoreticalHold = 1 - (1 / sumOfImpliedProbabilities)
The bookmaker's built-in commission. The difference between true odds and what you're offered.
OverroundThe total implied probability exceeding 100% across all outcomes in a market — the bookmaker's total margin.
Implied ProbabilityThe probability of an outcome implied by the odds. Includes the bookmaker's margin (vig).