Definition
'Juice' (or vigorish) as it relates to sports gambling is the commission slapped on a sports bet by the sportsbooks.
How much is it?
Depending on the sportsbook, juice can vary from sportsbook to sportsbook. The standard in most, if not all, Las Vegas Casino Sportsbooks is -110 (in other words $110 to win $100). Although the majority of online, offshore sportsbooks also have -110 lines, some have actually decreased this juice to -109 or even lower still. Some books also offer special lines on the weekdays to attract more action. It behooves the savvy sports gambler to take advantage of such 'specials'.
Winning at a lower percentage
With respect to the inherent advantage to the sportsbook due to the -110 juice, the sports gambler must realize that to win in this hobby, one must win at a 55% or more clip to overcome this disadvantage. By choosing and playing at a sportsbook that offers its customers lower juice, one can actually decrease this must win percentage to a lower one. Similar to betting baseball underdogs, if one bets on a regular basis and chooses a lower juice sportsbook, then one can win at a lower percentage in the long run. In other words, playing in a lower juice book is beneficial to the long-term gambler.
Selling points
As stated in a previous article, some sportsbooks offer the sports gambler the opportunity to sell points at even money or positive commission money. By doing such, one eliminates juice and practically makes betting on the pointspread an underdog venture. Selling points is a great way to increase one's bankroll, for if one goes 2-2 on the day, one is still in the positive at the end of the day. A great website that offers point selling is www.pinnaclesports.com.
Reading juice
An angle regarding juice that is interesting to consider occurs during halftime of football and basketball games. Considering two sportsbooks, one for the public (bodog.com) and one for the sharps (pinnaclesports.com), if one were to look at how commission is being considered in both sportsbooks, one may actually see and detect sharp money. For example if team A is favored by 3 points at the half and the commission on bodog.com is -130, but the same side on pinnaclesports.com is even money, then this automatically raised a red flag on team A. Since bodog.com is a 'public' sportsbook, more of the public is playing team A for halftime. It, thus, behooves the savvy bettor to consider playing team B for the second half.
Summary
In closing, juice is the commission slapped on a sports bet by the sportsbook to ensure the inherent edge enjoyed by the house. To beat this, sports gamblers must win at an average percentage of 55% for pointspread games (lower percentage for lower-juiced books).