Reduced Juice

Reduced Juice
How lowering the vig changes the economics of sports betting and why sharp bettors hunt for it

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📘 Definition

Reduced Juice refers to a sportsbook offering odds with a lower commission (vig) than the industry standard. In most markets, standard odds are -110 on each side of a spread or total, which means a bettor must risk $110 to win $100. The extra $10 is the sportsbook’s margin.

With reduced juice, the odds might be -105 on both sides or even -102 / -104 split, cutting the bookmaker’s edge in half. While casual bettors may overlook this difference, sharp bettors know that shaving a few cents off the vig can be the difference between long-term profitability and slow losses.

Reduced juice is sometimes permanent (at sharp books like Pinnacle) or promotional (offered during major events or happy-hour style odds boosts).

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🧮 Structure

Let’s break down how reduced juice works mathematically:

1. Standard Line (-110 / -110)

   • Implied break-even = 52.38%.

   • You must win 52.38% of bets at -110 to break even.

2. Reduced Juice (-105 / -105)

   • Implied break-even = 51.22%.

   • You need to win 1.16% fewer bets to break even.

3. Extreme Reduced Juice (-102 / -102)

   • Implied break-even = 50.5%.

   • Essentially “coin-flip” odds with very low margin.

4. Impact on ROI

   • Over 1,000 wagers of $500 each:

     • At -110, even winning 520 bets loses money.

     • At -105, winning 520 bets turns a profit.

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🎯 In Practice

Reduced juice is critical for high-volume bettors:

• NFL Example:

  • Spread: Cowboys -3.0 vs Eagles.

  • Standard book: -110 both sides.

  • Reduced juice book: -105 both sides.

  • Over a season of 100 bets at $1,000 each, the savings equals $5,000 in expected vig reduction.

• NBA Example:

  • A bettor placing multiple wagers daily benefits exponentially.

  • Saving 5 cents per bet compounds into thousands annually.

• Baseball Totals:

  • MLB bettors often play dozens of games weekly. Reduced juice books are almost mandatory for long-term survival.

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🔢 Example Bet

You place $1,000 on Under 45.5 points in an NFL game:

• At -110 odds: profit = $909.09 if it wins.

• At -105 odds: profit = $952.38 if it wins.

That’s a $43 difference on one bet. Over 100 similar wagers, that’s $4,300 more in profit with reduced juice.

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💸 Pros and Cons

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💡 Strategy Tips

1. Always Calculate Break-Even

   • Know the exact win rate required at different juice levels.

2. Line Shop Across Books

   • Sometimes reduced juice at one book beats a promo boost at another.

3. Target High-Volume Sports

   • NFL spreads, NBA totals, MLB moneylines—reduced juice shines where you place hundreds of bets.

4. Be Aware of Limits

   • Sharp books offering -105 may set lower max bet limits. Plan your staking accordingly.

5. Combine with Bankroll Management

   • Reduced juice lowers the vig, but bankroll discipline is still essential.

6. Don’t Chase Bad Bets

   • Reduced juice doesn’t make a bad pick good. It only improves math on already +EV spots.

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📊 Best Use Cases

• NFL Sunday Spreads: Heavy betting volume makes vig reduction crucial.

• NBA Daily Markets: Multiple games per night magnify the effect of saved juice.

• MLB Season: With 2,430 games, reduced juice is nearly mandatory for baseball specialists.

• Sharp Bettors: Anyone with 1–3% edge benefits dramatically from shaving juice.

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⚠️ Common Mistakes

• Thinking reduced juice = free profit: It only reduces house edge, doesn’t guarantee wins.

• Ignoring limits: Some reduced juice books restrict bet size.

• Overvaluing promos: A single odds boost may not offset consistent reduced juice long-term.

• Failing to line shop: Sometimes a -107 line at one book is still worse than +100 at another.

• Chasing only reduced juice: True edge comes from combining reduced juice with strong handicapping.

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📌 Summary