What is no vig? Fair odds explained
Every sportsbook price carries a margin, called the vig or juice. On a coin-flip game priced -110 on both sides, each side implies 52.4 percent, so the two sides add up to about 104.8 percent. The extra 4.8 percent is the book's cut. Take that cut out and both sides become 50 percent, which is +100 in American odds. That +100 is the no-vig fair price, also called the no-vig line. Taking the margin out is often shortened to devig: to devig odds is to remove the vig.
Fair odds matter because they are the yardstick for every other price. A bet is only worth making when the price you get pays more than the fair price implies. Without removing the vig first, you are comparing your price to a number that already has the book's margin baked in.
How to calculate no-vig odds, step by step
- Convert each side to implied probability. For minus odds, divide the odds by the odds plus 100: -146 becomes 146 / 246 = 59.35%. For plus odds, divide 100 by the odds plus 100: +124 becomes 100 / 224 = 44.64%.
- Add the sides. 59.35% + 44.64% = 103.99%. Anything over 100 percent is the margin.
- Divide each side by the total. 59.35 / 103.99 = 57.07% and 44.64 / 103.99 = 42.93%. The two now add up to exactly 100 percent.
- Convert back to odds. A probability over 50 percent becomes minus odds: 57.07 / 42.93 x 100 = about -133. Under 50 percent becomes plus odds: 57.07 / 42.93 x 100 = about +133.
The no-vig calculator does all four steps at once, for two-way and three-way markets.
A real example from our odds screen
The numbers above are real. On October 13, 2026, the Odds Screen snapshot at 7:37 PM ET listed Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos with FanDuel at Seahawks -146 and Broncos +124 on the moneyline. Removing the margin from that one book's prices gives a fair line of roughly -133 and +133.
| Side | Posted price | Implied | No-vig | Fair price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | -146 | 59.35% | 57.07% | about -133 |
| Broncos | +124 | 44.64% | 42.93% | about +133 |
In the same snapshot, the best sportsbook price on the Broncos was +125, and the exchanges Novig and ProphetX showed +130 and +129. None of them paid more than the +133 fair price from FanDuel's own numbers, which is normal for a big NFL moneyline days before kickoff: popular markets are priced tightly, and real edges are small and short-lived.
Why one book is not enough
A fair price from a single book is only that book's opinion with its margin removed. Books shade their numbers differently, and a book that is slow to move can make its own fair line look stale. That is why our +EV Board builds its estimate from several reference books: each book's prices are de-vigged, the median is taken for each side, and the sides are normalized back to 100 percent.
Even that is an estimate built from books' prices, not a known chance. When the books disagree a lot, the estimate is noisier, which is one reason the board shows a Data support score beside every edge. How the fair price is built, and the ways it can be wrong, are on how we test our tools.
Using fair odds to find value
Once you have a fair probability, compare it with the price on offer. The estimated edge is the decimal price times the fair probability, minus 1. Say the fair chance of the Broncos is 42.93 percent and some book hangs +140, which is 2.40 in decimal. The edge is 2.40 x 0.4293 - 1 = about +3.0 percent, or roughly $3 back per $100 over many bets if the fair estimate is right. That is a made-up price for the example; it was not on the board.
This is the core of expected value betting. You do not need to know who wins. You need a price that pays more than the market thinks the bet is worth, and the habit of line shopping to find it.
No-vig odds by sport and market
The margin is not spread evenly. Main lines in popular leagues, such as NFL and NBA spreads, totals and moneylines, usually carry the thinnest margins, because books compete hardest for that action. Player props, alternate lines, live markets and futures with long lists of teams usually carry much more. In those markets the fair line sits further from the posted prices, so a number that looks generous may simply be taxed less than its neighbors.
The recipe never changes, whatever the sport: include every possible outcome, total the implied probabilities, and rescale to 100 percent. Hockey and baseball mostly trade on the moneyline, tennis has two outcomes and no tie, and soccer adds the draw as a third leg. A futures market with thirty teams works the same way, just with thirty prices to add up before you divide.
Limits of no-vig math
- The method matters on long prices. The simple method above spreads the margin in proportion to each side. Books often load more margin onto longshots, so on prices like +600 other methods give a slightly different fair line.
- Three-way markets need every outcome. In soccer, the draw is part of the market. Leave it out and the fair prices for the two teams are wrong.
- Stale quotes lie. A price that has not updated for a while can make a fair line, or an edge, look better than it is.
- A fair price is not a forecast. It is the market's view with the cut removed. Markets are usually close, and sometimes they are wrong in ways nobody can see in advance.
Your next step
Frequently asked questions
What does no-vig mean in betting?
No-vig means the sportsbook's margin has been taken out of the odds. Both sides' implied probabilities are rescaled so they add up to exactly 100 percent, which gives the market's fair price.
How do you calculate no-vig odds?
Convert each side to implied probability, add them, divide each side by the total, then convert the results back to odds. A no-vig calculator does the whole thing in one step.
Is the no-vig line the real chance a team wins?
No. It is the market's estimate with the margin removed. Big markets are usually close, but the no-vig price is built from book prices, not from a known probability.
Why does the fair price differ between sportsbooks?
Each book sets its own prices and margin, so each one de-vigs to a slightly different fair line. Combining several books, as our +EV Board does with a median, gives a steadier estimate than any single book.
Your next step
- 1Learn itNo-Vig Fair Odds (this page)
- 2Apply itHow betting odds work →
- 3Run itNo-Vig Calculator →
- 4Master itDay 2: How sportsbooks make money →
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