• Nerd Nook
• Sports Betting

Why Sportsbooks Love -110 Odds

If you’ve spent any time at US online sportsbooks, you’ve undoubtedly seen -110 odds. -110 odds are the default for point spreads and totals, while also being used for some yes/no prop bets. This price is so common that many bettors don’t even give it a second thought. 

But maybe you’ve become curious about bookmakers’ obsession with -110. Are these odds some sort of secret, occult symbol between bookies? Was the inventor of sports betting’s lucky number negative-110?

Below, we’ll break down how -110 shapes common betting markets, why this affects you, and, most importantly, how to use this info to identify value and win more often.

Why Are -110 Odds Common?

The main reason why -110 odds are so common is that those odds help sportsbooks engineer a predictable profit margin, otherwise known as the juice (a.k.a. vigorish). Bookmakers can’t just give you a 50/50 shot. Otherwise, there’d be nothing in it for them. With the -110 price, they shave off $10 for every $110 lost by the losing side.

Another reason is that sportsbooks realize this price represents an intersection that makes both sides happy. They get built-in profits over time, while bettors can place wagers without surrendering too much to the juice.

A final factor is simplicity and familiarity. Bettors instantly understand what -110 means, and that familiarity lowers friction when placing wagers. For sportsbooks, using a standardized price across spreads and totals keeps markets efficient and liquidity high, since money naturally flows to both sides. Over time, that consistency benefits the book while giving bettors a fair, transparent baseline to compare lines across different games and sportsbooks.

The Math Behind -110 Odds

Before getting into the deeper concepts, let’s start with the basics for any newer bettors: what do -110 odds mean, and what’s the math behind them?

As you may know, -110 means you’re wagering $110 to win $100. You’re risking more than you stand to gain, essentially paying a small price to use a liquid betting market. This part is easy, now let’s step it up by discussing the implied probability behind the famed -110 price. 

Implied probability reveals the chances of an outcome occurring, at least according to the oddsmaker. It also helps you convert a betting probability into a digestible percentage. By understanding this concept, you’ll see how often you need to win to break even at -110.

The formula behind determining implied probability for negative odds is: odds / (odds + 100) * 100. Let’s put this into play:

• 110 / (110 + 100) x 100 = 52.38%

The math shows that you need to win 52.38% of your bets to break even—more if you want to be profitable at this price. What about that extra 2.38% in what’s roughly a 50/50 proposition? It goes to the bookie.

If you add this figure for the winning and losing side, you get a 4.76% margin for the sportsbook. So they’d theoretically make a 4.76% profit, assuming they balanced action on both sides. You can learn more about this subject, including the formula for positive odds, on our implied probability page.

How the Juice Shapes Betting Markets

Now that we’ve answered the question about what -110 odds mean, let’s get into how juice affects the way online sportsbooks manage betting markets.

A simple goal for bookmakers is to balance wagering action so they earn guaranteed profits from taking wagers. This balancing act is hard and rarely translates to exactly 4.76% juice on -110 odds. But whether bookies earn a 2% or 8% margin, they’re still technically making money.  

The -110 price is essentially a baseline for opening a wager. If too much action comes in on one side, sportsbooks can use two tools to help correct this imbalance and keep earning vigorish:

1. Adjust the 110 price.
2. Adjust the spread (e.g., -6.5 moves to -6) or over/under (e.g. 49.5 moves to 50).

We’ll focus on the odds adjustments for this discussion. Here’s an example of when oddsmakers shift the price:

• Original spread odds: Steelers -9.5 (-110) vs Bengals +9.5 (-110)
• Too much action is coming in on the Bengals.
• Adjusted spread odds: Steelers -9.5 (-107) vs Bengals +9.5 (-113)

Now those betting on Pittsburgh get a bigger discount, while Cincinnati’s spread is pricier and less attractive. If you’d like to learn more about juice and how it affects betting markets, please visit our vigorish page.

Why It Matters for Bettors

Understanding the 110 odds meaning and why bookies move markets is a good start. The next step is to use this knowledge to identify value and avoid overpaying for bets with high juice.

Value is simply when the implied probability of an outcome is lower than the true probability of it happening. For example:

• A Knicks/Celtics totals bet has -110 odds on the over and under.
• The -110 odds imply a 52.38% probability.
• After doing some research, you think the true probability for the over is 54%.
• You should take the over because you’re getting value here.

Obviously, there’s room for error when you’re calculating true probabilities. But a big goal of sports betting—besides entertainment—is to improve in this aspect and spot these situations more frequently.

As for overpaying on juice, this is easy to figure out on the surface. When bookmakers move -110 odds to -113 or -115, for example, it’s very difficult to justify making these bets. Let’s look at how implied odds jump with a -115 price:

• 115 / (115 + 100) x 100 = 53.49%

You need to be more sure of the true probability to get value here. The 54% figure from the previous example would still cut it, but not by as much.

Now let’s check out the math behind lower implied odds, like -107:

• 107 / (107 + 100) x 100 = 51.69%

You’d still want better than a 51.69% true probability before making this wager. After all, reduced juice doesn’t automatically make for a favorable proposition. However, you can at least see the value in looking into lower prices like these.

Line Shopping and Reduced Juice Books

Some sportsbooks hang their hat on offering reduced juice on spreads and totals. They’ll commonly offer anywhere from -105 to -109 odds on one side, even without wanting to correct imbalanced action. Certain bookies will even go down to -103 or lower on certain outcomes.

Let’s quickly look at the implied odds on really low juice:

• 103 / (103 + 100) x 100 = 50.74%

This figure is 1.64% lower than the implied probability associated with standard -110 odds. Situations like these drop the bar for how confident you need to be with a wager before pulling the trigger.

Reduced juice sportsbooks are great for line shopping, where you compare prices across multiple betting sites. They can sometimes offer incredible value compared to bookmakers taking higher vig from the same wagers. Even the difference between -108 and -110 odds is big over the course of dozens or, especially, hundreds of bets.

But before you rush towards the lowest odds, make sure nothing else changes with a line. For example, -105 is always a nice number with totals and spreads—just not when the line shifts too. Here’s the type of scenario you want to be aware of:

• Sportsbook A offers -105 odds on a Bears -7 spread.
• Sportsbook B offers -110 odds on a Bears -6.5 spread.

The lower odds from the first bookmaker suddenly aren’t such a slam dunk, considering that you’re losing a half point. The ideal situation would be the first bookie providing a -6.5 spread along with the -105 price.

This is just a potential issue to watch out for—not necessarily a standard problem with reduced juice books. They’re still definitely worth throwing into your rotation when searching for the best prices.

Summary

The number -110 isn’t just an arbitrary figure in sports betting—it’s the backbone of the industry. Bookmakers love these odds because they create a built-in profit margin without turning most bettors off.  They also serve as a good base price that oddsmakers can adjust lower or higher, based on whether action on opposing outcomes needs rebalancing. Sometimes these adjustments work in your favor on a desired bet, other times they don’t.

Of course, you don’t always have to settle for -110 odds and can hunt for better prices. Certain bookies specialize in offering reduced vig lines that can improve your winnings over time. You’ll still want to combine good prices with value. But understanding the vig, math, and meaning of 110 odds is one of the quickest ways to improve as a sports bettor.

This knowledge will help you realize that you don’t automatically have to accept -110 odds. Instead, you can look for lower vig, reduce the cost of betting, and have more long-term success than you would by treating -110 as a given.