SGPLAB

MLB · book juice by market

MLB Hold

The hold (juice) every sportsbook charges on each MLB market — the book’s theoretical margin, devigged from closing two-way prices. Lower is cheaper for you. In the matrix, each market row is shaded green = cheapest red = priciest across books, so you read a row left-to-right to see who is taking the least on that bet.

Player props run far more expensive than game lines — the same book will take ~4–5% on a spread and 6–12% on a prop. That spread across books is the single biggest cost most bettors never price in. This is what each book charges — shop the cheapest one for the market you actually bet.

MLB · hold % by market × book · closing lines
MarketDraftKingsFanDuelBetMGMtheScore BetCaesarsBetRiversFanaticsHard RockFliffPrizePicksUnderdogNovigProphetXKalshiPolymarket
Moneyline4.3%3.8%4.3%4.0%4.0%4.2%4.4%4.4%5.9%··1.3%1.1%1.3%1.0%
Moneyline (3-way)······9.0%········
Spread4.4%4.4%4.5%4.2%4.1%5.0%4.7%4.8%7.8%··9.4%2.0%1.2%7.7%
Game Total4.7%4.7%4.5%4.3%4.4%4.8%4.5%4.7%6.8%··6.7%2.2%1.2%3.8%
Team Total6.0%5.7%6.3%·6.2%5.2%·6.6%10.2%··3.6%···
Total Bases6.9%·6.7%6.9%7.3%7.8%6.6%6.8%9.8%13.5%13.5%5.1%6.4%··
Hits6.6%·6.3%7.4%7.7%6.5%6.3%6.8%9.7%13.5%13.5%5.0%5.6%··
Home Runs6.5%·5.2%6.5%·5.9%4.9%·8.8%··3.5%4.1%··
RBIs6.7%·6.2%7.4%7.7%7.4%7.7%6.6%9.5%13.5%13.5%5.5%6.6%··
Runs6.9%5.7%6.6%6.9%7.7%7.4%·7.0%9.7%13.5%13.5%5.3%7.3%··
Singles6.9%5.6%6.3%7.2%7.8%7.1%7.9%6.5%9.8%13.5%13.5%·8.4%··
Doubles6.3%5.6%6.1%7.9%7.8%7.6%·5.9%9.0%···7.5%··
Triples3.9%·6.0%····4.0%·······
Walks6.7%·6.1%8.4%6.8%·7.4%6.8%9.5%13.5%13.5%·6.0%··
Stolen Bases5.8%·7.7%7.4%·6.6%··8.5%··5.1%6.3%··
Strikeouts (B)6.6%·6.3%··8.2%·7.1%9.3%13.5%13.5%8.7%···
Hits + Runs + RBIs6.8%·6.2%7.1%6.6%·6.4%6.5%9.8%13.5%13.5%4.9%6.3%··
Strikeouts (P)6.0%5.7%6.3%7.8%7.8%6.9%6.4%7.0%9.9%13.5%13.5%4.7%3.5%··
Outs6.6%6.5%7.8%8.0%7.5%6.9%7.0%6.9%9.8%13.5%13.5%3.6%4.1%··
Hits Allowed7.0%·7.6%7.9%7.7%·7.6%6.9%9.8%13.5%13.5%4.1%4.9%··
Earned Runs6.6%·7.8%7.8%7.8%·7.0%6.9%9.8%13.5%·4.4%5.5%··
Walks (P)6.9%·6.2%7.8%7.8%··6.5%9.7%13.5%13.5%5.0%6.9%··
Fantasy·········13.5%·····

Hold = (Σ implied − 1) / Σ implied over a market’s complete outcome set, averaged per (book, market) at the closing line, main full-game markets only (alternate ladders and period lines are priced differently by design). A market needs 30+ instances to appear. Pick’em apps (PrizePicks, Underdog) post a fixed payout rather than a quoted two-way price, so their figure is the cost of the pick’em structure itself and is identical on every market. No-vig exchanges (Novig, ProphetX, Kalshi, Polymarket) charge a commission on winnings instead, which this margin does not include.