What Is Reduced Juice Sports Betting?

There’s a good deal of confusion and misconception surrounding the concept of ‘reduced juice’ sports betting.  Some don’t understand what it means, while others are under the impression that it’s something that only ‘high rollers’ can benefit from.  In reality, reduced juice sports betting is a very powerful tool that is extremely valuable to all sports betting enthusiasts.

It’s helpful to think of similar situations in other industries.  At one point, stock investing was thought to be the province of the very wealthy.  To trade stocks, you had to find a stock broker who would charge you a sizable commission and other fees for every transaction.  During the 1980’s and 1990’s, so called ‘discount brokerages’ began to take over the industry.  The growth of the internet further accelerated the phenomenon and now any investor can do their own trading for a minimal ‘per transaction’ fee.

A similar situation exists in the travel industry.  There was a time when you had two choices when booking travel—you could call the airline and do it yourself or you could enlist the help of a travel agent.  If you did it directly, you were at the mercy of the airline that clearly had a vested interest in keeping their margins high.  If you went through a travel agent, they had their own set of incentives—the more they got a traveler to pay for a trip the more commission they made.  Now, there are countless discount travel websites and the cost to the consumer has come down substantially.

In the sports gambling industry, reduced juice sportsbooks are creating a similar dynamic.  Everyone knows that the ‘industry standard’ has long been to lay -110 for a pointspread bet.  With reduced juice wagering, the player can make the same pointspread wager and lay -105 or less. 
So why is this important?  At -110 the ‘theoretical breakeven’ over the long term is 52.4%.  At -105, ‘theoretical breakeven’ is reduced to just over 51%.  In other words, at -110 you have to win more to break even than you do at the ‘reduced juice’ of -105.  This is why it is such a valuable tool—at a ‘reduced juice’ sportsbook with the same handicapping and betting performance it’s simply easier to break even and turn a profit.

This is why professional sports betting specialists seek out and patronize ‘reduced juice’ sportsbooks and why you should too.  As the sportsbook industry grows and matures, a growing number of companies are looking at ‘reduced juice’ wagering as a competitive advantage.  You’ll receive the same type of security, professionalism and betting options at traditional ‘full juice’ stores—only you’ll pay less for it.  From the time you place your first bet, you’re already ahead of the game when you take advantage of the ‘lower prices’ offered by reduced juice sportsbooks.