Break-Even Percentage
The win rate needed to break even at given odds, accounting for the vig.
Break-even percentage tells you exactly how often you need to win at specific odds to neither profit nor lose money over time. At standard -110 odds, you need to win 52.38% of your bets to break even.
This is a critical concept because it sets the bar for profitability. A sports bettor picking winners at 55% against -110 lines is generating significant profit. But if they're only winning 51%, they're losing money despite being right more often than not.
The break-even percentage increases as the vig increases. This is why shopping for the best odds matters — even going from -112 to -110 lowers the bar you need to clear.
Formula
At negative American odds: BE% = |odds| / (|odds| + 100). At positive: BE% = 100 / (odds + 100)Example
At -110 odds: BE% = 110 / (110 + 100) = 52.38%. At -120: BE% = 120 / (120 + 100) = 54.55%.
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