Now, the bookie has to make some money on the action, so he adds on a charge to you for the right to make that bet.

Suppose you were betting $50 and liked the Jets. You would say, "Gimme the Jets plus 3." If you won, you got $50. If you lost, you'd pay $55. That $5 extra charge is called vigorish.

Let's say your buddy called the same guy and liked the Giants. He'll say, "Gimme the Giants minus 3." If he won, he'd get $50. If he lost, he'd have to pay $55.

The bookie doesn't give a rat's tail who wins. He's gonna collect $55 from somebody and pay the other guy $50.

Maybe during the course of a day he writes $5000 in business on that game and it just happens to be an even split of Jets' and Giants' action (which, of course, the house likes). When the game is over he'll pay out $5000 in losses and collect $5500.

The extra $500 is vigorish. This vig is attached to every single game you bet on Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Horses, Sports anything.

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