Low Hold Opportunities

Find markets with the lowest vig (hold) across sportsbooks — the tightest lines available.


GET /api/v1/opportunities/low_hold

Authentication

Requires API key. Hobby tier or higher required. Your account must have the arbitrage feature enabled (low hold uses the same feature gate).

Query Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`sport`	string	all	Filter by sport(s), comma-separated (e.g. `basketball`, `football`)
`league`	string	all	Filter by league(s), comma-separated (e.g. `nba`, `nfl`, `nhl`)
`sportsbook`	string	tier-allowed	Filter by sportsbook(s), comma-separated. Tier limits enforced.
`market`	string	all	Filter by market type(s), comma-separated
`max_hold`	number	5.0	Maximum hold percentage (vig). Lower = tighter lines.
`live`	boolean	—	`true` = live only, `false` = prematch only, omit = both
`state`	string	`pa`	US state code for deep link generation (e.g. `pa`, `nj`, `co`, `mi`)
`sort`	string	`hold`	Sort field: `hold` (lowest first, default), `market`, `sport`
`limit`	integer	50	Results per page (max 500)
`offset`	integer	0	Pagination offset (max 5000)

Filtering Multiple Values

Use comma-separated values for multi-select filters:


?sport=basketball,football&league=nba,nfl&max_hold=3

Example Requests

cURL


# Low-hold moneylines under 2% vig
curl -X GET "https://api.sharpapi.io/api/v1/opportunities/low_hold?league=nba&max_hold=2&market=moneyline" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
 
# With state for deep links
curl -X GET "https://api.sharpapi.io/api/v1/opportunities/low_hold?league=nfl&state=nj" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"

JavaScript


const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.sharpapi.io/api/v1/opportunities/low_hold?league=nba&max_hold=2',
  { headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY' } }
);
const { data, pagination } = await response.json();
 
for (const hold of data) {
  console.log(`${hold.event_name} [${hold.market_type}]: ${hold.hold_percentage}% hold`);
  console.log(`  ${hold.side1.selection} @ ${hold.side1.odds.american} (${hold.side1.books.join(', ')})`);
  console.log(`  ${hold.side2.selection} @ ${hold.side2.odds.american} (${hold.side2.books.join(', ')})`);
}

Python


import requests
 
response = requests.get(
    'https://api.sharpapi.io/api/v1/opportunities/low_hold',
    params={'league': 'nba', 'max_hold': 2, 'state': 'nj'},
    headers={'X-API-Key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json()
 
for hold in data['data']:
    print(f"{hold['event_name']} [{hold['market_type']}]: {hold['hold_percentage']}% hold")
    s1, s2 = hold['side1'], hold['side2']
    print(f"  {s1['selection']} @ {s1['odds']['american']} ({', '.join(s1['books'])})")
    print(f"  {s2['selection']} @ {s2['odds']['american']} ({', '.join(s2['books'])})")

Response

Success (200)


{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "lh_nba_lal_bos_ml_0",
      "event_id": "evt_nba_lal_bos_20260208",
      "event_name": "Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston Celtics",
      "sport": "basketball",
      "league": "nba",
      "market_type": "moneyline",
      "home_team": "Boston Celtics",
      "away_team": "Los Angeles Lakers",
      "start_time": "2026-02-08T19:00:00Z",
      "line": null,
      "hold_percentage": 1.8,
      "game_state": null,
      "side1": {
        "selection": "Los Angeles Lakers",
        "books": ["draftkings", "betmgm"],
        "line": null,
        "odds": {
          "american": 145,
          "decimal": 2.45,
          "implied_probability": 0.408,
          "fair_probability": 0.415
        },
        "deep_links": {
          "draftkings": "https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/...",
          "betmgm": "https://sports.betmgm.com/..."
        }
      },
      "side2": {
        "selection": "Boston Celtics",
        "books": ["pinnacle", "fanduel"],
        "line": null,
        "odds": {
          "american": -155,
          "decimal": 1.645,
          "implied_probability": 0.608,
          "fair_probability": 0.585
        },
        "deep_links": {
          "pinnacle": null,
          "fanduel": "https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/..."
        }
      },
      "side3": null,
      "is_live": false,
      "is_alternate_line": false,
      "is_player_prop": false,
      "player_name": null,
      "stat_category": null,
      "all_books": ["draftkings", "betmgm", "pinnacle", "fanduel"],
      "confidence": 92,
      "odds_age_seconds": 5,
      "possibly_stale": false,
      "detected_at": "2026-02-08T14:22:10.456Z"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "limit": 50,
    "offset": 0,
    "total": 87,
    "has_more": true,
    "next_offset": 50
  },
  "meta": {
    "source": "cache",
    "summary": {
      "count": 87,
      "avg_hold": 2.4,
      "min_hold": 0.8,
      "by_market": {
        "moneyline": 35,
        "point_spread": 30,
        "total_points": 22
      },
      "by_sport": {
        "basketball": 87
      }
    },
    "filters": {
      "sport": null,
      "league": ["nba"],
      "sportsbook": null,
      "market": null,
      "max_hold": 5.0,
      "live": null,
      "state": "pa"
    }
  }
}

Response Headers


X-RateLimit-Limit: 300
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 296
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1707401000
X-Data-Delay: 0
X-Request-Id: req_lh123abc456

Error Responses

401 Unauthorized


{
  "error": {
    "code": "unauthorized",
    "message": "Invalid or missing API key",
    "docs": "https://sharpapi.io/docs/authentication"
  }
}

403 Tier Required


{
  "error": {
    "code": "tier_restricted",
    "message": "Low hold requires Hobby tier or higher",
    "docs": "https://sharpapi.io/docs/pricing"
  }
}

429 Rate Limited


{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded",
    "docs": "https://sharpapi.io/docs/api-reference/overview"
  }
}

Response Fields

Field	Type	Description
`id`	string	Unique low-hold identifier (hash)
`event_id`	string	Event identifier
`event_name`	string	Human-readable event name
`sport`	string	Sport identifier (lowercase)
`league`	string	League identifier
`market_type`	string	Market type (`moneyline`, `point_spread`, `total_points`, etc.)
`home_team`	string	Home team name
`away_team`	string	Away team name
`start_time`	string\|null	ISO 8601 event start time
`line`	number\|null	Spread/total line (e.g., `-3.5`, `220.5`)
`hold_percentage`	number	Market hold/vig percentage (e.g., `1.8` = 1.8%)
`side1`	object	First side of the market
`side2`	object	Second side of the market
`side3`	object\|null	Third side (only for 3-way markets like soccer moneyline)
`is_live`	boolean	Whether the event is currently live
`is_alternate_line`	boolean	Whether this uses a non-standard line
`is_player_prop`	boolean	Whether this is a player prop market
`player_name`	string\|null	Player name (if player prop)
`stat_category`	string\|null	Stat type (if player prop, e.g., `points`, `rebounds`)
`all_books`	string[]	All sportsbooks participating in this market
`confidence`	number	Confidence metric (0-100)
`odds_age_seconds`	number	Age of the stalest odds in seconds
`possibly_stale`	boolean	Whether odds data may have moved since detection
`detected_at`	string	When the opportunity was detected (ISO 8601)

Side Object

Field	Type	Description
`selection`	string	The selection name (e.g., “Lakers”, “Over”)
`books`	string[]	Sportsbooks offering the best price on this side
`line`	number\|null	Line value for this side
`odds.american`	number	American odds
`odds.decimal`	number	Decimal odds
`odds.implied_probability`	number	Implied probability (0-1)
`odds.fair_probability`	number	Fair probability adjusted for hold
`deep_links`	object	Map of sportsbook name to deep link URL (or `null` if unavailable)

Deep links are generated based on the state query parameter. Pass your user’s US state code (e.g., ?state=nj) to get correct sportsbook URLs for their jurisdiction.

What Is Hold?

Hold (also called vig or juice) is the sportsbook’s built-in margin on a market. It’s the difference between the combined implied probabilities and 100%.


Hold % = (implied_prob_side1 + implied_prob_side2 - 1) × 100

Example


DraftKings:  Lakers +145 (implied 40.8%)
Pinnacle:    Celtics -155 (implied 60.8%)
Combined:    101.6%
Hold:        1.6%

A 1.6% hold means the sportsbook keeps ~$1.60 of every $100 wagered on this market. Lower hold = better value for bettors.

Why Low Hold Matters

Hold %	Quality	Typical Source
< 1.5%	Excellent	Sharp books, cross-book best price
1.5 - 3%	Good	Competitive markets
3 - 5%	Average	Standard retail pricing
5%+	Poor	Props, exotic markets

Low-hold markets give you better odds regardless of which side you bet. Combined with +EV detection, they help maximize expected returns.

Low Hold vs Arbitrage

	Low Hold	Arbitrage
Hold	Low but > 0%	Below 0% (negative hold)
Risk	Normal (you pick a side)	Zero (bet both sides)
Use case	Get the best price	Guarantee profit
Volume	Hundreds available	Rare (single digits)

Low-hold opportunities are far more common than arbitrage. They represent the tightest available lines across books — ideal for bettors who want the best price without needing to bet both sides.

Three-Way Markets

For sports with three outcomes (soccer, hockey full-time result), the response includes side3:


{
  "side1": { "selection": "Home Win", "..." : "..." },
  "side2": { "selection": "Draw", "..." : "..." },
  "side3": { "selection": "Away Win", "..." : "..." },
  "hold_percentage": 2.1
}

The hold calculation extends to all three sides: implied_prob_1 + implied_prob_2 + implied_prob_3 - 1.

Best Practices

Set a tight max_hold — Use max_hold=2 or max_hold=3 to focus on the best-value markets
Pass the state parameter — Get accurate deep links for your user’s jurisdiction
Combine with +EV data — Low hold + positive EV is the ideal combination
Check possibly_stale — Skip opportunities where odds may have already moved
Use streaming — Subscribe to low_hold:detected events via SSE or WebSocket for real-time alerts
Monitor all_books — More books participating generally means more reliable pricing

+EV Opportunities — Positive expected value bets
Arbitrage Opportunities — Guaranteed profit across books
Middles — Line discrepancy opportunities
Best Odds — Find the best price across all books