Glossary Terms
Action
A wager of any kind. A slang term for betting in general. For example; the bookmaker saw plenty of action on the game.
Accumulator
A bet which includes multiple selections, which must all be correct for the bet to win.
Added Game
A game that is not part of the regular Las Vegas rotation. Oftentimes this will be a rescheduled game or the second game of a doubleheader.
Against the Spread (ATS)
Refers to taking or laying points (aka the spread) as opposed to taking a game straight up. Placing a bet where the outcome will be decided by a point spread.
Arbitrage
A scenario where the odds available on a single betting market make it possible to make more than one bet and guarantee a profit.
The simultaneous purchase and sale of the same game in different markets to profit from unequal prices.
Asian Handicap
A specific type of handicap betting that originated in Asia and is popular for soccer betting.
Backdoor Cover
A backdoor cover occurs when an underdog is trailing by more than the spread but scores points late in the game to cover.
Bad Beat
Losing a bet in unlikely, and particularly unlucky, circumstances.
Banker
A wager that’s considered almost certain to win.
Bankroll
The available funds you have to bet with.
Betting Exchanges
A betting exchange is a marketplace that allows bettors to wager against each other at lower fees than those offered by a traditional sportsbook.
Betting Market
A betting market is a type or category of bet on a particular sporting event. Sportsbooks often offer multiple markets on events.
Bettor
A person making bet(s).
Bookie
A commonly used abbreviation of bookmaker.
BR
A commonly used abbreviation of bankroll.
Bookmaker
A person who is licensed to create betting lines and take wagers.
Buck
A slang term for a $100 bet.
Buying Points
The act of paying to receive half a point or more in your favor for a point spread wager.
Calculators
Sports betting is a game of numbers, sometimes you need a calculator to assist.
Canadian Line
A betting line used in ice hockey, which combines point spread and moneyline betting.
Chalk
The favored team.
Chalk Player
Someone who generally backs favorites
Circled Game
A game where the betting action is limited by the bookmaker.
Combination Bet
A term for any wager containing more than one selection.
Contrarian Betting
Also known as betting against the public, contrarian betting finds value by betting on games with lopsided betting percentages.
Cover or Cover the Spread
In sports such as football and basketball, a bettor wins their bet if they cover the point spread. For example, if you bet a 7-point favorite and they win by nine, you have covered the spread.
Degenerate
Someone who gambles frequently, and often recklessly.
Dime
A bet of $1,000.
Dime Line
A betting line with 10% vigorish.
Dog/Underdog
Short for underdog, this is the team which bookmakers assume will lose the game.Dogs are for the first 5 innings, Favorites to win the game
Dog Player
A bettor that tends to bet on underdogs.
Double
A wager consisting of two separate selections.
Drifting
A term used to describe odds that are lengthening (getting higher).
Draw
Also known as a push. If a game falls exactly on the spread, there is no winner and bettors will receive their money back.
Each Way
A two part wager. The first part of the wager is on the selection to win and the second part of the wager is on the same selection to finish in the top few places.
Edge
A bettor’s advantage against the house. This will typically refer to an instance where you have a positive expected value.
Even Money
A bet where you are not paying any vigorish (i.e. +100).
Exotic Wager
A term used to describe a non-standard bet.
Expected Value
A theoretical measure of how much a wager is likely to win in the long term.
Favorites
The team bookmakers expect will win their game.
Field
In proposition (prop) bets, bettors are often allowed to bet the field. This refers to an accumulation of all the teams or players that are not specifically listed.
Fin
A slang term for a $50 bet.
First & Second Half
Halves let a bettor treat the first half and the second half as separate matches.
Fixed Odds
Odds agreed when a wager is placed. They don’t change even if the odds for the relevant selection move in the future.
Form
Recent results of a team or an individual.
Futures
Future bets are a bet on an event that will be decided in the future (e.g., end-of-season results). This refers to bets that come down in advance of an event. For example, one can bet a Super Bowl future prior to the beginning of the season by selecting which team(s) they believe will win the championship. A bettor receives payment at the end of the season if their selection did claim the title.
Get Down
A slang term for placing a wager.
Grand Salami
This typically refers to the over/under total for how many goals/runs will be scored across all games in a specific league.
Handicap/Capper
A bettor who pays close attention to statistics and other key factors in order to try and make accurate predictions.
Handicap betting
A form of betting where a bookmaker will hypothetically add points or goals to the underdog for the purposes of deciding the outcome.
Hedging
Placing bets on the opposite side after you have already placed a wager on one side. This can be used to either cut your losses, or guarantee a profit.
Hook
The hook is an extra half-point that bettors can get. Oftentimes in football, bettors will buy the hook around key numbers like 3 to get a line of 3.5.
If Bet
A wager consisting of at least two separate bets joined together by an if clause that determines the wager process.
Implied odds
The conversion of a sportsbooks offered odds into an implied win probability.
Implied Probability
The theoretical likelihood of a particular outcome, based on the odds on that outcome provided by a bookmaker.
Juice
Juice, also known as the “vig,” is the amount charged or taxed by a sportsbook for taking a given bet.
Key Numbers
This represents the most common margins of defeat, and is used frequently in football where many games end with one team winning by a multiple of three or seven. Key numbers are important in football given the numerical scoring of field goals and touchdowns. These are usually grouped around 3 and 7.
Lay
The act of accepting a wager – e.g. a bookmaker lays bets to bettors.
Laying the points
The act of placing a point spread wager on the favorite.
Laying the price
The act of placing a moneyline wager on the favorite.
Lengthening Odds
Odds that are getting higher.
Linesmaker
The person(s) setting the odds/lines at a bookmaker.
Limit
The most money a sportsbook will take on a single event.
Lock
A wager considered almost certain to win.
Long Odds
An alternative term for high odds.
Longshot
A selection in a betting market that’s considered to have a very small chance of winning.
Lump on
A slang term for placing a bet.
Middle
Middle is a betting strategy in which a bettor places wagers on both sides of the same bet at different lines, attempting to win both.
Moneyline
Moneyline betting is when you pick the winner of the game or event, either one team or another.
Moneyline odds
One of the three main formats for expressing odds, commonly used in America.
Moving the line
The act of paying to receive half a point (or more) in your favor for a point spread wager.
Multiple
A term used to describe any wager which contains more than one selection.
Nickel
A bet of $500.
Odds/Lines
Lines is another term for the odds.
Odds Against
Odds that are higher than even money, meaning you can win an amount higher than your wager.
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds represent the total return for every $1 wagered, including the money you risked.
Odds Compiler
The person(s) setting the odds/lines at a bookmaker, and adjusting them as necessary to create a balanced book.
Odds on
Odds that are lower than even money.
Off the Board
When betting market is off the board, the bookmaker is taking no more bets.
A game or event that sportsbooks will not allow you to bet on. Oftentimes a game is taken off the board if there is uncertainly surrounding a player’s injury status or the weather.
Opening Line
The first line available for a sports event.
Outsider
A betting selection that has only a small chance of winning.
Over/Under
Also known as the total, this refers to the total amounts of points/goals/runs that will be scored in the game. If both teams combine to score more than the total, the over wins. If they combine to score fewer, the under wins.
A wager on the total number of something (such as points or goals scored in a match). The bookmaker sets a total and you wager on whether the actual total will be over or under.
Middle
Middle is a betting strategy in which a bettor places wagers on both sides of the same bet at different lines, attempting to win both.
Overround
The profit that bookmakers build into their books.
Parlay
A parlay is a wager type in which multiple bets are linked together to create a greater payout. It’s treated as one big bet, so every game within the parlay must win for the bet to win.
Payout
The sum of money received from a bookmaker following a winning wager.
Permutation Betting
A form of wagering which covers multiple selections in different combinations.
Pick 'Em
An instance in which neither team is favored. In spread based sports like basketball or football, this is a line of 0.
Point Spread
A type of betting where the bookmaker allocates points or goals to the underdog, to create a theoretically level playing field. The points allocated are also referred to as the point spread.
Press
To wager a larger than normal stake.
Price
An alternative term for odds.
Pricing the Market
The act of setting the odds or lines for a betting market.
Prop bet
A “prop” bet, short for a proposition, is a wager that is not directly tied to the final score or outcome. A bet on something other than the outcome of a game. Common prop bets include an over/under on points scored, passing yards, or strikeouts by an individual player.
Public Betting Percentage
Also referred to as public betting trends, we offer real betting percentages from seven contributing sportsbooks. These numbers represent real bets placed at real sportsbooks. These percentages are integral for our betting against the public philosophy.
Punter
A slang term for a bettor, a person.
Puppy
A slang term for the underdog.
Push
When a contest ends without a winner. In a moneyline sport this happens if the game ended in a tie. In a spread sport, this happens if the favorite wins by the exact spread.
Real Time Odds
Live lines that update immediately as sportsbooks adjust their lines.
Return
The sum of money received from a winning wager.
Reverse-Line Movement
Reverse line movement in sports betting is when a line moves away from the side receiving the majority of bets.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.
Round Robin
A round-robin bet allows you to create a series of smaller parlays from a larger list of teams or players.
Run Line
In moneyline sports like baseball or hockey, you can take the equivalent of a spread — the run/puck line. This alternative allows you to add runs for the underdog, or subtract them from the favorite. This means that a favorite has to win by at least two runs for you to win your bet, while an underdog could either lose by one run or win straight-up to win the bet. The benefit of this is that you can bet more lucrative lines on favorites, but because baseball and hockey are such low-scoring games, this can be a risky proposition.
Runner
An individual who places a bet on behalf of another person.
Sharp Better
A slang term for an experienced, professional, or skilled bettor. A “sharp” describes a serious, savvy, higher-spend sports bettor–someone who typically wins more than they lose. A very skilled bettor might be somewhere around 55%, and some could even approach 60%. Bettors who hold such a win rate over a long period of time are called sharps.
Short Odds
An alternative term for low odds.
Shortening Odds
Odds that are getting lower.
Single
A wager with one selection.
Smart Money
Wagers placed by bettors that are either very experienced or have information not readily available.
Special
A wager on a specific outcome in a sports event, such as the first player to score.
Sportsbook
An alternative term for a bookmaker.
Spread
An abbreviation of points spread.
Spread Betting
A type of betting where the amount the bettor wins or loses is determined by the margin which the value of a specified outcome varies from the expected value quoted by a bookmaker.
Square
A slang term for a novice bettor, or one that generally loses money.
Stake
The sum of money wagered.
Steam Move
Describes a substantial move in a betting line or odds, usually caused by the amount of money being wagered. A sudden, drastic and uniform line movement across the entire sports betting marketplace.
Sucker Bet
A slang term for a “bad” bet, one that significantly favors the bookmaker.
Teaser
A special bet in which you are able to adjust the point spread or total for a game. The more you change the spread, the lower the payout becomes.
A point spread wager containing multiple selections where the bettor can adjust the spread for each selection in their favor.
Total Bet
A wager on the total number of something (such as points or goals scored in a match). The bookmaker sets a total and you wager on whether the actual total will be higher or lower.
Totals
A total, also known as an over/under, is a bet on the number of points both teams will combine to score in a game.
Tout
An individual who sells their picks or their sports betting expertise to others.
Traders
The person(s) setting the odds/lines at a bookmaker, and adjusting them as necessary to create a balanced book.
Treble
A wager consisting of three separate selections.
True odds
The actual odds of something happening as opposed to what a linemaker or sportsbook would offer
Units
A unit is a standardized way to compare win amounts between bettors while removing money.
Wager
Any type of bet.
Value Bet
A wager where the theoretical likelihood of winning is greater than the odds suggest.
Vig
A commonly used abbreviation of vigorish.
Vigorish
The margin/profit that bookmakers build into the odds they offer. It comes from the Russian term for winning: vyigrysh.