Sports Betting Terminology and Glossary

By Benson Chikezie, Senior Author

Sports betting is a whole industry on its own. What this means is that there is a vast number of terminologies and glossaries that are used. As a bettor, whether a seasoned bettor or a newbie, you need to understand most if not all of these terms to understand what you’re getting into at any point you encounter the terminologies. Below, we will list these sport betting terminologies and glossaries and explain what they mean, so you are equipped for the future.

Below, you will find our A-Z sport betting terminologies and glossaries and explain what they mean, so you are equipped for the future.

Accumulator: Accumulator is a type of bet that contains more than one game, and it can contain various sports events into a single slip. There are various types of accumulators like Trixie, Doubles, etc. 

Action:  When you bet on the result of a sports game, you are taking “action” on it by putting money on the line in the hopes of winning more money.

Added Game: An added game is just an event that has been added to the betting board because it was somehow not available previously and had to be rescheduled, or maybe there was sufficient betting interest in it to merit its inclusion.

Against the Spread (ATS): Against the spread (ATS) simply implies wagering on the point spread in a specific game rather than the Moneyline or another form of a bet. Bettors frequently use the ATS record of a team to assess its ability against the spread.

Alternate Lines: Lines offered by bookies that vary from the original spread for a game are known as alternate spreads. Certain alternative spreads may be modified by more than ten points. Alternate spreads might result in payouts that are significantly better or worse than that of the original spread. 

American Odds: In the United States, American odds (sometimes known as Moneyline odds or US odds) are very famous. A negative (-) sign appears next to the odds for favorites, showing the minimum bet required to win $100. Underdogs, on the other hand, have a positive (+) symbol next to their odds, showing the amount gained for every $100 wagered.

Arbitrage: In sports betting, arbitrage occurs when a bettor places multiple bets on the same event to ensure a profit regardless of the outcome. It’s mainly because different bookies provide different odds on the very exact match. 

Asian Handicap: Asian handicap betting is a type of football betting in which sides are handicapped based on their recent form, requiring a stronger team to win by a larger margin for a bettor betting on them to win. 

Backdoor Cover: This term refers to a late-game event that enables the underdog to fill the point spread in sports betting.

Banker: In any bet, the banker is the selection that has the best chance of winning.

Bankroll: The amount of money you have reserved for sports betting is referred to as your bankroll.

Beard: A person who makes a bet on behalf of someone to conceal the actual bettor’s identity is known as a beard among sports gamblers.

Betting Exchange: A betting exchange is a platform where customers can place wagers on the outcome of hidden events.

Betting Unit: In sports betting, a unit is a measurement of the size of a wager. Since everyone’s cash pile is different, and a unit relates to a portion of a bankroll. 

Bonus: A bonus bet is a monetary token that can be used to place a wager of your choice.

Bookmaker: A bookmaker, also collectively known as a bookie, is a company (or an individual) in charge of offering odds, accepting bets, and assuring payouts on sports events.

Buying Points: Buying points is a service offered by bookmakers that allow gamblers to increase their bet’s spread for a higher amount or minimized payout.

Chalk: In betting, chalk is simply a strong favorite. A club that is heavily favored with a large point spread is referred to as chalk.

Circle Game: A “circle game” in sports betting is a match in which the bookmaker reduces the sum of funds that a bettor can bet on a match.

Closing Line Value: The closing line value is a gambler’s payout for a bet’s closing price.

Consensus: Consensus is a summary of all bets on an event based on a percentage to show which team is getting the most action.

Contrarian: Means staking against the general public.

Contrarian Betting: Contrarian betting, also referred as betting against the public is a good betting strategy for one simple reason: the public loses most of the time.

Cover: The outcome of a point-spread bet. A favorite must win by more than the spread to cover; an underdog must win outright or lose by less than the spread to cover.

Dead Heat: Ties in final position wagers such as Top 5’s, Top 10’s, and Top 20’s, as well as other bets such as first-round leader wagers, are referred to as a dead heat.

Decimal Odds: Decimal odds number indicates how much one wins for every dollar wagered. The number shows the overall payout rather than the expected profit in decimal odds.

Dime: A $1,000 wager is referred to as a “dime.”

Dog: In a sports game, one club or athlete is clearly the betting top pick, while the other is the ‘dog,’ and that is – the underdog.

Double Chance: Double chance refers to players having two opportunities to win on their wagers. The term “double chance” refers to the possibility of two different outcomes in a game while still winning the bet.

Double Pop: A European expression indicating that a bettor will bet twice as much as usual. In the United States, this is more commonly referred to as doubling up.

Draw: If a match outcome ends with no winner, then it is a draw.

Early Cash Out: Early cashouts allow bettors to save money by cutting losses on losing bets early and seal in profits by removing the risk when you’re ahead.

Edge: The ability to find bets that have a higher likelihood of occurring than the odds you got gives you an edge in sports betting.

Even Money: Even money is a betting option with even odds is one in which the wager expects to lose or earn the same sum of money.

Exacta: An Exacta is defined as picking the first two winners in a horse race in the precise order they finish.

Exotic Wager: Exotic wagering is a term used to describe various horse racing bets that all require you to place bets on numerous horses.

Expected Value: The expected value of a bet is a measurement of how much a bettor may anticipate winning or losing over time while betting on the same odds.

Exposure: Exposure refers to any sum of money used to make a bet from a player’s standpoint.

Favorite: The term “favorite” is most commonly used in sports betting to indicate the team poised to win a match.

Field: The “Field” betting enables you to choose any player or club that isn’t currently accessible in the selection.

First Half: It’s exactly what it sounds like: you’re wagering on which team you think would be winning at halftime.

Fixed Odds: It’s exactly what it sounds like: you’re wagering on which team you think would be winning at halftime. 

Flat Betting: Flat betting is a disciplined approach in which you wager the same sum of money on every bet, no matter your degree of confidence. Flat betting isn’t showy or exciting, but it puts you in the ideal winning position over time.

Fractional Odds: The ratio of the profit won to a bet is known as fractional odds.

Future: As the name implies, a future bet is a wager on an event that will occur in the future.

Grand Salami: The Grand Salami is a whole new level of over/under bets. In contrast to the points of a single game. Grand Salami is about the overall score for a slate of games. 

Handicapper: Handicap betting is a betting option employed when two opponents have a perceived difference in strength. It can be a positive (+) or negative (-) sign. 

Handle: The handle is a particular term for sports wagering/betting, which can be unknown to outsiders yet a basic notion. The amount of money bet by the wagers is simply handle. It’s the money at stake.

Hedge: Plainly defined, hedge betting puts a bet on the other side of an existing wager. The value of hedge bets differs from bettor to bettor. 

Hedging: As explained above, a wager is an approach in which a gambler places a second bet over the initial wager if he does not know if a bet’s outcome is a win.

Home Field: Home field of a team is where it plays before its supporters. Home teams are usually difficult to beat at home.

Hook: The hook is a sports betting half-point. You would purchase a half-point on the spread, for example, if you want to purchase the hook. You’d purchase a half point and transform it into -7 if you wager the Patriots -7.5 against the bills.

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Joint Favorite: If the betting market gives more than one horse the same winning chances, this will be represented as JF, which means joint favored.

Juice: The house’s most significant strength is the juice in sports betting, and this inhibits the overwhelming majority of wagers from becoming long-term winners. The winner earns $20, when you wager 20 dollars on a game with a buddy. But you have to pay a cut in the book for your actions when you wager on sportsbooks.

Kelly Criterion: Kelly criterion is a mathematical bet sizing technique that bettors often use to calculate how much money to spend on a bet via a predefined percentage of assets.

Key Numbers: Key numbers relate to a game’s most common victory margin. The margin in this particular sport is strongly affected by the scoring method. Key numbers should always be related to the increases in the points scored.

Layoff: In betting, a layout relates to a particular mark at the table, which splits them into individual sectors.

Limit: A limit is the sportsbook’s maximum amount of bets for a particular game or event. You might receive a sort of “Limit: $200” rejection message if, say, you tried to put $250 to a match where the bookmaker was still not confident placing bets of more than $200.

Lines: Line betting is a type of wagering when the market is handicapped to match both wagering results. This is achieved by providing a margin known as a line for both teams. You can support the bookmakers by earning 13 or more points when you consider that one party is 12.5 greater than their opponents.

Listed Pitcher: You sometimes have to pick between a few possibilities when betting on baseball—listed loudspeakers, a pitcher, or ‘action.’ Listed pitchers imply both pitchers who have been predicted must start the game for the bet to be valid.

Live Betting: The ability of betters to make further bets after the game has started already is live betting. Live bets can often be offered between halfway through halves or periods, sometimes even after each game or race.

Lock: In betting, a lock is a possible win or an obvious situation that does not lose. It could apply to the gambler or the team, or competitors. It can also be used to point out the losing side, for example, “Chelsea is a losing Premier League lock.”

Margin: Betting margins are the disparity between odds offered to the bettor as well as the actual probability of the result.

Martingale System: The Martingale strategy entails doubling up on bad bets and lessening winning bets. It is primarily an approach to developing a loss-averse mindset to increase the chances of breaking even while also increasing the likelihood of drastic and rapid losses.

Matched Bet: When a bet is matched, it simply means two persons have agreed on a bet and sum of liability. You’ll notice that matched and unmatched bets appear in different segments of the bet slip.

Middle: A middle bet is a wagering approach in which a gambler bets on both sides of the same bet at various lines, hoping to win both and making sure that at least one of them wins. When a line has moved since the original staked bet, the chance arises.

Middle/Middling: Betting the middle (also called “middling”) is a strategic sports gambling approach that capitalizes on changes in point spreads, odds, and overs/unders. Many newbies to sports gambling are unfamiliar with the term “middling.” When a point spread or over/under moves in a match, you have the chance to middle it.

Moneyline: An often elementary bet in online betting is a Moneyline bet. It is, in its most basic form, a wager on which team will win a game. When you bet on the Moneyline, you’re predicting that the team you’re betting on will win the game. You win if they win, regardless of the score.

Nickel: When you hear the term “nickel,” it usually refers to a bet size 10,000 times larger than a nickel. When you bet a “nickel” on a match, you’re actually betting $500. A $5,000 bet is referred to as a “big nickel.”

Novelty Bet: A novelty bet is a wager on a non-sporting event, like the winner of a national election or the sex of a royal baby to be born. Although novelty betting does not have the same market share as sports betting, it does provide some superb betting opportunities.

Odds-on Favorite: The odds on favorite is a club or player who is ranked highly by the public to the point where the odds for the match are less even.

Off the Board: The term “off the board” relates to a match where the bookie refuses to accept any bets. Because bookmakers operate under their terms of service, they are free to cancel any bet at any time.

Over/Under: An over/under, also known as totals bet, is a bet in which a bookie predicts a number for a count in a match (typically the merged point total of the two teams), and bettors bet money that the exact figure in the match will be greater or lesser than that count.

Parlay: A parlay is a bet whereby multiple bets are interconnected together for a larger payout. It’s considered a single large wager, so each game in the parlay should win for the wager to win. When you add more games to your parlay, a bookie will give you bigger and bigger payouts.

Pick ‘Em: A game will be listed as a pick ’em if there is no favorite.  This implies that there’s no point spread, and so all wagers on the results are Moneyline wagers. When a game is listed as pick ’em, it means that the bookmakers believe the teams in that game are equally matched on that particular day.

Player Props: Prop bets are frequently a good value bet. You have a decent opportunity of making it big if you can find the undervalued players throughout the league and bet on them. 

Power Ranking: Evey team in every sport is given a numerical value, with the best elite teams and the worst clubs at the bottom.

Prop Bet: A prop bet, or proposition bet, is a bet in betting that is not based on the game’s final score or outcome. Props can range from a quarterback’s total passing yards to which club will score 20 points first in a basketball game and everything in between.

Public Betting Percentage: The public’s bet percentage is the percentage of bets placed on a specific market. For example, in a game between Watford and Liverpool, 80% of the public is betting on Liverpool, whereas 20% is betting on Watford.

Puck Line: Implementing a spread, or handicap, to a hockey game is how puck line wagering works. This means that at the end of the match, 1.5 points will be deducted from their scoreline. If you bet on a favorite on the puck line, they must win by 2+ goals for your wager to win.

Puppy: When it comes to sports betting, the word “puppy” relates to a club that is considered an underdog or one that is not expected to win. To be more precise, a “puppy” usually refers to a small underdog team.

Push: When the point spread reaches the exact figure you bet on in sports betting, it is called a push. 

Real-Time Odds: Live odds or real-time odds are odds that change during the build-up to and during the course of a match in sports betting.

Reduced Juice: Reduced juice refers to a bookie’s reduced commission on a wager. Reduced Juice has both advantages and disadvantages.  It’s critical to understand the difference between reduced juice and bonuses when it comes to sports betting.

Return on Investment (ROI): Return on investment (ROI) is a performance metric used to assess an investment’s efficiency. The return on an investment or the profit generated by your sports betting system is divided by the amount staked, with the outcome normally shown as a percentage.

Reverse Line Movement: Whenever a line gets away from the side that receives the most of the wagers, it is known as reverse line movement in sports betting. 

Round Robin: In online gambling, a Round Robin is a collection of small parlays composed of a larger list of teams you choose. The parlays will be created automatically by the bookmakers, allowing you to create lots at once.

Run Line: The Run Line, like any other spread, is a wager that demands a team to win by a specific margin or lose by less than a specified margin. 

Runner: In betting, a runner can apply to either a horse competing in a race or an individual wagering on another’s behalf.

Sharp Money: Sharp money refers to bets made by sports bettors whose opinions are valued by the bookmakers. This select minority, mainly professional bettors, assists the bookie in determining the appropriate odds for a sports game.

Square: When you hear the term “square,” it refers to a new bettor. This is a person who bets on the side and not regularly or in a professional capacity. All novice bettors start as squares, and they are the polar opposite of “sharp” bettors.

Steam Move: A Steam Move, according to Sports Insights, is a spontaneous, drastic, and coherent line movement throughout the entire sports betting market.

Steam: Steam is the consequence of a sudden influx of funds at various bookmakers, and it usually occurs as a result of betting groups, syndicates, and a few important bettors with the financial means to “get down heavily” at various places at the same time.

Straight Up: In online roulette, the Straight Up wager is the most straightforward bet. It’s a simple bet on a single value showing up, and if it does, you’ll win 35/1. Straight Up numbers pay the highest winnings in roulette, but they’re also the most difficult to hit, even before factoring in the house edge.

Take the Points: Bettors who take points back the underdog, while those who give points back the favorite. Basketball and football point spread odds can be used by players to score points.

Take the Price: When you wager on a race, you have the choice of taking the current market price or the SP. If you take the later, you are betting that the initial price will be better than the later price.

Teaser:  A teaser is betting that enables the gambler to combine his wagers on 2 distinct games. The bettor can change the point spreads for the games, but the return on the wagers is lower on the occasion of a win.

Tissue Price: Tissue Prices are the first odds offered to players by the bookies before the new betting offer’s popularity is defined.

Totals: A total, also widely recognized as an over/under, is a wager on the total number of points scored by a team or both teams in a match. As a bettor, your goal is to guess whether the point total would go over or under a certain number. You’re not attempting to figure out the exact total.

Tout: Tout is a betting term that is most commonly associated with horse racing. A tout is a person who observes racehorses to gather information, like during training. They can use this information to stake their bets, but the tout is looking for information to sell to someone else.

True Odds: When you hear the term “true odds,” it refers to the actual odds of something occurring rather than the odds offered by a bookie. The “true odds” provide a more accurate picture of the likelihood of something occurring. 

Units: In sports betting, a unit is an assessment of the size of a bet. Since everyone’s fortune is different, and a unit references a portion of a cash pile, it’s commonly used. Although it isn’t always the case, a  unit is generally equivalent to  1% of a bettor’s cash pile.

Wager: A wager is the amount of money you bet on every set of cards, sports event, a spin of the reels, and so on.

Wire-to-Wire: These markets are available for a specific team to be leading a match at the end of every quarter. If the provided selection does not lead at the end of either of the four quarters, the bet is declared a loser.

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