Sports Betting Glossary of Terms
When it come’s to sports betting, there are certain terms and phrases that are regularly used that are specific to the industry. If a person doesn’t have a grasp on what these terms are and what they mean, it is very possible they could miss out on opportunities and completely misunderstand what is being said. That is why we have created this glossary of sports betting terms below.
This glossary will help you better understand some of the language that you will indefinitely hear/read along your betting journey. We suggest taking your time going through it, especially if you are new to placing bets, and learn more about what these terms entail if at all possible.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
[A]
Accumulator: This is a type of parlay bet where there are two or more bets, and each side must win for the bet to be considered a win. Accumulators also win if the bet results in a push.
Action: The total amount of money wagered on any given sports game, match, or event. This includes all live bets too.
Across the Board: This is the classic win, place, and show bets in horse racing, and this bet covers all three in one bet.
AET Odds: Offered as live betting options, after extra time, odds are posted when a game or match goes into extra time due to stoppages. You might AET odds mostly with soccer games.
Also Ran: A competitor like an athlete or horse that doesn’t finish the race in a position where bettors get paid.
Alternate Lines: These lines fall higher or lower than the main line posted by the oddsmakers. Bettors will typically find alternate lines with point spread bets or over/under totals.
American Odds: One of three odds types, along with decimal and fractional odds, American odds are posted at -110. This means that bettors must place a wager of $110 to win $100.
Ante-Post: These are futures odds on horse or dog races that bettors will find posted one day prior to a season race of a big event like the Triple Crown races.
Against the Spread Odds: These are bets designed to create betting action for the favorite to win as well as the underdog.
[B]
Backdoor Cover: This occurs when the winner of the game, match, or event isn’t affected but a score occurs that helps bettors cover a spread.
Bad Beat: These are typically experienced in over/under totals, point spread betting, or moneyline bets where a wager is close to winning but ultimately results in a losing bet.
Bankroll: The fund that bettors use to place sports bets online or at retail betting locations. As bettors win their sports wagers their bankroll grows, while losses cause the bankroll total to go lower.
Bankroll Management: These are good practices to get into as a bettor where you set wager limits or look for value as you shop the lines and odds. It’s all about sticking to your budget and using a consistent betting system to keep your balance steadily building.
Beard: Someone who places bets for a bettor who wishes to remain anonymous.
Bet: There are wagers thatinvolve betting real money with an online sports betting app or retail sports betting center. Bettors wager on sports games or matches and they’ll win real money if they’re predictions are right!
Betting Exchange: Exchanges function as middlemen between the bettors and the sportsbook—they make their money via a small commission off the winning tickets (juice). They’ll post bets with two sides and see to it that both sides are bet on before closing the bet.
Book: A shortened term for sportsbook. This can be an online business or a retail betting center that accents bets on the odds they post.
Bookmaker: Also known as an oddsmaker or a linemaker, these are people who hold a license and can legally set up lines/odds and accept bets.
Buy Points: This is where bettors can buy lines on point spreads or over/under totals and shift the line in a desired direction. Each point that’s purchased increases the juice that’s attached to the odds.
[C]
Chalk: A slang term for the favorite to win a game or match.
Circled Game: These are games that the bookmakers aren’t certain on the outcome due to circumstances like weather or a player injury. These games have betting maximums which are much lower than other bets.
Closing Line: These are the final odds that bookmakers post before the start of a game, match, or event.
Co-Favorite: This occurs with futures betting where there are two or more sides that are favored to win. Some of these bets are posted so far in advance that there could be two or more competitors/teams that could possible because the oddsmakers are working off limited information.
Commission: This is a fancy word for “juice.” It’s the amount that the bookmakers take for themselves on all posted bets. Another word for commission or juice is vigorish.
Correct Score: This is where bettors correctly predict the final score of the game and know which team wins and which team loses.
Cover the Spread: This occurs when the favorite wins the game or match and their final score goes beyond the point spread prediction.
[D]
Decimal Odds: These odds are common in Europe and comprise one of the big three odds types. 1.91 decimal odds is the equivalent of -110 American odds, so it returns a $100 win for a bet of $110.
Dog: A slang term for the underdog, the competitor or team that are expected to lose. Underdogs are signified in the odds with a positive number (+100, for example).
Double Action: Some bettors can this the “if bet.” Double action occurs when bettors set up the money from a winning ticket to be automatically applied to a second betting option.
Double Bet: This occurs when a bettor places twice the amount of their normal wager on lines/odds that are a sure thing.
Double Result: Bettors can wager on the combined total of the halftime score and teh score at the end of the game.
Double Header: These are two games that are played back-to-back, usually the result of a canceled game that they are trying to squeeze somewhere in the season’s schedule.
Draw: A tie occurs and bets are considered a push, meaning that all bets amounts are returned. Bettors don’t lose any money and the sportsbook doesn’t make any money on the bets submitted.
Drift: A drift occurs when the opening line is posted, but the betting odds grow longer given enough time. Moneylines can move five to ten points in either direction and this is considered a drift.
[E]
Edge: Bettors can gain an advantage in the numbers through careful research, sometimes knowing things that the public isn’t privy to.
Even Money: These are bets where you gain the exact amount back in profit that you bet. You can place a bet of $100, for instance, on American odds of +100 and get back $100 in profit.
Exotic Bets: This is the name for bets that aren’t moneylines, point spreads, or over/under totals. Some of the most common exotic bets include parlays and prop bets.
Exposure: This is the amount that a bettor or oddsmakers could possibly lose on any bets. It’s called exposure because this is the vulnerability that both parties face when it comes to sports betting.
[F]
Favorite: The team or competitor that’s expected to win the game, match, or event. Favorites are signified by in the odds with a negative number (-100, for example).
First-Half Bet: These are wagers that focus on the first half of a game or match. First-half bets can consist of moneylines, totals, or point spreads, though bettors can get in on some exotic bets in the first half too like props.
Fixed Odds: Bookmakers accept bets and lines become fixed odds, so even if the line moves before the game or event, bettors can retain the odds they placed bets on. Another name for this is moneyline odds.
Fractional Odds: Decimal odds are big in Europe, while American odds are preferred in the United States. Fractional odds are favored in the United Kingdom. 10/11 fractional odds is equal to -110 in American odds and results in a profit of $100 for a bet of $110.
Future Betting: Futures are bets placed on games, events, or matches that take place in the distant future.
[G]
Game Total Bet: This is over/under betting on how many points will be scored in a given game.
Graded Bet: After a game or event is wrapped up, this is how bookmakers grade each bet—they could be wins, losses, or pushes (a tie). Once bets are officially graded, bettors get paid out accordingly.
[H]
Half-Time Bet: These bets can be placed during halftime on the results of the second half of the game or event.
Handicap: Betting odds with a handicap level the playing field and get bettors to wager on the underdog team or competitor.
Handle: This is the total amount of money accepted by the bookmakers on a certain game, match, or event.
Hedge: Hedging your bets is a way to manage risk in sports betting. You place bets on both sides of a wager to guarantee yourself a return of some sort. A hedge is the opposite of “putting all your eggs in one basket.”
Holding Your Own: This occurs when a bettor isn’t winning and adding to their bankroll, but they aren’t losing any money either. Bettors are breaking even and staying afloat.
Hook: This is a halt point that’s added to total betting and point spreads to ensure one side wins and the other loses. The hook is designed to avoid a push occurring.
[I]
If Bet: A winning parlay bet that consists of at least two wagers where the money won goes toward a second bet.
In-Play Betting: Another term for this is “live betting.” Bookmakers will post odds and lines during the course of a live game or event and bettors can make multiple wagers as the action changes on the field, court, track, or rink.
[J]
Juice: Also known as vigorish, this is the commission that bookmakers earn on all totals and point spread bets. This is how they get paid for the services they perform.
[K]
Key Number: In sports betting, particularly in football, a key number refers to a margin of victory that is most common in the final score, such as 3, 7, or 10 points. These numbers are significant because they often determine the spread for a game.
Kelly Criterion: A betting strategy that helps bettors determine the optimal size of a wager based on the perceived edge and the size of their bankroll. The Kelly Criterion aims to maximize profits while minimizing risk.
Kicker: A small, additional bet or stipulation added to a parlay or teaser. It typically adjusts the odds slightly but offers a potentially higher payout if all components of the wager are successful.
Keep the Line: A term used in betting to describe when a sportsbook keeps the odds or line unchanged, even after receiving heavy action on one side of a bet.
[L]
Layoff: These are last-minute wagers you can place on both sides of the last open bet to ensure you walk away from a game or match with some kind of guaranteed profit. Layoff bets are similar to bet hedging.
Limit: Not only are these betting limits that bettors can set for themselves as a part of good bankroll management, but they’re also high and low limits set by bookmakers are certain sports markets, games, or tournaments.
Linemaker: Another term used to describe bookmakers or oddsmakers who are licensed to issue lines and odds and accept sports bets.
Live Betting: This is where oddsmakers will put out multiple bets during the course of a live event. It’s usually moneylines, spreads, and totals, but a lot of sportsbooks will also include prop bets. Learn more on our page about live betting apps.
Longshot: It’s another term for underdog but also describes the idea of this team or competitor winning or causing an to be well outside the realm of possibility.
[M]
Middle: Betting both sides of a point spread if the line moves right before the game or match.
Moneyline: A bet where you must correctly predict the outright winner of a game or event. The favorite to win is represented by a negative number and the underdog is represented by a positive number.
[N]
Nap: This is a handicappers daily best bet suggestions to help bettors make the best decisions on their betting cards.
No Action: These are canceled betting lines or odds. After they’re scrapped by the bookmakers, bettors get back all their original bets.
Novelty Bets: Another term for this is exotic bets and these include any bets that aren’t moneylines, over/under totals, or point spreads. Novelty bets include any variations of parlay bets, prop bets, and specialties.
[O]
Odds: These are the betting lines that the bookmakers put out for bettors to wager on.
Odds Format: These are the three main ways for odds to be displayed including American (+100), Fractional (1/1), and Decimal (2.00). European bettors typically choose decimal odds, while bettors in the United Kingdom prefer fractional odds. And you can guess which are the most popular in the United States.
Oddsmaker: This is another name for the bookmakers or linemakers who create odds on sports games or events and post them in online sportsbooks or at retail betting centers.
Odds on Favorite: The team that’s favored to win is priced with odds that offer little value because the bet is basically a sure thing.
Odds Shopping: This is looking for value by checking out various sportsbooks to see what kind of odds they’re offering.
Off the Board: Games that are still on the boards but don’t have odds attached. Off the board games occur if there’s a player injury or some other disturbance that causes the game to be pulled.
Outright Betting: Bettors outright bet when they place moneyline wagers. This is betting on the winner of a game, match, or event.
Over Bet: Totals betting involves the bookmakers predicting the combined score for both teams at the end of a game or match. An over bet is placed when you think the actually combined score will come over the bookmakers’ predicted number.
Over/Under: It’s another name for totals betting. The bookmakers will put out a number that represents the combined score of both teams for a game, then bettors will trying to correctly predict if the actual combined score will come in over or under the bookmakers’ number.
[P]
Parlay: These are called accumulators or multiple bets and involve combining two or more bets into one large single bet. Each part of the bet (legs) must come through for the entire bet to be considered a win.
Payout: This is the amount that a bettor receives on a winning wager. It includes the original wager and the payout put together.
Pick’em: This is a bet where the odds are the same for each side of the wager.
Point Spread: These are bets designed to get bettors to place wagers on the underdog team. The favorite to win is signified by a negative number, while the dog is signified by a positive number. A bet for the favorite will only result in a winning ticket if they win outright and also cover the point spread. Underdog bets win if the dog team wins outright or loses within the point spread.
Price: These are the odds set by the bookmakers along with any juice that might apply.
Prop Bets: Short for proposition bets, these are wagers that focus on occurrences or non-occurrences during a given game or event. An example of a prop bet could be who will win the coin toss, how long will the national anthem take, or who the first player will be to make a three-pointer.
Public Money: Synonymous with handle, this is the amount of money wagered by the general public on a single sports event.
Push: A bet is considered a push if the game or event results in a tie. Bettors get back their original stake and no one makes any money, bettors and bookmakers alike.
[Q]
Quarter Bet: These are bets placed before a given quarter or live bets that are made during that quarter. Live bets will usually change as things evolve during the quarter, so there are multiple betting opportunities.
[R]
Recreational Betting: Someone who only bets on major events. They aren’t professionals and bet from time to time, not on a daily basis. Bets from recreational bettors are considered public money.
Rotation Number: This is a term used at land-based sportsbooks. The rotation number is used instead of the team’s name.
[S]
Sell Points: Through the use of alternative totals and point spreads, bettors can sell points to gain more favorable juice.
Sharp: A nickname for professional sports bettors who do extensive research before placing their bets. They use multiple sportsbooks to get multiple odds and see the big picture of what’s happening. They are experts at shopping the odds for good value and finding edges that give them a leg up.
Special: These are exotic bets that are offered on select games or events to give bettors something else to enjoy beyond moneylines, point spreads, and totals.
Spread Betting: This is where bettors lay the spread on the favorite, and take the spread on the dog.
Stake: This is the amount of money bettors wager on any given bet. Bets that are graded as winners return the original stake back to bettors. The same thing occurs during a push or tie when the original stake is returned but no one makes money.
Steam: A term applied to odds that quickly change when sharp bettors begin making up a large portion of the betting action.
Straight Bet: One wager places on over/under totals, moneylines, or point spreads.
[T]
Taking Points: Bettors are “taking points” when they place a bet on the underdog team or competitor.
Teaser Odds: This is when bookmakers will shift the lines in either direction as a way to get bettors interested in placing a wager.
Ticket: Bettors get a receipt from the sportsbook that confirms their wager has been accepted and this is called the ticket.
Tip: These are suggestions and advice from betting experts on how you should place your bets. They’re great for informing your overall strategy but they won’t always guarantee that you win every time.
[U]
Under Bet: Totals betting involves the bookmakers predicting the combined score for both teams at the end of a game or match. An under bet is placed when you think the actually combined score will come under the bookmakers’ predicted number.
Underdog: A term for the team or competitor that’s expected to lose. They are signified by a positive number such as +150.
[V]
Vigorish: Another term for juice or commission. It’s the amount of money the bookmakers earn on the total betting handle. For regular vigorish pricing of (-110), bettors must wager $110 to earn $100 in profit.
[W]
Wager: A general term for any type of bet placed on a sporting event. It can refer to various forms of betting, such as straight bets, parlays, or prop bets.
Win Percentage: The percentage of games a bettor wins in relation to the total number of bets placed. For example, if a bettor wins 60 out of 100 bets, their win percentage is 60%.
Win Total: A type of futures bet where a bettor wagers on the total number of wins a team will achieve during a season. Bettors can wager whether the team will win more (over) or fewer (under) than the set number.
Wiseguy: A slang term used to describe a professional sports bettor or someone who is well-versed in betting strategies and often places large, well-researched bets.
Wood: A slang term used when a bettor must lay heavy odds on a favorite. For instance, if you’re betting $200 to win $100 on a favorite, you’re “laying wood.”
[X]
X-Factor: In sports betting, the X-Factor refers to an unpredictable player or event that can greatly influence the outcome of a game or match, making it difficult to predict the results based on typical stats alone.
[Y]
Yankee: A type of parlay bet that consists of 11 separate bets across four different selections: 6 doubles, 4 trebles (three-team parlays), and 1 four-fold accumulator. At least two selections must win for the bet to return a profit.
Yield: A measure of profitability in sports betting. It is calculated by dividing the total profit by the total amount wagered and is typically expressed as a percentage. A positive yield indicates a profitable betting strategy.
Young Line: A betting line that is released early, typically before most of the public has had a chance to place bets. Young lines often see significant movement as more information or betting activity influences them.
[Z]
Zebra: A slang term used in sports betting to refer to referees or officials, particularly in sports like football, where they wear black-and-white striped uniforms. Bettors sometimes use this term when discussing how officiating may impact the outcome of a game.
Zero Juice: A rare type of sportsbook offering where there is no vigorish (or juice) on a bet, meaning the bettor doesn’t pay the typical house commission. This type of betting can result in better profits for bettors, but it’s uncommon.
Zig-Zag Theory: A popular betting strategy used in the NBA and NHL playoffs. The theory suggests that after a team loses a game in a playoff series, they are more likely to cover the spread in the next game. Bettors use this strategy to take advantage of potential bounce-backs.