A Comprehensive Sports Betting Terms & Glossary

The world of sports betting is multifaceted, taking in hundreds of different terms across many different sports. This is something that is constantly changing as betting develops and becomes more sophisticated. As a result, we realize that sports betting terms can be something rather complicated to get your head around – especially as there are so many! To help you understand everything that you need to know regarding the practice, we have compiled this exclusive sports betting glossary.

A

Action

We begin with Action. A wager of any kind can be described in this way.

Against the Spread

When you bet “against the spread” you are betting (taking or laying) against the spread margin, not for the outright victory.

Arbitrage

Usually involving large amounts of money, arbitrage betting is when you can achieve profit through betting no matter the outcome. Happening in a situation where all possible outcomes in an event add up to less than 100%, it guarantees income for the cleverest of bettors. This requires a lot of skill and multiple betting accounts. Be warned, if a sportsbook cottons on to this they will probably block you.

B

Bad Beat

When you are just about to win a bet, then a last mintute touchdown changes the outcome against you. That is known as a bad beat.

Bankroll

The amount of money/funds you have to bet with.

Beard

Just like a beard can conceal somebody’s true identity, a beard refers to somebody who uses somebody else to place bets on their behalf. They could either do this as they are banned from betting, a sportsman betting on themselves, trying to get around a betting limit or don’t want their loved one to find out! In a lot of cases this is considered unethical.

Bet

A bet, if you don’t already know, is the bread and butter of all sports betting. Basically, you wager your money in order to try and achieve some profit. Sportsbooks give you odds for each outcome of an event and you can take it. You then get a return on your bet if it goes through, or you lose your money if it fails.

Bookmaker

Someone who is licensed to offer betting lines and accept your wagers.

C

Chalk

The favorite in an event.

Cover

In sports betting, such as basketball or football, the sportsbook will offer a “points spread” according to the outcome of the game. For example, they will say a team is favoured by seven points, if that team wins be eight, you will have covered the spread.

D

Dog

Short for underdog. In other words, the least likely side to win in a contest.

Double Result

A double result is what happens when you bet on both the half-time result and the full-time result.

E

Edge

Basically speaking, having an edge is the same thing as having an advantage. It can refer to the gambler knowing more than the sportsbook. Finding an edge is a big part of getting ahead in your bets.

Exotic Bet

This can be anything beyond your standard points spread, game totals, or money lines. This can be things like specials, or parlays. Those that refer to events you can bet on outside of the sports world can include movie/TV specials, politics, and even music.

Exposure

Exposure is known as the amount of money a gambler or sportsbook may lose on an event.

F

Favorite

The one the sportsbook expects to win the game or matchup.

Futures

Is a bet that placed on event that will take place in the future. Usually placed before the season, you can predict the winner of the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals etc, and receive payment if the team you chose wins.

G

Grand Salami

This is basically referring to the over/under totals for how many goals/runs/points will be scored across all of the games in a specific game day of the league.

H

Hedging

Hedging your bets is a good way to minimise risk, or in some cases, secure a profit. What it means is placing a series of different bets on different outcomes in order to guarantee a profit.

J

Juice

Basically this the margin a sportsbook imposes so they can make profit. Tyically they offer -110, which means you would need to win 52.38% of the time to break even.

L

Lay

To lay your bet is to bet against someone else winning. This can be done at a betting exchange, therefore letting you act as the broker. This means that you are cutting the odds of the sportsbook.

Limit

The most amount of money the sportsbook will accept for a particular wager.

Line

Another term for the betting odds that are posted.

M

Middle

Is when you bet on both sides of the game outcome, but are able to win both wagers. This occurs when you take advatnage of the point spread. E.g. Team 1 is favored to win by +9.5 and Team 2 is at -6.5, you’d win both bets if Team 2 wins by 7-8 points.

Moneyline

The moneyline is basically betting on the outright winner of match. This is commen in soccer and hockey, as with not many goals scored, it makes more sense to bet this way instead of against the spread.

Multiples

Multiples is simply another word for when you bet on more than one outcome which is combined into a bigger bet. This includes everything from a double (two bets) to a goliath (247).

N

Nickel

A bet of exactly $500.

O

Odds

Odds are a numerical expression that is used to express the pay-off you would be due from an initial stake. In the US, odds are relative to a 100 unit base figure. They can also be expressed in decimal, whereby your return is your stake times the odds number, or fractional.

Off the Board

Is an event that the sportsbook will not allow you to bet on. This can be due to an injury or weather that could severely affect the game at short notice.

Over/Under

The total of runs/goals/points posted that will be scored in a match. You have to attempt to correctly guess if the cumulative score of both teams in a match will exceed or stay under a set number.

P

Parlay

Is when you combine multiple single bets into one. All those individual selections must win for a parlay bet to win. E.g. you choose the Chiefs, Ravens, and Browns to win. All of them need to come through.

Pick ‘Em

Is an occurence when neither side is favored and the odds on either side are exactly the same.

Price

Price refers to how much a certain bet is worth. It is usually used in reference to horse racing betting, where it is known as a starting price – the price that a horse is just before it races instead of hours and days before the event.

Prop Bet

Is a bet on something other than the final outcome of a game. These ‘exotic’ bets are popular during the Super Bowl, and you can bet on player yardage total or if they will score a TD, for example.

Push

A wager that ends in a tie. With the spread this can be when the favorite wins by the exact amount, or on the money line when the game ends in a tie.

R

Real Time Odds

Lines that update immediately. This can be referred to as ‘live’ odds.

Runner

This is a very simple concept. Someone who places a bet on behalf of someone else.

S

Sharp

A sharp is somebody who knows all the angles, has a fair bit of disposable income, and can spot a good bet from a mile away. They are professional gamblers, who set their own odds, and try and find an edge over the sportsbook.

Spread Betting

Spread betting refers to betting on the direction something will move in rather than on the outcome of an event. It can refer to where a market will move in a financial sense, and also applies to over and under bets.

T

Tic-tac

This refers to the traditional hand-signals that were so common back in the day at the horse racecourse. This is for sportsbooks to communicate the odds of certain horses without letting the bettor figure it out.

U

Underdog

An underdog is somebody or a group of people who are generally expected to fail. Betting on them will give you much better odds than the favorite. It comes from the dog fighting, its first meaning “the beaten dog in a fight.”

W

Wager

A wager is any type of bet.

Wise Guy

A wise guy, otherwise known as a sharp, is somebody who probably knows more about gambling than you do. All things considered, he is basically a professional gambler.

Why Are Sports Betting Terms Important?

Sports betting terms are highly useful when it comes to the world of sports betting. They can help bettors from the United States understand the types of bets they have used, understand the technical terms that are ingrained in the culture, and know where to go if any betting problems arise. What we hope that these terms do is actually give readers some ideas for the types of bets that are available to make, and also how to improve these bets. If this has inspired you to start betting today, why don’t you take a look at our favourite online sportsbooks.