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Sports Betting Dictionary
Glossary of Terms
Picking Pros

A
Accountant - a term used by some players for bookmaker (bookie).

Accumulator - (Also, Parlay) A multiple bet. A kind of 'let-it-ride' bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more games with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following game selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the accumulator.

Across the Board - a method of wagering on a horse to win, place and show.

Action - A bet or wager of any kind is deemed Action if valid. Different rules apply in different sports in determining if a bet is action or no action (e.g. baseball bets are action when the game gets beyond 4½ innings).

Added Game - For sports betting, a game not part of Las Vegas regular rotation posted as an accommodation to customers.

Agent - a middleman who places players into a sports book for a commission.

Ajax - UK slang term for 'Betting Tax'.

All Up - (Also, Accumulator) This involves picking the winners of more than one event. A single wager amount is placed on more than one outcome, whereby the stake and winnings of the first selection will be rolled over into the second selection and so on.

All-In - With all-in betting there are no refunds given for scratched or withdrawn competitors or teams in an event where a bet is placed. Should an event be cancelled then the amount bet will be refunded.

Alpo - a dog, puppy or underdog, i.e., the team, side or contestant in any given event considered to be the least likely to win.

Angles – Using key factors from previous events to predict the results for future outcomes.

Ante Post - (Also, Futures) Bets placed in advance predicting the outcome of a future event. Ante-post prices are those on major sporting events, usually prior to the day of the event itself. In return for the chance of better odds, punters risk the fact that stakes are not returned if their selection pulls out or is cancelled.

Arbitrage - Where a variation in odds available allows a punter to back both sides and guarantee a win.

ATS or "Against the spread" - Taking points rather than betting with the spread and laying points.

B
Back Door Cover - meaningless points scored to cover the spread, by a team that is likely to lose.

Backed - A 'backed' team is one on which lots of bets have been placed.

Bad Beat - a tough loss, e.g., when unwanted points are scored against your wager in the dying seconds of an event, or your horse loses by a nose, after leading all the way.

Banker - Highly expected to win. The strongest in a multiple selection in a parlay or accumulator. In permutation bets the banker is a selection that must win to guarantee any returns.

Bar Price - Refers to the odds of the selections at the last quoted price and bigger. The bar price is the minimum odds for any of those selections not quoted. For example, in a large field, the Serie A outright markets may read Juventus 3/1, AC Milan 7/2, Inter Milan 4/1, Lazio 5/1, 8/1 Bar - meaning every other side is quoted at 8/1 or bigger.

Beard (US) - A friend or acquaintance or other contact who is used to placing bets so that the bookmakers will not know the identity of the actual bettor. Many top handicappers and persons occupying sensitive positions use this method of wagering.

Beef - A dispute or claim involving a player and his bookmaker or a casino dealer. A dispute over the outcome of a bet. A problematic situation involving a bet.

Beeswax - UK slang term for betting tax. Also known as 'Bees' or 'Ajax'.

Betting Tax - Tax on a Bookmaker's turnover. In the UK this is a 'Duty' levied on every Pound wagered. Common methods of recouping this by the punter are to deduct tax from returns (winnings) or to pay tax with the stake/wager. In the latter case, no tax is deducted from the punter's winnings.

Bonus whore - a player who opens an account in an online sports book, poker room, or casino in order to get a bonus.

Book - A bookmaker's tally of amounts bet on each competitor, and odds necessary to assure him of profit. Running a 'book' is the act of quoting odds and accepting bets on an event and the person doing it is called the 'Bookmaker'.

Bookmaker - Person who is licensed to accept bets on the result of an event based on their provision of odds to the customer. (Sportsbook US).

Bottle - UK slang, odds of 2 to 1.

BR - a bankroll.

Bridge-Jumper (US) - Bettor who specializes in large show bets on odd-on favorites.

Buck (US) - A bet of US$ 100 (also known as a 'dollar bet').

Buy (Points) - In sports betting, a player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a point spread game.

Buy the Rack (US) - Purchase every possible daily-double or other combination ticket.

C
Canadian line - The Canadian line is a combination of goal spread and money line in hockey.

Carpet - UK slang for Odds of 3 to 1 (also known as 'Tres' or 'Gimmel').

Century - GBP£ 100 (also known as a 'Ton').

Chalk - The favorite.

Chalk Eater - Favorite bettor.

Chalk Player - In sports gambling this person is someone who usually only plays the favored teams, rarely betting on the underdogs.

Churn - The effect of betting and rebetting money.

Circled game - In sports wagering this is a game in which the betting action is reduced; usually occurs in added games, games with injuries, bad weather, propositions, or halves of games. These games cannot be included in parlays or teasers.

Clone Joint - a sports book that moves its' lines to conform with other sports books.

Closing Line - The final list of point spreads offered before game time.

Combination Bet - Selecting any number of teams/horses to finish first and second in either order.

Cover - to bet the point spread (spread) by the required number of points. If a wager is made in this way, the player is said to have covered the spread, and stands to win an event by more points than he/she laid, or lose by fewer points than he/she had taken.

Credit Betting - Betting using credit with a bookmaker.

D
Data Mining - Searching through a large volume of statistics to find profitable situations to bet on in the future.

Dead Hit - Finishing equal. Both win.

Degenerate - a term for a compulsive gambler.

Deposit Betting - Betting with money deposited in advance with a bookmaker.

Dime - $1000.00 sports betting wager.

Dime Line - Slang used to designate the 10 cent money line. The money line difference (10 cents) between what a bettor would lay with the favorite or take back with the underdog; see 10 Cent Line.

Dog - Underdog.

Dog Player - In sports gambling this term refers to one who mostly plays the underdog.

Dollar - $100, in sports wagering.

Double action - An "if bet" in sports betting that is processed if the precedent bet wins, ties or cancels.

Double Bet - In sports betting a double bet is a wager for twice the size of one's usual wager; also known as "double pop" or "doubling up."

Double or Nothing - An even-money bet, a bet that pays off exactly the amount wagered.

Draw - Where competitors in an event finish evenly. Where there is a draw and this is not offered as a betting option, the return will be divided by the number of joint winners. Note that some sports have processes such as extra-time or play-offs to determine an event winner that are included as part of the bet where others are not. This may affect some bets and you should always be sure how an event would be decided in this instance.

Due For - a term referring to a contestant or team that is considered to be overdue for a win or loss in their next contest or sports event. The due for wager is a favorite strategy of many players.

E
Each Way - UK term for betting on a team or individual to win and/or 'Place'. The bet is automatically split into two, 50:50 and the odds for each bet are different. If your selection wins, the Place bet wins automatically. Therefore, you could win either both bets or Place only.

Earn - practical hold percentage, i.e., the total amount won by a bookmaker divided by the total amount booked.

East Coast Line - a term used mainly in ice hockey, which has a split-goal line, e.g., Detroit Red Wings favored over Vancouver Canucks (1-1½) as opposed to a spread plus money line (-½ -180).

Edge - A persons Advantage when it comes to sports betting.

Even Money - Sports betting term "Even money" is a bet whose odds are 1/1; a wager in which no vigorish or juice is laid.

Exacta, or Perfecta Box - horse betting terms referring to the method of betting on a horse race in which the first and second place horses (two or more) are picked to cross the finish line in any order.

Exotic Wager - action other than a straight wager, e.g., teasers, futures, round robins etc.

Exposure - The amount of money one actually stands to lose on a game.

Extension - the amount of money the book, theoretically, risks losing on an event.

F
Favorite - The contestant in any given contest that is considered the most talented, or has the best chance to win the contest.

Fifty cents - $50.00 of sports betting action.

Figure - an amount owed by, or to, a bookmaker, based on a player's wins or losses.

Firing - the wagering of large sums of money, i.e., a player who does so is said to be firing.

First half bet - In sports betting this is a bet placed only on the first half of the game.

Fixed - a slang term referring to the outcome of a race, contest or game that has been illegally pre-determined. No one in the mainstream sports betting world, on either side of a wager, cares for this term.

Fixed Odds - Your dividend is fixed at the odds when you placed your bet. No matter how much the odds fluctuate the odds at the time you placed your bet are fixed and written on the ticket. Your dividend for winning is paid at the value stated on your ticket, no matter what happens after you have placed your bet.

Flag - A bet consisting of 23 bets (a 'Yankee' plus 6 'Single Stakes About' bets in pairs) on 4 selections in different event.

Flash (US) - Change of odds information on tote board.

Flea - An annoying person who wants something for nothing. One who expects to be comped for a small wager.

Fold - When preceded by a number, a fold indicates the number of selections in an accumulator (e.g. 5-Fold = 5 selections).

Forecast - A wager that involves correctly predicting the 1st and 2nd for a particular event. This bet can be straight, reversed or permed. (USA, Perfecta or Exacta).

Form - the expected performance of contestants or teams according to how well they look on paper.

Full Cover - All the doubles, trebles and accumulators involved in a given number of selections.

Future - In sports gambling odds are posted in advance on the winners of various major events including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, and the NBA Championship this is called a Future bet.

G
Gamble- To risk money on the outcome of an event.

Getting Down - Sports wagering meaning making a bet.

Going Down - losing a wager, or series of wagers.

Goliath - A goliath is a multiple bet consisting of 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events. The multiple bet breakdown is 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70x4-folds, 56x5-folds, 28x6-folds, 8x7-folds and one 8-fold.

Grand Salami - A sports betting term meaning the grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.

Gross Win - winnings before expenses.

H
Half time bet - In sports betting this is a bet placed only on the second half of the game.

Half-a-dollar - $50.

Halftime Line - A line on only the first half, or only the second half scoring of a football or basketball game.

Handicapper - When it comes to sports betting a handicapper is one who studies, rates and wagers on sporting events and/or races.

Handicapping - In sports gambling this is the attempt to predict the outcome of sporting events.

Handle - A sports wagering term that means the total amount of bets taken.

Hang Cheng - The Asian equivalent for 'Point Spread'.

Hedging - A sports betting term that means placing wagers on the opposite side in order to cut losses or guarantee a minimum amount of winnings.

Heinz - A Heinz is a multiple bet consisting of 57 bets involving 6 selections in different events. The multiple bet breakdown is 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15x4-folds, 6x5-folds and one 6-fold.

Hold - The percentage the house wins.

Home Field Advantage - Edge the home team is expected to have as a result of familiarity with the playing area, favorable demographics and effect of travel on the visiting team.

Hook - a half point added to football and basketball point spreads, as in 3.5 or 3 and a hook.

Hot game - Sports betting term for a game that is drawing a lot of action on one side by knowledgeable handicappers.

Hot Tip - Information the bookmaker is not yet privy to.

I
In and Out Teaser (See also "Teaser" below) - An "in and out teaser" is when the player picks the favorite, underdog, over and under of the same game. For example: NY +3 1/2, Dallas -3 1/2. An in and out teaser would have a player take both NY and Dallas, and tease both, to increase the odds of winning the wager. So, if you teased both teams by 7 points, you would have: NY +10 1/2, Dallas +3 1/2. So long as the spread is covered, your wager will be a win.

In The Red - Odds on.

Index Betting - Spread betting.

J
Joint Favorites - When a sportsbook or bookmaker cannot split two teams for favoritism, they may both be joint favorites.

Jolly - Bookmakers slang for 'Favorite/Favourite'.

Juice - Bookmaker's commission, most often refers to the 11 to 10 football bettors lay on straight wagers. Also known as vigorish or "vig".

L
Lay The Points - A wager on a favorite in a point spread contest.

Layoff - sports betting term for money bet by a house with another bookmaker to reduce its liability.

Lengthen - The opposite of 'Shorten'. Referred to odds getting longer, that is, more attractive to the bettor.

Limit - Maximum bet accepted by the house before the price will be changed.

Line - In sports betting, the current odds or point spread on a particular event.

Linemaker - In the sports betting industry this is the person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines.

Listed Pitcher (LP) - the pitcher, or pitchers, listed by the Las Vegas oddsmakers as probable starting pitchers for a scheduled baseball game.

Lock - Easy Winner.

Long Odds - Generally greater than 10:1.

Longshot - Large underdog.

M
Middle - To win both sides of a game. For example, if you bet the underdog +3 1/2 and the favorite -2 1/2 and the favorite wins by 3, you've middled the book. The book has been middled.

Minus Pool - In pari-mutuel wagering, when after the take is extracted, there is not enough money left to pay winning patrons the minimum bet. The track must then make up the difference.

Moneyline - The amount you must bet to win 100 or the amount you win if you bet 100

Move the line - A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a pointspread game.

N
Neutral Site - Arena, court or field where neither side has a home field advantage.

Newspaper Line - the lines which appear in various daily newspapers. These lines are only approximate and can be downright inaccurate and misleading.

Nickel - a $500.00 wager.

Nickel line - A sports wagering line where the juice is 5%.

No action - A wager in sports betting in which no money is lost nor won.

O
Odds On Favorite - a horse, team or contestant so favored by the public that the odds for the event are less than even.

Odds- The likelihood of the outcome occurring, stated in numbers form.

Oddsmaker - A person who sets the betting odds. (Sportsbooks or Bookies don't set the odds. Most major sportsbooks use odds set by Las Vegas oddsmakers.)

Odds-on - An Odds-on bet has a Minus sign in front and is worked out in reverse. It is the amount you wager to win $100. In the U.K. it is a bet on odds below evens 1:1. In Europe, it is a bet on odds below 2:1.

Off Lines - the amount the Las Vegas point spread differs from the lines of other sportsbetting sites, which have derived their data from various computer software systems.

Off The Board - Game where no bets are being accepted.

Official Line - the line the bookmaker uses for wagering purposes. The line produced in Las Vegas is quite often referred to as the official line, however, the line that the bookmaker offers the player is actually the official line. Many smart players compare the Las Vegas official line to that of their local bookmaker to ensure they get every possible edge.

Opening Line - The earliest line posted for a particular sporting event.

Out - a bookie (bookmaker). Could also refer to an illegal bookmaker.

Outlaw line - Term for the earliest line in sports betting. This is an overnight line which only a handful of players are allowed to bet into.

Over/Under - A bet on whether the combined total of the points/goals scored by the two teams will exceed or be less than a specified number.

Over - A bet on whether the combined total of the points/goals scored by the two teams will exceed a specified number.

Overlay - When the odds on a proposition are in favor of the bettor rather than the house

Overplay - When the odds on a proposition are in favor of the bettor rather than the house

P
Parlay - A bet on two or more teams or outcomes where the original stake and winnings are reinvested on the next wager. All selections must be correct for the parlay to win. In the event of a push or a game cancellation, the parlay reverts to the next lower number (e.g. a four-team parlay becomes a three-team parlay).

Past Post - To make a bet after an event has started

Patent - A Patent consists of 7 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. a single on each selection, plus 3 doubles and 1 treble.

Penny Line - A money line that is adjusted in increments of a penny, or one cent at a time

Pick 'em - When neither team is favored. Also called a "pick" in sports betting terms.

Picks - Betting selections, usually by an expert.

Player - Bettor, gambler

Point spread - In sports betting this is the predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a sports book.

Power Ratings - The strength of a team in comparison to another team.

Practical Hold Percentage - The amount won be a bookmaker divided by the total amount booked

Press - To bet a larger amount than usual

Price - The moneyline odds on the favorite of a given match

Prop (proposition) bet - A special wager offered by the sportsbook on unique and various topics. These wagers can be on sporting events, politics, and even trial outcomes. The wagers use the moneyline format of payoff odds and might include who scores the first goal in the Stanley Cup finals, who will win the next presidential election, or whether or not Michael Jackson will be found guilty.

Puckline (American line) - Giving odds of a goal spread in hockey instead of using a Canadian line, where both a goal spread and moneyline are played.

Punter - Bettor.

Puppy - an underdog, Alpo or dog.

Push - A tie between the bettor and the bookmaker that is the result of the score of an event falling exactly on the pointspread number, or the total points number

Q
Quinella, and Quinella Box - horse betting terms referring to the method of betting on a horse race in which the first and second place horses (two or more) are picked to cross the finish line in any order.

R
Rain Out - A contest that has been canceled because of bad weather

Return - Your total winnings on a bet.

Round Robin - A series of parlays. A three-team round robin consists of one three-team parlay and three two-team parlays

Run down - In sports gambling this is all the lines for an specific date, sport, time, etc.

Run line - In baseball a spread used instead of the money line.

Runner - One who places bets for another when it comes to sports betting.

S
Scalper - One who attempts to profit from the differences in odds from book to book by betting both sides of the same game at different prices

Score - To win a lot of money

Scout - a person who studies the performance and potential of teams, horses or contestants, in or out of play, and reports the pertinent findings to handicapper(s).

Scratch - to withdraw, cancel or call off a wager.

Sharp - When it comes to sports betting a sharp is a sophisticated or professional gambler.

Shorten - The opposite of 'Lengthen'. Referred to odds getting shorter, that is, less attractive to the bettor.

Side Bet/Side Wager - A wager on a particular team, or side, to win a contest

Single - A Straight bet on one selection to win one race or event, also known as a straight-up bet.

Single action - An "if bet" in sports gambling that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.

Smart Money - money wagered on sides by knowledgeable handicappers.

Soft Line - a wagering line that is not current with the true posted line, that is, a line that has been adjusted, or moved, as a result of action, but does not reflect the true line as posted.

Sport Player - a player who waits for unusually strong wagers, at times, in error.

Sportsbook- a person or company that accepts bets.

Spread - An abbreviated form of pointspread

Square: A novice when it comes to sports betting.

Stake - money used to wager on the success or failure of a particular event.

Star - a rating given to certain high performers.

Steam - In sports betting steam is when a line starts to move rapidly. Most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect objective circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors is drawn to for some reason.

Store - A bookie or sports betting establishment.

Straight Bet - A single wager on a selected side or over/under

Straight Wager - a single straightforward wager on a selected side, or over/under. The team wagered on must win by the point spread given at the time of the wager.

Stuck - a depressing condition experienced by players who feel behind, buried, losing or down for the week.

Sucker Bet - a wager that overwhelmingly favors the bookmaker or house.

Sudden Death - An overtime period in which the first contestant to score is declared the winner of the contest

Super Heinz - A Super Heinz consists of 120 bets involving 7 selections in different events, i.e. 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 four-folds, 21 five-folds, 7 six-folds and 1 seven-fold.

Super Yankee - Alternative name for a multiple bet known as Canadian, a Super Yankee is a Yankee type bet with five selections instead of four.

Systems- Using trends for the past that you are consistent with to predict future outcomes.

T
Take A Price - A wager on the underdog in a moneyline contest

Taking the points: Betting the underdog and its advantage in the pointspread.

Tapped Out - a condition experienced by players who are broke (busted). It is a common result of pressing.

Teaser - A bet on 2 or more teams where the line on each team is adjusted in the favor of the bettor. Like a Parlay, all selections must be correct for the teaser to win

Theorical Hold Percentage - The edge the bookmaker would have IF the odds guaranteed him a constant commission regardless of the outcome

Thick'un - A big bet.

Ticket: A sports betting wager.

Tie - In sports betting a tie is a wager in which no money is lost nor won because the teams' scores were equal to the number of points in the given line.

Toss Up - Game where the line is close to pick-em

Total - The line on a given contest, representing the combined number of points scored by the two teams; see over/under

Tote - Short for Totalisator. A system introduced to Britain in 1929 to offer pool betting on racecourses.

Tout Service - A business that sells opinions on sporting events

Trebles - A triple bet on three events. A form of parlay or accumulator.

Trends- Using the past to predict the future focusing in on only one team.

Trifecta Box - horse race betting term referring to a method of betting where the player must select the first, second and third place horses to cross the finish line, in any order.

Trifecta Triple - horse race betting term referring to a method of betting where the player must select the first, second and third place horses to cross the finish line, in a specified order.

Triple Sharp - a sharp who is the sharpest of the sharps.

Trixie - A Trixie consists of 4 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. 3 doubles plus 1 treble.

True Odds - The real odds of something happening as opposed to what the bookies offer.

Tweener - a book that derives it's numbers by taking the middle point between the numbers calculated by all other books.

U
Under - An under is a wager in which the bettor guesses that the total points/goals scored by two teams will be less than a certain figure.

Underdog: The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Also known as the "dog" in sports betting terminology.

Underlay - the odds of a particular wagering proposition are lower than they should be, that is, they favor the house.

V
Value - an overlay, i.e., getting the best odds on a proposition, the highest possible edge.

Vigorish:The "Vig", or The bookmaker's commission on a losing bet; also known as "juice".

W
Wager- To risk money on the outcome of an event.

Welsh/Welch - To fail to pay a gambling bet.

Win Only - Betting on a competitor to win an event. Also known as 'Straight Out' or 'Money Line' betting.

Wise Guy - Established and successful sports bettor