Sports Gambling Terms

1. Sports Gambling Terms And Phrases
2. Casino Lingo
3. Betting Odds Terminology
4. Sports Gambling Terms Lingo
5. Why Is Sports Gambling Illegal

Before we get started if you’re interested in seeing these glossary terms in action feel free to visit these sports betting strategy pages. In these guides, we’ll share our expert tips and tricks for understanding and effectively using these different terms.

Glossary

The spread/lines. The spread is a way that sportsbooks make betting the score of the game even on both sides by adding or subtracting points from the final score of the game based on who is favored. The act of placing a bet or having an active wager on a sporting event. “I have action on.

Action: This is when you have a bet on a game, match, race, or season.

Against the Spread (ATS): This is a statistic that tells you how well a team does against the spread. If a team has covered the spread (outperformed the sportsbook’s expectations) in five games, you would say they are 5-0 ATS.

Backdoor Cover: This is when you think you’re certain to lose a bet, but something wild happens at the end of the game, getting you to cover the point spread and win your bet.

Bad Beat: This is when you lose a bet that you feel like you should have won. Most likely, you will hear this term when something happens in the game unexpectedly to cause you to lose almost a certain bet. For example, if a team fumbles the ball while kneeling down to win, and the other team scores to make you lose your bet, that’s a bad beat.

Beard: This is someone who places a bet for another person. Sportsbooks will often not take action from very sharp (good) bettors, which forces them to use beards (also known as runners) to place their bets for them.

Book: This is an abbreviated term for sportsbook.

Bookie: This is a person who illegally accepts bets. Basically, it’s someone who operates as their own sportsbook.

Buying Points: This is when a sportsbook allows you to shift a spread by giving up some payout odds. For example, if the point spread is +4, but you want it to be +5, you can do this at some sportsbooks. But since your bet is becoming more likely to win, you won’t be paid out as well.

Chalk: This refers to the favorite in a particular game, match, or race. If you bet on the chalk, you are picking the favorite who is expected to win.

Circle Game: This is a game where the sportsbook has lowered the wagering limits due to injuries, weather, or other conditions that have made things more difficult on the linemakers.

Closing Line: This is what the odds are when the sportsbook stops taking action.

Cover: This is the term used when a team outperforms the spread betting line. For example, if a team is +3 (3-point underdogs), and they end up losing the game by 2 points, it is said that they covered. It does not matter if they win the game or not; they only have to outperform the spread line.

Dime: This is a term for $1,000. If you say that you bet five dimes on a game, you bet $5,000.

Dog: This is an abbreviation for the underdog, the team that is expected to lose. If you bet on the dog, you should expect to get paid better than even money.

Double Bet: This is a wager twice the size of someone’s normal bet. For example, if you normally bet $20 on games, a double bet would be a $40 bet. This is popular when people have a strong prediction on a game or when they’re trying to chase their losses.

Edge: This is an advantage in a bet. When you place a bet that you think has value, you are betting that you have an edge.

Even Money: This is when the odds are 50-50, and you stand to win the exact same amount of money you bet. For example, if you bet $20 at even money, your profit for a correct pick would be $20.

Exposure: This is the amount of money a sportsbook stands to lose on a particular game, match, or race. Sportsbooks manipulate lines to try and limit their exposure as much as possible.

Exotic: This is any other bet outside of a straight bet or a parlay. It is another term for prop bets.

Favorite: This is the team that is expected to win a game, match, or race. If you bet on a favorite, you should expect to get paid out worse than even money.

Fire: This is a slang term for making a bet. You can say that you’re going to “fire on the Cowboys” if you’re going to make a bet on the Cowboys.

First Half Bet: This is a wager that you make only on the first half of the game. The end result of the game does not matter. The only thing that matters is the result after the first half of play.

Fixed: This is the term to refer to a game where someone has cheated. Basically, if the “fix is in,” the game has been set to have a certain outcome. This is what happens during sports betting cheating scandals.

Futures Bet: This is a bet on something that is going to occur in the future and is not going to be determined by just one game. For example, if you bet on the champion, division winner, or tournament winner, that would be a futures bet. The team would have to win multiple games to win this bet.

Getting Down: This is a slang term for making a bet.

Grand Salami: This is the total goals scored by every hockey team in a particular day or runs scored by every baseball team.

Halftime Bet: This is a wager that is made at the halfway mark of a game. Many sportsbooks will offer updated odds on the second half of a game. These lines are not put out until the first half is complete and are reflective of how the first half of play went.

Handicapper: This is someone who bets on sports.

Hedging: This is when you place a wager against yourself on the other side of the contest to lock up profit or minimize your potential loss. Hedges are most popular with futures bets but can be done with in-game betting as well.

High Roller: This is the term given to someone who bets large amounts on games.

Hot Game: This is a game that is taking a lot of action from skilled/sharp sports bettors.

Hook: This is a slang term for a half point on a point spread. For example, if the spread is -3.5, you might say that they are laying three and a hook.

In-Game Betting: This is the ability to bet on a game while it is going on. This has become much more popular with online sports betting thanks to technology.

Juice: This is a term for the commission that the sportsbook is taking on each bet that they take. It can also be used to refer to interest on a loan with a bookie.

Laying the Points: This is when you take the favorite in a point spread bet.

Layoff: This is the money bet by a sportsbook with another sportsbook to cover an imbalance in action.

Limit: This is the maximum that a sportsbook will allow you to bet on a particular sporting event. This is not a per-bet limit. For example, if the limit on a game is $5,000, the most you can bet on that game is $5,000. You can’t make multiple $5,000 bets, as it’s not a per-bet limit but a total limit.

Lines: This is another term for the odds. If you say you are going to check the lines, you are looking for the odds or spreads that are put out by the sportsbook.

Line Shopping: This is a term for comparing the lines at multiple sportsbooks to find the best odds possible. It is very common for different sportsbooks to have different odds on the exact same bet due to the action that they are receiving from their customer base. This is a must-do for serious sports bettors who care about their profits.

Lock: This is a term given to a sports bet that is said to be a sure thing. Contrary to popular belief, there are no such things as sure things in sports betting.

Longshot: This is a term for the team or contestant that has very little chance of winning a particular contest. This term is very popular in racing where you have multiple people or animals vying for a win.

Middle: This is when a sports bettor attempts to take advantage of a line movement to potentially win two sides of a bet. For example, let’s say that a team is +3 to win a bet. If that line moves to +5, they sports bettor can bet the other team. Now, if the game ends with the first team losing by exactly 4 points, the sports bettor will win both bets. If it goes one way or the other, the sports bettor will break close to even minus the juice on the bet.

Moneyline: This is a sports bet where you only need your team to win the game to win. It does not matter by how many points or in what manner they win.

Mush: This is a slang term given to a sports bettor who is bad luck.

Nickel: This is a slang term that means $500. If you say that you bet a nickel on a game, you bet $500.

Oddsmaker: This is a person who works for the sportsbook and sets the lines on the games.

Off the Board: This is when a bet is taken down, and the sportsbook is no longer taking action on it.

Over/Under Bet: This is a wager on either side of a totals number. For example, if the sportsbook thinks 45 points will be scored in a game, you can bet if there will be over that many points or under that many points. If you are correct, you win your over/under bet (sometimes referred to as a totals bet).

Parlay: This is when you link two or more individual bets together into one single wager. You must win all of your individual bets for you to win your parlay. One incorrect selection means you lose the entire ticket. Parlays pay out a high win amount for a smaller monetary investment.

Pick ‘Em: This is a game with no favorite or underdog. Basically, the sportsbook is saying that each team has an equal chance to win the game. The point spread is zero points.

Pleaser: This is when you wager several games (in a parlay-style format), except all of the point spreads are shifted by usually 6, 6.5, or 7 points in the sportsbook’s favor. So, if a team is usually -3, they are now -9 on your ticket. These are used in situations where you see several lines that are extremely off. As you might expect, pleasers pay out extremely well but are very tough to win.

Point Spread: This is the number of points that the sportsbook determines a particular team will either win or lose the game by.

Press: This is a term that means to bet more than you usually do. Usually, bettors press when they are on a good run and looking to capitalize or when they are losing and looking to find a way to get even.

Proposition Bet: This is a bet (sometimes known as a special or exotic) that involves betting on whether or not something proposed will happen during a sporting contest. For example, betting on what the coin toss will be or if a certain player will score the first touchdown are prop bets. These are sometimes offered on events and sometimes not depending on where and what you are betting. The most popular prop bet event is the Super Bowl.

Push: This is a fancy word for a tie. If you push your sports bet, your money is returned to you.

Runner: This is someone who makes bets on behalf of someone else. Sharp sports bettors often have their action refused, so they have to use runners to make their bets for them.

Sharp: This is the term given to a sports bettor who is very good and knows how to win. Your ideal goal in sports betting should be to become a sharp.

Spread: This is an abbreviated term for point spread.

Square: This is the term given to casual bettors who are not using extensive research or predictive models/formulas to make their wagers.

Steam: This is when a sports betting line moves unusually fast. A lot of times, this is a result of several big bets (maybe from a betting syndicate) coming in at once or a heavily-followed bettor publishing their pick and their followers jumping on it all at once.

Straight Up: This is a slang term for taking the moneyline bet where the point spread does not matter. If you say you are taking a team straight up, it means you took them on the moneyline, and all you need them to do is win the game. You do not care by how many points or in what fashion they win.

Teaser: This is a parlay-style bet similar to a pleaser except all the lines shift 6, 6.5, or 7 points in your favor. For example, if one of the teams on your teaser is normally +4, you now have them at +10. These are much easier to hit than parlays or pleasers, so expect not to be paid out as handsomely.

Ticket: This is another term for a sports betting wager. When you bet in a brick-and-mortar location, they print you out a “ticket,” which is a slip of paper with your betting information on it. This is what you turn in to collect your winnings. Online, tickets are digital.

Total: This is the number of points the sportsbook expects each team or both teams to score in a particular game. While it can be used for each team individually, it’s commonly used for both teams combined in a game. For example, if you say the total is 42 in the Patriots and Giants game, this means that they expect 42 points to be scored cumulatively. It does not matter which team scores the points. They can all be scored by one team or be scored equally by both teams.

Tout: This is a person or group that sells or gives away their sports betting picks.

Underdog: This is the team or player that is expected to lose a particular sporting contest.

Vig: This is a word for the percentage the sportsbook (or house) takes from each bet as their commission for facilitating each bet. It can also be used to refer to interest on a sports betting loan.

Wager: This is another word for a bet.

Welch: This is when someone refuses to pay on a bet that they knowingly lost. You can say that someone welched on a bet, or you can also say that someone is a welcher. This is something you never want to be and never want to have to deal with.

Wiseguy: This is another slang term for a sharp bettor who knows what they are doing.

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Slang used in the United Kingdom to describe the betting tax. This is sometimes also referred to as beeswax.

A mistake by sportsbooks which allows you to wager on every single outcome in a sport or event and make a profit.

A type of spread bet where a half point is added to the line because the chance of a draw is high in that particular sport.

When you support a particular team by placing a wager on them, you back them to win. This can also be called backing.

Losing on a bet that was all but a certainty is considered a bad beat.

A slang term used when a bet is expected by everyone to be a winner.

The amount of cash that a person has set aside for sports betting is known as their bankroll.

A person who places bets for another person who doesn’t want to be associated with sports betting.

A cash wager on the outcome of a particular event.

A person who places a bet on sports. Also referred to as a punter in some parts of the world.

A marketplace where people and bookmakers can retrieve odds on various sports and events in order to lay bets or make a wager.

A company or person that is licensed by the country or state they operate in to accept wagers on sports. Sometimes also called a bookie. This is a term used in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it’s called a sportsbook.

A $100 bet.

The favorite is known as chalk. A chalk player is a bettor who always just bets on the favorite.

A selection of the first and second teams or people to finish that way in any order. This is also called a quinella.

Sometimes wagering limits are lowered due to extenuating circumstances. The game is then known as a circle game when this happens.

The final line that a sportsbook has before betting is closed due to the game starting.

An amount of cash that is giving to you by a bookmaker to make bets. If you win you’ll just receive the winnings if you lose you’ll have to pay back the original bet.

If a result ends up as a draw and that result was not available to be wagered on initially, then there will be a rule in place to pay out winnings at a certain rate. This can vary between sportsbooks.

The total payout for a winning bet is known as a dividend. This dividend includes the amount won and the initial bet.

A $1000 bet.

The underdog in a sporting game or event, that is the team or person that is not likely to win.

In this type of bet, you receive your money back if the game ends in a draw. It’s a popular bet in soccer because so many games end in a draw in that sport

Covering a number of competitors in an event while ensuring you’ll be in profit if any of them win.

Another type of a spread bet, however, only total points are used. So the bet can result in a push if the handicap pushes the loser up or down to equal points of the winner.

A bet which pays out at 1 to 1 is known as even money.

A bet on the first two places in a sport or event in the correct order.

A complete list of all competitors in a particular sporting event. Usually, this will be associated with golf, horse racing, snow sports, and athletics.

In this bet type, the odds are fixed and won’t change after the bet has taken place. You’ll know exactly what your payout is based on the amount you wagered and the fixed odds at that particular time.

A change of the odds listed on a tote board.

The number of outcomes contained within a parlay bet.

A record of a participant’s recent results in sporting events.

A wager placed on a long term result such as who will win the super bowl before the season starts. This is also known as an ante-post bet.

Slang for $1000.

A wager made at half time in a sport. The odds will be updated to reflect the game situation and how teams or people are performing.

A bet in soccer where you win if your team wins or the game is a draw.

A disadvantage or advantage for a team, this is used in spread and line bets.

Making separate bets which are in favor of the outcome against your main bet to provide you with some insurance if your main bet fails. In general, hedging your bets is not a good idea unless you have a lot of money on the line in a futures bet, or something similar.

A term to describe an outcome that is odds on favorite to happen and result in a win for those that have wagered on it.

This is slang used by bookmakers for the favorite.

The interest charged by illegal bookmakers on money that is owed to them by gamblers. Also sometimes refer to the extra amount you have to bet in a wager. When you bet 110 to win 100 some players call the extra 10 juice.

This is a bet on an outcome not occurring in a sporting event. You could lay a bet that a team won’t win a game throughout the season, so you’re backing all the other teams that will compete against them. Confusingly, lay can also refer to the act of putting the bet on something, you lay the bet in favor of an outcome occurring.

A bet made by a bookmaker with another bookmaker to reduce the risk of the bets he or she has sold.

When a team or person’s odds increase, they have lengthened. This means people have stopped wagering as much on them. This is sometimes also referred to as odds drifting.

The collection of odds that sports books are offering on games.

A wager on a sport or event that has already commenced is known as a live bet. It can also be referred to as an in-play bet, or an in the run bet.

A certain winner is known as a lock.

An outcome that is considered unlikely to happen, and as such, the payout will be much higher if it does. This is associated with the term long odds also.

In this wager, you select how much one team will beat another team by. You can either choose above or below a certain amount, ranges, or a specific amount.

A person who is bad luck and shouldn’t be associated with while betting.

A $500 bet is known as a nickel bet.

Sports Gambling Terms And Phrases

A sport or event that a sportsbook is not accepting bets on.

In this wager, you make a bet on whether the total score of two teams combined will be over or under a certain pre-determined amount.

A bet on multiple outcomes in different sports or games that occur in chronological order. Each bet leads into the next one, provided it’s a winning bet. If one bet loses, then the whole parlay is over and loses. This gives you the opportunity to link up many bets and keep rolling them into each other so as to get a larger payout if you pick everything correctly. This is also referred to as multi-bet, accumulator, or all up bet.

In this type of betting all wagers placed on a particular sport or event are placed in a large pool. The house or sportsbook will remove a percentage of the pool as their take and the rest remains to be shared by those who end up winning. The odds in this form of betting aren’t fixed and will fluctuate depending on how people are making wagers. This is also referred to as tote or totalisator betting in some parts of the world.

A bet on someone or something in sport finishing in the top 3, or sometimes the top 4 depending on the sportsbook.

This is a bet type which is focussed on an outcome in sport, other than who wins and who loses. It’s also known as an exotic bet as the types that are available are numerous and seem to get stranger and stranger. You can bet on first goal scorers, player statistics, who’s winning at half time, and much more.

A slang term for a person that gambles. This is most commonly used in Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term bettor is used.

Another term that is used to describe a tie or draw, and also to describe a situation where no money changes hands.

The amount you win on a bet is the return.

Someone who bets on the same sport or event with different sportsbooks to try and turn a profit no matter what the result is.

The opposite of lengthened, when odds shorten it means the outcome is now popular amongst those wagering on the event or sport.

Sports betting is the act of making a wager on a particular outcome in a sport in order to make money.

A company that operates sports betting as they’re licensed by the state or country to do so. These can be both bricks and mortars establishments as a stand-alone premise, or in a casino, and they can also be online. Many sportsbooks are now a mix of both, they have online betting and store fronts or space in casinos to make bets too. There are also Online Casino Sportsbooks where you can play games and place bets on sports.

In a spread bet each team or outcome receives either an advantage or disadvantage to their score in order to even the game up and provide similar odds for both outcomes. In a game where two teams play each other, the favorite will have to win by more than a certain amount, and if they don’t a bet on the other team will be a winner, even though the team lost. This bet is also commonly called a line bet, although in that circumstance the line is fixed by the sports book. You can also change the spread to whatever you like at some books, and the odds will change with it.

When you make a wager on a single outcome occurring in sport, it’s known as a single bet.

Betting methodologies that use complex mathematics and formulas to determine how to bet on a range of outcomes in order to be profitable in the long run. Although it’s possible to be successful doing this, it’s also very difficult.

A wager on a winner and that’s all.

Casino Lingo

A sportsbook profit margin that they make off players after all winning bets are paid out. This is determined by how they set the odds in the first place and how much action they can generate on each side of a bet.

A multi-bet where the spreads are altered to be in your favor in every game.

Advice or selections on who or what will win or do well in a sport or event.

Betting Odds Terminology

A wager on the total score of the two teams or all competitors combined. Generally, you’ll choose a total range which will give you a higher chance of winning at lower odds. If you choose an exact amount on the total bet the payout will be much higher.

A system of betting where a pool is generated and odds are determined by popularity. The house will take a percentage out of the pool and the rest is set aside to pay out winners as per how much has been wagered and what the resultant odds are for all possible outcomes. The term tote is short for totalizator.

A wager made on the top three in an event. These must be picked in correct order for the bet to be a winner. You can also put on a box trifecta bet, in this bet, the order of the top three doesn’t matter.

A team, person, or thing that is unlikely to win and has long odds. This is also known as just a dog.

Sports Gambling Terms Lingo

When you don’t pay off a gambling debt, it’s a welch.

Why Is Sports Gambling Illegal

• Find more Sports Betting Terms and slang definitions at DonBest.com