Online Gambling - Sports Betting Odds

Glossary Of Betting Terms

A

• Accumulator – (aka Parlay and Multiples) A multiple bet where the bettor selects several different events or races, and makes a wager on the first one. If they are successful, the payout becomes the bet for the next event.
• Across the Board – In racing, when win, place, and show are offered with an equal stakes bet on each result.
• Action – A wager that is valid is deemed Action. Depending on the sport being played, the rules for Action or No Action will differ.
• Ajax – Slang for betting tax. More commonly used in the United Kingdom and Europe.
• Also Ran – A competitor or team that does not finish in the top four of a race or event.
• All-in – A term used when a player – most common in no-limit poker – wagers all of their chips in a single round.
• Ante-post – Prices that are posted a day or more prior to an event. Bettors take healthier odds while risking the loss of their wager if their selection withdraws.
• Arbitrage – When a bettor wagers on both teams, and takes a win, due to a variation in odds.

B

• Backed – The backed team or competitor is the one that has received the most wagers, and is often considered to be the favorite.
• Banker – A "sure thing" that is expected to win. In permutation bets, bankers must win in order for the bettor to receive payouts.
• Bar – The bar is a competitor that is not given odds well in advance of the event. The bar price is the minimum odds for any unquoted choice.
• Beard – A betting contact that makes a wager for someone who wishes to conceal their identity from bookmakers.
• Beef – A dispute between a bettor and the bookie, or casino dealer, usually regarding the outcome of a wager.
• Beeswax – Similar to Ajax, as it works as a UK slang term for betting tax.
• Betting Tax – A bookmaker’s turnover tax. In the United Kingdom it is a Customs and Excise duty charged at the rate of 6.75p for every Pound wagered.
• Bettor – A term used in the United States for someone who places a bet. In the United Kingdom, the term "Punter" is used.
• Blind Bet – In a game of poker, a Blind Bet is a forced wager that players to the left of the dealer chip must make before they see their cards.
• Book – A bookmaker’s tally of wagers made, and listed odds.
• Bookmaker – Also known as a "Bookie", a Bookmaker is a person or business that accepts public bets on sporting or racing events.
• Bottle – Slang used in the UK for odds of 2 to 1.
• Bridge-Jumper – A bettor who specializes in large show bets on odds-on favorites.
• Buck – Also known as "Dollar Bet", a Buck is a wager of US$100.
• Burlington Bertie – Odds of 100 to 30.
• Buy Price – In a Spread bet, the Buy Price is the higher figure quoted by a bookie.
• Buy the Rack – A US term meaning to buy every possible combination ticket (e.g. Daily Double).

C

• Canadian – Also known as a "Super Yankee", a Canadian is bet consisting of 26 wagers in total (10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds, and a five-fold) with five selections in different events.
• Carpet – Slang used in the UK for odds of 3 to 1.
• Carpet Joint – Slang for a luxury casino; mainly used in the United States.
• Century – Also known as a "Ton", a Century is £100.
• Chalk – The favored team or racer.
• Chalk Player – Bettor on favorites.
• Circled Game – A limited action event decided by the bookie, usually due to injury concerns for players.
• Client – Someone who buys information on upcoming events from tipsters.
• Closing Line – The final list of points spreads before the start of the event.
• Co-Favorites – When more than two competitors are considered as favorites to win.
• Combination Bet – Selecting any number of competitors to finish either first or second, in any order according to the bettor.
• Cover – Also know as "to cover the spread", a Cover occurs by beating the spread by a required number of points.

D

• Dead Heat – When two or more competitors finish tied for first position.
• Dime Bet – US Sland for a $1,000 wager.
• Dividend – The payout on any winning bet.
• Dog – Also know as underdog, the competitor or team who is least likely to win.
• Dog Player – A bettor who places the majority of their wagers on the underdog.
• Dollar Bet – $100 wager.
• Double – When a bet has two selections that must both be won in order to receive a payout.
• Double Carpet – Odds of 33 to 1, mainly used in UK slang.
• Doubling-up – When a player loses, they may Double-up by doubling the amount of their previous wager in the hope that they will win back the lost money and make a profit.
• Drift – Also "drifted" or to "be on the drift", occurs when odds on a competitor or team lengthen.
• Dutch – To back more than one outcome in a single event at variable stakes in order to make an equal profit, regardless of who wins.

E

• Each-way – A wager made up of two bets, with the first set to win, and the second to place.
• Even Money – Also know as "Scotch" or "Levels", meaning odds of 1 to 1.
• Exotic – A wager that may be a parlay, or teaser, but never a straight bet.

F

• Favorite – The competitor with the shortest odds due to the fact that they are considered to be the best bet for winner.
• Field – The collection of individual competitors in an event.
• Figure – To have a winning chance.
• Flag – A wager placed across four events and made up of 26 individual bets.
• Flash – US slang for change of odds information on a tote board.
• Fold – In a game of poker when the player discards his hand.
• Forecast – When a bettor wagers correctly on first and second place in a race or event.
• Form – The tally of past performance records used to give an indication of a competitor’s chances in a future event.
• Form Player – A bettor who bases all of their wagering decisions on a competitor’s Form.
• Full Cover – All of the accumulators, doubles, and trebles involved in a predetermined number of selections.
• Futures – Odds that are posted well before an event and that are likely to chance closer to the event.

G

• Goliath – A massive wager consisting of 247 bets over eight different events. The Goliath is made up of 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 4-folds, 56 5-folds, 28 6-folds, 8 7-folds, and an 8-fold.
• Grand – In UK slang meaning a £1,000 wager.
• Grand Slam – The four major tennis competitions throughout the year (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open). Also, a Grand Slam can be the four major golf championships, or a loaded bases home run in a game of baseball.

H

• Handicap – A spread used to make one-sided wagers more intriguing for the bettor. Teams are awarded a number of points start depending on their likelihood to win.
• Hang Cheng – The Asian equivalent of a "Pointspread".
• Hedging – A wager made by a bookie on a competitors that he has already received large bets on. He will cut his losses if the competitor wins. Also known as a "Layoff Bet".
• Heinz – A wager made up of 57 individual bets placed over six horses in different races. A Heinz consists of 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, six five-folds, and a six-fold.
• Hoops – Slang for baseball.
• House – A casino or gambling venue. They are also the operators of the casino games.

I

• IBF – International Boxing Federation
• In the Red – Odds on.
• Index Betting - Spread betting.

J

• Joint Favorites – When two competitors or teams are both favorites to win, and the odds cannot be separated.
• Jolly – The favorite competitor or team in an event.
• Juice – The commission paid to a bookmaker.

K

• Kite – Slang used in the United Kingdom meaning a "Check".

L

• Layer – Someone who "lays" the odds.
• LBO – UK acronym for Licensed Betting Office.
• Long Odds – The odds on a competitor that is unlike to win.
• Lines – Every type of handicap, pointspread, and odds that is offered for wagering on.
• Linemaker – A person who sets the lines and updates them.
• Lock – A competitor that is an almost certainty to win.
• Longshot – The competitor that has "Long Odds" placed on them; an outsider to win.
• Lucky 15, 31, 63 – Multiple bets on all possible combinations of 4, 5, and 6 selections.

M

• Margin – The length or amount that a competitor (often a winner) beats another competitor by in an event.
• Martingale – A betting system that is based on doubling-up.
• MLB – Acronym for Major League Baseball.
• Monkey – UK slang meaning a £500 wager.
• Money Line – The amount that must be wagered in order to make a $100 profit; it can also mean the amount that a $100 wager would make.
• Morning Odds – A prediction of probable odds.
• MVP – Acronym for Most Valuable Player.

N

• Nap – Short for "Napoleon". Often meaning a media correspondent’s pick of the day or event.
• NBA – National Basketball Association.
• NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association.
• NFL – National Football Association.
• NHL – National Hockey League.
• Nickel – US slang for a wager of $500.

O

• Odds – What the bookie believes the chances of a certain competitor or team of winning is; always adjusted to ensure a profit.
• Odds-against – When odds are greater than Evens (1 to 1) e.g. 6 to 2.
• Odds Compiler – An employee of the bookie who sets the odds for events and races after research and consulting with the bookmaker.
• Odds Man – An employee who calculates the changing odds and updates them as betting progresses.
• Odds-on – When the odds are shorter than Evens (1 to 1) e.g. 4 to 7.
• Off-track – Wagers that are made away from the event.
• On the Nose – US slang for a wager on a horse to win.
• OTB – Acronym for Off-track betting.
• Outsider – A competitor or team that does not have a good chance of winning.
• Overbroke – When the bookmaker’s book is a loss.
• Overlay – A competitor who has a good chance of winning coupled with high odds.
• Overround – A profit for the bookmaker.

P

• Parlay – Also known as an "Accumulator" bet in racing.
• Patent – A multiple bet of 7 played across 3 different events. A Patent consists of a single in each selection, 3 doubles, and a treble.
• Permutations – Bets or selections can be "permed". For example, on a 4 selection bet, the doubles could be "permed", which would therefore make 6 bets in total).
• Picks – An expert’s selection on competitors.
• Pitch – The bookmaker’s place of business at a racecourse.
• Place – Finishing in second position.
• Pointspread – The points that are given to the "Underdog" in order to level the playing field against the favorite.
• Pony - £25 wager.
• Price – Odds.
• Punter – UK Slang for a bettor.
• Push – A game that is tied when the pointspread is factored in.

Q

• Quinella – US slang meaning a wager where the bettor selected the 1st and 2nd competitors, regardless of the order of finish.

R

• Ringer – A competitor that replaces another competitor who has pulled out, yet still goes under the same name.
• Roundabout – Also known as "Rounder", meaning 3 bets made over 3 different events.
• Round Robin – A bet made up of 10 bets involving 3 selections in different events. Usually consists of 3 pairs of "Single Stakes About", with 3 doubles and a treble.

S

• Sawdust Joint – US slang for a non-luxury casino or gambling house.
• Score - £20 wager.
• Score – US slang for a victory in a bet.
• Scratch – A competitor who pulls out of a race or event.
• Settler – A bookie’s expert who calculates all of the payouts.
• Shoo-in – A guaranteed winner that can also mean a fixed event.
• Shorten – The process of reducing the odds due to heavy betting on said event.
• Show – A third place finish.
• Shut Out – In sports betting it means when the losing team is held scoreless. In standard betting it is when a bettor is still waiting in line when the betting window closes.
• Single – Also known as a "Straight-up Bet", meaning to wager on one selection to win one race or event.
• Six-Dollar Combine – In racing, a Six-Dollar Combine wager is a bet across the board.
• Smart Money – An insider’s bets, or simply the insiders.
• Spot Play – A risky betting style where bettors wager on competitors or teams that seem like worthwhile risks.
• Spread Betting – A bet is won or lost depending on whether you pick the correct outcome. Returns and losses factor into whether the bettor won or lost in an event.
• Spreads – Also known as "Handicaps".
• Stanley Cup – The championship of the NHL.
• Steam – When betting lines begin to move quickly due to increased betting on a particular event.
• Stooper – A person who picks up discarded tickets at racetracks and cashes in those that have been accidentally thrown away.
• Store – US slang for a sportsbook or bookmaker.
• Straight – US slang for a bet to win.
• Super Bowl – The championship of the NFL.
• Super Yankee – Similar to a "Yankee", except the bet is made up of 5 selections rather than 4.
• Sure Thing – A competitor that has the best chance of winning.
• System – A mathematical method of betting that is used by bettors in an attempt to gain an advantage.

T

• Taking – Betting on the underdog.
• Teaser – US slang meaning a pointspread bet where the bettor can change the line in his favor in exchange for reduced odds.
• Thick’un – A large wager.
• Ticketer – Someone who falsely recreates bookies’ tickets.
• Tie – A "Push".
• Tierce – A French combination bet where the bettor wagers on the competitors or teams that will finish in the top three positions.
• Tips – An expert’s pick for a winner.
• Tipster – A person, usually an expert, who either gives away or sells their opinion of who will be the winner of an event.
• Totals – A sports bet on whether the total score will be either over or under a particular number.
• Tote – A UK faction that overseers all pool-betting at racecourses.
• Tout – Also know as a "Tipster", meaning to give or sell opinions on who will win an event.
• Treble – A win on three wagers.
• Trifecta – Also known as a "Triple" or "Tricast", meaning to correctly select the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd placings in a particular event.
• Trixie – A multiple wager made up of four bets with 3 selections in different events. A Trixie is 3 doubles, and a treble.
• Turf Accountant – UK slang for a bookmaker.

U

• Underdog – The least favored team or competitor to win a particular event.
• Union Jack – A wager made up of 8 trebles on 9 selections.

V

• Value – To earn the best odds on a particular event.
• Vigorish – Also known as "Vig" or "Juice", it is US slang for the bookmaker’s commission.
• Vs – Meaning versus, or against.

W

• WBA – World Boxing Association.
• WBC – World Boxing Council.
• Welsh – To not pay a gambling wager.
• Win – 1st position in an event, usually a horserace.
• Winning Margin – A given wager that predicts the margin by which one team or competitor will defeat another, or the remainder of the pack.
• Wise Guy – US slang for a well-informer handicapper.
• WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association.
• World Series – Major League Baseball championship.

X

• X – On a football (soccer) betting ticket it means a draw.

Y

• Yankee – A multiple wager make up of 11 bets over 4 different events. A Yankee is 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and a four-fold.