- Offshore Sportsbook Definition
- Bodog Definition
- Sports Betting Jargon
- Betting Odds Terminology
- Sportsbook Definition
- Sportsbook Definition Meaning
- Sportsbook Array Definition
Jul 08, 2019 In the world of sports betting, a money line bet is simply betting on which team you expect to win. It doesn’t have anything to do with a spread. You may also see a money line bet listed as “Money Line” or “ML” in different spaces. Pictured: FanDuel Sportsbook Bookmaker – A person who is licensed to create betting lines and take wagers. Buying Points – Paying an additional fee in order to get a game at a more attractive price. Often times bettors will buy points in football around key numbers such as 3 and 7.
Sports Betting Terms and Definitions. Like any hobby, sports betting has a massive library of jargon and terms that new bettors may not know. If you’re a novice sportsbook customer, reading through this list of the most commonly-used sports betting terms, along with their dictionary definitions, will help you ease your way into the world of gambling on sporting events.
Action: Having a wager on a game.
ATS ('against the [point] spread'): If a team is 5-2 ATS, it means it has a 5-2 record against the point spread, or more commonly referred to simply as the 'spread.'
Backdoor cover: When a team scores points at the end of a game to cover the spread unexpectedly.
Bad beat: Losing a bet you should have won. It's especially used when the betting result is decided late in the game to change the side that covers the spread. Also used in poker, such as when a player way ahead in the expected win percentage loses on the river (last card).
Beard: Someone who places a wager for another person (aka 'runner').
Book: Short for sportsbook or bookmaker; person or establishment that takes bets from customers.
Bookie: A person who accepts bets illegally and charges vig.
Buying points: Some bookies or sportsbooks will allow customers to alter the set line and then adjust odds. For example, a bettor might decide he wants to have his team as a 3-point underdog instead of the set line of 2.5. He has then 'bought' half a point, and the odds of his bet will be changed.
Chalk: The favorite in the game. People said to be 'chalk' bettors typically bet the favorite.
Circle game: A game for which the betting limits are lowered, usually because of injuries and/or weather.
Closing line: The final line before the game or event begins.
Consensus pick: Derived from data accumulated from a variety of sportsbooks in PickCenter. The pick, and its percentage, provides insight as to what side the public is taking in a game.
Cover: The betting result on a point-spread wager. For a favorite to cover, it has to win by more than the spread; an underdog covers by winning outright or losing by less than the spread.
Dime: Jargon for a $1,000 bet. If you bet 'three dimes,' that means a $3,000 wager.
'Dog: Short for underdog.
Dollar: Jargon for a $100 bet. Usually used with bookies; if you bet 'five dollars,' that means a $500 wager.
Edge: An advantage. Sports bettors might feel they have an edge on a book if they think its lines aren't accurate.
Even money: Odds that are considered 50-50. You put up $1 to win $1.
Exotic: Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay; can also be called a 'prop' or 'proposition wager.'
Favorite: The expected straight-up winner in a game or event. Depending on the sport, the favorite will lay either odds or points. For example, in a football game, if a team is a 2.5-point favorite, it will have to win by three points or more to be an ATS winner.
Fixed: A participant in a particular game who alters the result of that game or match to a completely or partially predetermined result. The participant did not play honestly or fairly because of an undue outside influence.
Futures bet: A long-term wager that typically relates to a team's season-long success. Common futures bets include betting a team to win a championship at the outset of a season, or betting whether the team will win or lose more games than a set line at the start of the season.
Halftime bet: A bet made after the first half ended and before the second half begins (football and basketball primarily). The oddsmaker generally starts with half of the game side/total and adjusts based on what happened in the first half.
Handicapper: A person trying to predict the winners of an event.
Handle: The amount of money taken by a book on an event or the total amount of money wagered.
Hedging: Betting the opposing side of your original bet, to either ensure some profit or minimize potential loss. This is typically done with futures bets, but can also be done on individual games with halftime bets or in-game wagering.
High roller: A high-stakes gambler.
Hook: A half-point. If a team is a 7.5-point favorite, it is said to be 'laying seven and a hook.'
In-game wagering: A service offered by books in which bettors can place multiple bets in real time, as the game is occurring.
Juice: The commission the bookie or bookmaker takes. Standard is 10 percent. Also called the 'vig/vigorish.'
Layoff: Money bet by a sportsbook with another sportsbook or bookmaker to reduce that book's liability.
Limit: The maximum bet taken by a book. If a book has a $10,000 limit, it'll take that bet but the book will then decide whether it's going to adjust the line before the bettor can bet again.
Lock: A guaranteed win in the eyes of the person who made the wager.
Middle: When a line moves, a bettor can try to 'middle' a wager and win both sides with minimal risk. Suppose a bettor bets one team as a 2.5-point favorite, then the line moves to 3.5 points. She can then bet the opposite team at 3.5 and hope the favorite wins by three points. She would then win both sides of the bet.
Money line (noun), money-line (modifier): A bet in which your team only needs to win. The point spread is replaced by odds.
Mush: A bettor or gambler who is considered to be bad luck.
Nickel: Jargon for a $500 bet. Usually used with bookies; if you bet 'a nickel,' that means a $500 wager.
Oddsmaker (also linemaker): The person who sets the odds. Some people use it synonymous with 'bookmaker' and often the same person will perform the role at a given book, but it can be separate if the oddsmaker is just setting the lines for the people who will eventually book the bets.
Offshore Sportsbook Definition
Off the board: When a book or bookie has taken a bet down and is no longer accepting action or wagers on the game. This can happen if there is a late injury or some uncertainty regarding who will be participating.
Over/under: A term that can be used to describe the total combined points in a game (the Ravens-Steelers over/under is 40 points) or the number of games a team will win in a season (the Broncos' over/under win total is 11.5). Also used in prop bets.
Parlay: A wager in which multiple teams are bet, either against the spread or on the money line. For the wager to win (or pay out), all of them must cover/win. The more teams you bet, the greater the odds.
Pick 'em: A game with no favorite or underdog. The point spread is zero, and the winner of the game is also the spread winner.
Point spread (or just 'spread'): The number of points by which the supposed better team is favored over the underdog.
Proposition (or prop) bet: A special or exotic wager that's not normally on the betting board, such as which team will score first or how many yards a player will gain. Sometimes called a 'game within a game.' These are especially popular on major events, with the Super Bowl being the ultimate prop betting event.
Push: When a result lands on the betting number and all wagers are refunded. For example, a 3-point favorite wins by exactly three points. Return on investment (ROI): In PickCenter, ROI is the amount (according to numberFire) that a bettor should expect to get back on a spread pick.
Bodog Definition
Runner: Someone who makes bets for another person (aka 'beard').
Sharp: A professional, sophisticated sports bettor.
Spread: Short for point spread.
Square: A casual gambler. Someone who typically isn't using sophisticated reasoning to make a wager.
Steam: When a line is moving unusually fast. It can be a result of a group or syndicate of bettors all getting their bets in at the same time. It can also occur when a respected handicapper gives a bet his followers all jump on, or based on people reacting to news such as an injury or weather conditions.
Straight up: The expected outright winner of the money line in an event or game, not contingent on the point spread.
Teaser: Betting multiple teams and adjusting the point spread in all the games in the bettor's favor. All games have to be picked correctly to win the wager.
Total: The perceived expected point, run or goal total in a game. For example, in a football game, if the total is 41 points, bettors can bet 'over' or 'under' on that perceived total.
Tout (service): a person (or group of people) who either sells or gives away picks on games or events.
Underdog: The team that is expected to lose straight up. You can either bet that the team will lose by less than the predicted amount (ATS), or get better than even-money odds that it will win the game outright. For example, if a team is a 2-1 underdog, you can bet $100 that the team will win. If it wins, you win $200 plus receive your original $100 wager back.
Vig/vigorish: The commission the bookie or bookmaker takes; also called the 'juice.' Standard is 10 percent.
Wager: A bet.
Welch: To not pay off a losing bet.
Wiseguy: A professional bettor. Another term for a 'sharp.'
Sports Betting Terms and Definitions
Like any hobby, sports betting has a massive library of jargon and terms that new bettors may not know. If you’re a novice sportsbook customer, reading through this list of the most commonly-used sports betting terms, along with their dictionary definitions, will help you ease your way into the world of gambling on sporting events.
Accountant
This is a euphemism for “bookie,” used by some gamblers on message boards and in email as a kind of secret code. For example: “My accountant offered me a half-point at a decent price, so I took it.”
Action
This word refers to a valid and active wager. It’s opposite, “no action,” refers to bets that have been invalidated, either because of a rain-out, postponement, or other suspension of game play. The word is also used to refer to the complete amount of bets a gambler places at a time: if you place 20 bets of $10 apiece, your total action is $200.
Arbitrage
Arbs, as they’re sometimes called, are differences between odds at different books that allow players to wager on both sides for a guaranteed win. Arbitrage can make sports betting a positive expectation gamble.
Buck
This slang word refers to a $100 wager. Sometimes called a one dollar bet, the term probably originated in the early days after the passage of the Federal Wire Act to disguise how much money was actually being bet.
Buying Points
Sometimes a bookie will let you change the point spread or the over/under on a game that you think will give you an advantage. Sports bettors buy points one half-point at a time. Generally, each half-point costs the gambler an extra 10% in juice.
Dime
Another slang term originally used to disguise gambler’s bets; a dime actually means a wager of $1,000. You’ll still hear people use the term “dime” or “dime bet,” though these colorful slang terms are not as common at online books.
Fifty Cents
Yet another bet size slang word, a wager of fifty cents is actually a bet of $50.
Futures
This term refers to any bet you make on a sporting event in the future. The most common Futures bet in the Western world are wagers placed on who will win the Super Bowl before the NFL season even starts. The idea behind a future wager is to get a better line now than after the season starts and your team’s performance means the bookmaker shifts the odds. Placing futures bets is all about finding high-value wagers at the cheapest prices.
Hedge
This gambling term has made it into the common parlance; to hedge your bet means to wager the opposite side of a wager you’ve already placed in order to limit your potential losses. Placing hedge bets is a way to shield your bankroll from exposure.
Juice
This word refers to the bookmaker’s commission. A common example is the 110/100 lines offered on straight bets on football games. Juice goes by many names, including vigorish and vig. A sportsbook’s juice is the cash amount that actually gives the bookmaker an advantage against the sports bettor.
Line
This generic gambling term refers to the totality of all posted odds, points, money lines, and point spreads for a sporting event.
Sports Betting Jargon
Money Line
When a gambler’s odds are shown in terms of dollar signs, they’re looking at a money line. The money line tells you how much you have to risk to win $100 if you bet on a favorite, or the amount a gambler will win based on a wager of $100 if they bet on the underdog. There are no point spreads in money line odds; rather the gambler only has to pick the winner, not worry about how much they win by.
Betting Odds Terminology
Newspaper Line
Odds that appear in your daily newspaper. The least-trustworthy lines you can find, usually given for entertainment purposes only.
No Action
A “No Action” game is a game that’s either already in progress or has been re-scheduled. All sporting events that are played at a different time than the original schedule are ineligible for wagers.
Off the Board
Sportsbook Definition
Any game that your bookmaker won’t accept bets on is considered “off the board.”
Over/Under Wager
This is a type of bet on the combined total of points scored by two teams competing against each other. Over/Under bets let the gambler decide whether the final points total will be more or less than the number put out by the bookmaker.
Point Spread
Sportsbook Definition Meaning
The point spread is the number of points a bookmaker will give to an underdog, the predicted difference in two team’s final scores. If the point spread reads Dallas +5 at New York, a gambler who lays his money on Dallas will win if the Cowboys win OR lose by less than 5 points.
Rundown
When the sportsbook reads all the available lines to a customer, this is referred to as the “rundown.” Sometimes the board on which odds and prices are listed is called the “rundown” as well.
Running Bad / Running Good
If a player is on a losing streak, he’s said to be “running bad.” When on a winning streak, he’s said to be “running good.”
Scratch
A slang term describing the withdrawal or cancellation of a bet.
Sharp
A term of endearment for smart professional gamblers, usually guys that are expert handicappers or know how to calculate positive expectation wagers.
Square
Sportsbook Array Definition
The opposite of a sharp, a square is a novice or totally ignorant sports bettor.
Teaser
A teaser is a wager on two or more teams in which the line on each bet is adjusted slightly in favor of the gambler. A gambler has to pick each game on the teaser to win the payoff, which gets bigger the more teams you wager on.
Tout
A gambler or sports betting expert that sells or otherwise gives away his picks on sporting events. Some touts hand out their info for free, while other charge fees for their “inside information.” Most touts that charge for their picks are probably not worth the investment, especially if you know how to shop for lines and handicap games yourself. Free picks from touts that don’t charge anything can often help a gambler, but should not be considered a guaranteed winner.