Sports Betting Terminology – Online Betting Terms Explained

As Sports betting gets more and more popular each passing day, here is a list of some of the betting terms commonly used by Sportsbook/Bookmakers. We hope that this list helps you in getting acquainted with some of the widely used Sportsbook betting terms.

Sports Betting Glossary

Action
Making a bet or placing wager money on a sports event.

Bad Beat
Loss due to bad luck.

Bankroll
The money reserved by a bettor for betting.

Beard
A person who represents the sports bettor and places the bets on the bettor’s behalf and makes sure that the identity of the sports bettor is kept hidden.

Bet
A bet on the outcome of an event.

Bookmaker/Bookie
A person or organization that takes betting money (action) on the end result of an event.

Buck
A $100 bet.

Chalk player
A sports bettor who again and again bets on teams or players which are favoured by odds.

Dime
A term used to reflect a $1000 bet.

Dog
That Team/Player which will most probably lose. Odds are not usually in their favour.

Dollar
A $100 bet.

Double Action
Placing the second bet immediately if the first bet wins, ties, or cancels.

Double Bet
Doubling the usual betting amount. “Alton is placing $300 on Boston tonight instead of the usual $150”.

Edge
Used to refer to an advantage for any one of the sides in a betting event or to an individual bettor.

Even Money
Used when the odds of winning are 1 to 1. May also refer to less or no commission charged by the bookmaker on a particular bet.

Exposure
The total amount of money that a bookmaker stands to lose on an event.

Favourite
The favourite is always the expected or probable winner in sports betting or horse racing.
Point spreads and odds predominantly tell us which choice is favoured. Sometimes also referred as “Chalk”.

Fifty Cents
$50

First-half bet
Bets which are placed for only the halftime of a sporting fixture.

Future Bet
A bet placed on the result of a fixture that would take place in future.

Gamble/Gambling
Risking money on the outcome of a race, competition, game etc for profits.

Halftime Bet
Placing a bet at halftime on the result of the second half.

Handicapper
One who studies relevant data and rates teams or horses. Based on the stats the bets are placed.

Handle
Refers to the total amount of money taken by the sportsbook on a specific event on that particular day only. “The handle at Rosemary Bowl last boxing day was over a million”

Hedging
Hedging is done whenever there are possible losses due to the main bets. To reduce loss bets are placed on the other side of the main bet.

Hook
Adding a half point to a basketball or football betting line.

Hot game
When a large amount of money is going towards a single side in a game.

Juice/Vig
The fees/commission paid to the bookmaker, so that they accept the bets.Most of the times the rate is 10% of the amount wagered.

Laying the points
When a wager not only bets on the favourites but also gives the points.

Limit
The maximum amount allowed by the bookmaker that one can bet on an event.

Money Line
When odds are given in terms of dollars. Moneyline odds are expressed in terms of $100
For example, if Mounlea is +160 and Dempo is -150, it means that for every $100 on Mohun Bagan the profit will be $60. And for every $150 on Dempo the profit will be 50.

No Action
When there are no winners or losers at the end of a sporting fixture or race.

Odds
A numerical number that gives the probability of occurrence of a likely event.
For instance, if the odds are 4 to 1 on a sumo wrestler to win a fight, the chances of that wrestler winning the fight are 1 out of 5. If the fight took place 5 times, the odds imply that the wrestler would win it once.

Off the Board
When the sportsbook does not take any bets for a game.

Opening line
When wagering starts, the odds are set by the linemaker. This is also called as the earliest line.

Over
A sports bet placed on the total score of a game going “over” a set amount. For example: “I bet over the total of 200 on the Chennai vs Mumbai game last night.

Pick’em/Pick
A game in which odds of winning for both the teams is same. None of the teams is being favoured.

Point Spread/Spread
The predicted difference between the scores of the two teams in a sporting event.

Price
Refers to the odds or point spread.

Prop/Proposition Bet
A bet which is not placed on win/loss of a sporting event but rather on specific events. For example, a prop bet is when one bet’s on the jersey colour that would be worn by Roger Federer on winning the US open. Another example of a prop bet is betting on who will win Best Song at the Grammys.

Push/Tie
When there is no single winner/loser at the end of a game.The bookmaker keeps the commission.

Sides
Participating teams in a sports fixture. The favourites and the underdogs.

Straight et
When a bet is made only on single team or horse.

Straight up
The event in which a team is winning the game with certainty irrespective of the point spread.

Take the Points
When one accepts the points and bets on the likely loser/dog.

Tout
An expert on sports betting events who is paid for his/her opinion

Trends
Data statistics are drawn from a particular context. Example: Of all the games played indoors, Michigan is 15 and 5 against the spread.

Under
When a bet is made on the total score of a game going “under” a set amount. “Alan bet under the total of 502 in the Yankees versus Doodle game last weekend.”

Underdog
Also referred as “puppy”, the likely loser in an event. “Trump’s cutting into Hillary’s lead, but he’s still the underdog in the election.”Also sometimes referred as a long shot.

Wager
The act of placing a bet on the outcome of an event.

Wiseguy
A well-informed sports bettor who most probably will make a profit due to some inside information.