The Sports Betting DictionaryTo better understand the world of sportsbetting, indeed gambling in general, you must understand the terminology. So the following is a compilation of betting terms from numerous gambling and sports betting web sites. Action: - A wager of any kind.
Bad Beat: - A tough loss.
Beef: - A dispute.
Book: - An establishment that accepts wagers.
Bookie: - A person that accepts bets/wagers on sporting events.
Bankroll: - The money that you have to gamble with.
Beard: - A friend or acquaintance that places your bet for you.
Buck: - A $100 wager.
Buy Points: - To move the pointspread.
Canadian Line: - A combination of the point line and the moneyline, only used for hockey.
Chalk: - The team that is favored by the spread.
Chalk Eater: - A favorite bettor.
Chalk Player: - This is someone who only bets on the favored teams. AKA-Favorite Freddie.
Churn: - The effect of betting and rebetting money.
Circle Game: - These are games where the action is limited.
Cover: - This means to bet the exact number of points required by the spread.
Daily Line: - See Line.
Degenerate: - A compulsive gambler.
Dime Bet: - A $1000 wager.
Dime Line: - A money (no point spread) in which the juice is 10%.
Dog: - The underdog in any event.
Dof Player: - This is someone who usually bets on the underdog or dog.
Dollar bet: - A $100 wager, also known as a buck.
Double bet: - A wager that is twice the size of someone’s normal bet.
Due For: - When it is said that a team is due for a win or a loss.
Earn: - See Practical hold advantage.
East Coast Line: - This is mainly used in hockey where there is a split-goal line.
Edge: - This is the advantage of one opponent over another.
Even Money: - A wager/bet where there is no vigorish or juice.
Exotic Wager: - Any bet, other than a straight bet.
Figure: - The amount owed by or to the bookmaker.
Fixed: - A game where points are shaved.
Flea: - A cheap bettor.
Future Bet: - A bet that is accepted well in advance of a major sporting event.
Futures: - These are odds posted well in advance of an event.
Getting Down: - This is what it’s called when you place a wager.
Going Down: - When you lose.
Gross Win: - The winning amount before expenses.
Handicapper: - A professional that studies sporting events and sets lines.
Handle: - This is the total amount of bets taken.
Hedging: - When you place bets on the opposite side.
Hold: - The percentage that the House wins.
Holding your Own: - When you just break even.
Home Field: - The venue of the home team.
Hook: - A half of a point added to either football or basketball betting lines.
Hooked: - When you lose by ½ of a point.
Hot game: - A game that attracts a lot of attention from knowledgeable handicappers.
Juice: - The price paid/or commission for placing a bet.
Laying the Points: - This is when you bet on the favorite.
Limit: - The cap on what you can wager or the maximum amount a bookie will accept.
Line: - The odds, points or money line on a game. Sometimes called the Daily Line.
Linemaker: - The person that establishes the original and subsequent lines, usually a professional handicapper.
Lock: - An easy winner, can’t lose bet.
Longshot: - When the team, horse or player is unlikely to win.
The Man: - This is what the bookie is called.
Middles: - When you win both sides of the betting proposition.
Money Line: - The amount that must be bet to win a $100 or the amount you win if you do bet $100.
Newspaper Line: - The betting lines that appear in the daily newspaper, usually not reliable.
Nickel: - A $500 wager.
Oddsmaker: - See linemaker.
Odds on Favorite: - A team or individual that is favored by the public, the odds are less than even.
Off the Board: - An event in which no lines are available and no wagers are accepted.
Official Line: - The Lines from the Vegas officials.
Out: - Bookmaker usually refers to an illegal bookmaker.
Outlaw Line: - An early, but not official line.
Overplay: - Bettor's advantage where the wager's price is greater than it should be.
Over & Under: - A wager for the total score of both teams.
Parlay: - A bet on two or more teams, all teams must win in order to win your bet, payouts are usually high.
Parlay Cards: - The card on which you place your parlay bet, see Parlay.
Past Performance: - What has occurred in previous games or races.
Pick/Pick’em : - A game in which there is no favorite.
Point Spread: - This is the amount of points that the linemaker/handicapper gives to the underdog.
Post Time: - The scheduled starting time.
Practical Hold Percentage: - The amount won by a bookmaker divided by the total amount a booked.
Press: - To bet more than usual.
Price: - The odds or pointspread on a given game/match/race.
Proposition Bet: - A wager on one particular aspect of a game, eg: touchdowns, field goals.
Puckline: - The Hockey lines are a combination of both the handicap/spread and the given odds.
Puppy: - See underdog.
Push: - A tie.
Round Robin: - A form of parlay where you wager on a combination of the wagers.
Run Down: - An update on the line.
Run Line: - A line used when wagering on baseball.
Scalper: A person who tries to profit from the differences in odds from book to book.
Score: - A big win. Or the points achieved.
Scratch: - To call off a wager.
Scouts: - A person that studies teams and reports their findings to handicappers.
Sharp: - See Wiseguy.
Side: - When part of your wager wins, and the other half ties.
Smart Money: - The sides that are bet on by the more knowledgeable handicappers.
Sport Player: - A person who waits for a strong bet.
Square: - An unsophisticated gambler.
Star: - A rating.
Steam: - Heavy action on one side.
The Store: - A bookies.
Sucker Bet: - A bet with a large house edge.
Taking: - Betting on the underdog, taking the odds.
Theoretical Hold Percentage: - The edge that the bookmaker would have if the odds guaranteed him a commission.
Toss Up: - When the line is to close to pick-em.
Totals: - The total combines the points, runs, and goals scored in a game.
Tout: - Someone who sells his opinion on sports or horse wagers.
Underdog: - The team, player or horse that is not expected to win.
Underlay: - When the odds on a proposition favor the house.
Value: - Getting the best possible odds on a betting proposition, the highest possible edge.
Vigorish: - Or Vig. See Juice
Wager: - Any bet.
Wise Guy: - A professional gambler.
Wood: - Laying points.
Written by G.M.McClorey.
Senior Staff Writer
Article published on 2002-01-25.
Added by admin.
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