Knowing Sports Betting Terms

Online gambling specifically the sports betting industry is developing very fast and it already counts with countless followers. That may be due to the fact that online betting is very convenient, as you can place your bets at any time of the day from any place as far as there is internet connection.

Bur before you step into a world of sports betting, it is important to know the ins and outs of sports betting lingos and betting terms. Becoming a knowledgeable bettor will turn you into a winner! Read up on all you can so you have the greatest advantage over the other this season!


Below are the following sports betting lingos or betting terminology:


  • Across the Board – A method of betting particularly on Horse Racing to win, place and show.

  • Action – A bet of any kind

  • Agent – A person who places players into a sports book for a commission.

  • Angles – Using key factors from previous events to predict the results for future outcomes.

  • ATS or Against The Spread – taking points rather than betting with the spread and laying points in sports betting.

  • Back Door Cover – Meaningless points scored to cover the spread, by a team that is likely to lose.

  • Bankroll – Your available gambling money.

  • Beard – A friend or acquaintance who is used to place bets as to conceal the true identity of the real bettor.

  • Bookie – A person who accepts bets.

  • Buck – Sports betting term for a $100 wager.

  • Buy Points – Buy Points means that you can move the point spread so that you give away less points with the favorite or get more points with the underdog, for both football and basketball. To do this you must pay an extra 10% for each ½ point you buy in your favor. For the NFL and NCAA football, you will pay an additional 15% to buy on or off of 3 points – also know as Key Points. And if you buy through 3 points, you will pay an additional 20%.

  • Canadian Line – Canadian line is a combination point spread and money line in hockey.

  • Chalk – The favored team, side, player or horse in a sports event.

  • Chalk-Eater/Chalk-Player – A player who tends to wager only on the favorites, rarely on the underdogs.

  • Circle/Circled Game – A game in which the betting action is reduced; usually occurs in added games, games with injuries, bad weather, propositions, or halves of games. These games cannot be included in parlays or teasers.

  • Cover – To bet the spread by the required number of points. If such occurs you have “covered the spread.” In sports betting this term means a pointspread win.

  • Data Mining – Searching through a large volume of statistics to find profitable situations to bet on in the future.

  • Dime – $1000.00 sports betting bet.

  • Dime Line – a slang term used to indicate the 10 cent.

  • Dog – In sports betting, the team perceived to be most likely to lose.

  • Dog Player – An underdog player.

  • Dollar – $100.00 Sports betting bet.

  • Double action – An “if bet” in sports betting that is processed if the precedent bet wins, ties or cancels.

  • Due For – A term referring to a contestant or team that is considered to be overdue for a win or loss in their next contest or sports event. The due for wager is a favorite strategy of many players.

  • Earn – the total amount won by a bookmaker divided by the total amount booked.

  • East Coast Line – Mainly used in hockey, which has a split-goal line For example: Philadelphia Flyers (1 – 1 ½) favorite over the LA Kings as opposed to goal spread plus moneyline (-1/2 -180).

  • Even Money – A bet whose odds are 1/1; a wager in which no vigorish or juice is laid.

  • Exotic – Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay – also called a prop or proposition.

  • Exposure – The amount of money the player or book stands to lose on any action.

  • Extension – The amount of money the book, theoretically, risks losing on an event.

  • Favorite – A team expected to win an event. The quoted odds reflect the extent to which the choice is favored.

  • Firing – To bet large sums of money.

  • Fifty cents – $50.00 of sports betting action.

  • First half bet – The odds are posted in advance on the winners of various major events including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, and the NBA Championship this is called a Future bet.

  • Getting Down – Making a bet.

  • Going Down – Losing a bet.

  • Grand Salami – The grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.

  • Half a dollar – $50.00 in sports betting action.

  • Handicapper – A person who analyzes studies and rates sporting events.

  • Hedge – To bet the opposite of your original wager in order to reduce your exposure.

  • Hook – Hook is a half point added to football and basketball betting lines.

  • Hot Game – A game which is attracting a good deal of action, on one side, by skilled handicappers.

  • Juice – The bookmaker’s commission on a losing bet, also known as “vigorish.”

  • Lay the Points – A bet on a favorite in a point spread event.

  • Lay the Price – A bet on a favorite in a money line event.

  • Layoff – A term for money bet by a house with another bookmaker to reduce its liability.

  • Limit – the maximum amount a bookmaker will allow you to bet before he changes the odds and/or the points.

  • Line – The current odds or point spread on a particular event.

  • Linemaker – The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines.

  • Listed Pitchers – In sports gambling a listed pitcher is a baseball bet which will be placed only if both of the pitchers scheduled to start a game actually start. If they don’t, the bet is cancelled.

  • Lock – An easy winner, or a clear no lose situation.

  • Longshot – A team or horse perceived to be unlikely to win.

  • Middle – To win both sides of the same contest in sports betting event. Betting on the underdog at one point spread and the favorite at a different point spread and winning both sides.

  • Money line – The amount the player must wager to win $100.00, or the amount the player wins on a wager of $100.00. No handicap is given, such as a point spread or run line. The team wagered on just has to win the game. Payoffs are based on true odds rather than fixed odds. The amount the player lays or takes may vary each time.

  • Move the line – A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a point spread game.

  • No action – A bet which no money is lost nor won.

  • Odds – The likelihood of the outcome occurring, stated in numbers form.

  • Off the board – A game on which the bookmaker will not accept action.

  • Opening Line – The earliest line posted for a particular sporting event.

  • Outlaw Line – Term for the earliest line in sports betting. This is an overnight line that only a handful of players are allowed to bet into.

  • Over – Over is a sports bet in which the bettor guesses that the combined point total of two teams will be above a specified total.

  • Overlay – The odds of a particular wager are higher than they should be, and tend to favor the player rather than the house.

  • Parlay – A bet with two or more teams in which all teams must win or cover for the bettor to win and receive higher payouts.

  • Past Performance – An accurate record of the performance of specific teams, horses or contestants when participating in sports events similar to those scheduled.

  • Pick or Pick’em – A game where no team, or betting option, is favorite.

  • Pleaser – A bet on two or more teams where the line on each team is adjusted against the favor of the player but with a higher payout, just like a parlay, all selections must be correct for the pleaser wager to payoff.

  • Point Spread, Or Spread – A margin, in points or goals, given to an underdog taking part in an event, in order to handicap the favorite team, or give the underdog a head start. This margin, or point spread, is intended for betting purposes only. The point spread, which is really the predicted scoring differential between the contestants or teams concerned, is often referred to as the line.

  • Proposition Bet – A bet on a specific aspect of an event such as the number of field goals, free throws that will be made.

  • Puck Line – A bet on ice hockey that combines both a handicap/spread and odds.

  • Push – A tie or draw between the player and the bookmaker where the final score of a game is exactly the same as the point spread, or the total points (combined scores of both teams).

  • Round Robin – A series of parlays.

  • Scratch – to withdraw, cancel or call off a bet.

  • Sharp – Professional punter.

  • Sides – A term for the favorites and underdog.

  • Single Action – An “if bet” in sports gambling that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.

  • Square – Novice player in sports betting.

  • Steam – In sports betting steam is when a line starts to move rapidly. Most “steam games” do not necessarily reflect objective circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors is drawn to for some reason.

  • Straight Bet – In sports betting this is a wager on just one team or horse.

  • Teaser – A teaser is a special type of parlay in sports betting in which you adjust the point spread or total of each individual play. The price of moving the point spread (teasing) is lower pay off odds winning wagers.

  • Totals Bet – A proposition bet in which the bettor speculates that the total score by both teams in a game will be more or less than the line posted by the sports book.

  • Trends – Using the past to predict the future focusing in on only one team.

  • Under – A bet in which the bettor guesses that the total points scored by two teams will be under a certain figure.

  • Underdog – The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Also known as the “dog” in sports betting terminology.

  • Value – The best odds is betting proposition-the highest possible edge.

  • Wise guy – A well-informed handicapper.

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