Understanding Sports Betting Terms: A Comprehensive Guide

We have curated a comprehensive betting glossary with all the essential terms for bettors to understand in the world of sports betting.

This article is all about explaining the various terms used in sports betting from A to Z. Get ready to dive into a comprehensive glossary!

You’ll stumble across a seemingly endless selection of sports betting terms when backing your favorite teams online. Understanding these terms is crucial, as it lets you make more informed bet selections and makes it easier to identify value in published odds.

Below, we’ve broken down the most commonly used sports betting jargon and terminology, providing a succinct definition for each one. We’ve done this alphabetically too, so you can quickly browse the list and define the betting slang and terms that are most relevant to you!

List of Sports Betting Terms

A

Accumulator

An accumulator describes a sports bet that includes two or more selections in a single wager. Each outcome’s odds are multiplied to create a single, extended price, while each pick must be successful for the wager to pay out. An accumulator may be described as a parlay in the US market.

Action

The word ‘Action’ is used to describe any live wagering option or the total amount bet on a particular event. 🏀🏈⚾️🎾 Sportsbooks accept ‘action’ on all of their published betting lines and odds.

Across the Board

Commonly used in 🐎 horse racing betting, ‘Across the Board’ describes a wager that covers three potential outcomes in a race. Also known as a ‘Win, Place and Show’ bet, you’ll receive variable payouts depending on whether your chosen runner finishes first, second or third.

AET Odds

This is primarily associated with live soccer betting markets, and stands for ‘After Extra Time’. Standard odds for soccer games cover regulation time only, but cup and knockout games may feature a period of extra time to ensure a definitive result. AET odds price all potential results and outcomes at the end of this period.

Alternative Betting Lines

Alternative betting lines can be found across multiple markets, and featured prices may be higher or lower than the main moneyline odds. You’ll most commonly find alternative betting lines when engaging in point spread and totals betting.

American Odds

American odds describes a popular odds format that’s defined by three digit numbers with either a ‘plus’ or a ‘minus’ sign. A plus sign indicates a betting underdog, while the corresponding number (such as +107) tells you how much you’ll win if you successfully stake $100. A minus sign is indicative of a betting favorite, while the number (like -101) relays how much you’ll need to wager to win $100.

Ante-Post

Synonymous with horse race betting, ante-post prices are effectively futures odds published for upcoming races. Ante post odds are published at least one day prior to a particular race, while they’re commonly found on high profile events such as the Kentucky Derby.

Anytime Scorer

This is one of the more common sports betting terms used in soccer. It describes a betting market that enables you to back a player to score at any point during a particular game, while it’s available as either a pre-game or in-play wagering option.

Asian Handicap

Another common feature in the soccer betting dictionary, an ‘Asian Handicap’ allows you to apply a virtual disadvantage to a heavy betting favorite and back them to win at enhanced prices. Asian handicaps as they eliminate the draw as a potential outcome through the use of half points, while they commonly start at -0.25 goals.

Against the Spread (ATS)

Against the Spread (or ATS) describes a scenario where you place a bet on a particular points spread. Spreads are predetermined points ranges (such as -3.5) that may be used to handicap heavy betting favorites and create more favorable betting odds. Sportsbooks set various points spreads as individual betting lines that you’ll be able to choose from.

Arbitrage (ARB)

Often shortened to ‘ARB’, arbitrage betting is a wagering strategy that aims to cover all potential outcomes in a specific game. An example of this is matched betting in soccer, where you use a free bet to lay a back bet against a betting favorite at an exchange and guarantee at least an incremental profit.

B

Backdoor Cover

This sports betting term describes an instance where a betting favorite or underdog is trailing by more than your designated points spread but subsequently scores points late on to cover the spread and cost you your stake. However, this score has no impact on the result of the actual game.

Bad Beat

More broadly speaking, a ‘Bad Beat’ refers to a late (and often unlikely) play or event that affects either your points spread or totals wager in the final seconds of a match. A backdoor cover is a type of bad beat.

Bankroll

A bankroll describes a sum of money that you set aside for the purpose of sports betting. This may be deposited into your sportsbook account and should cover a designated period of time, depending on how frequently you wager.

Bankroll Management

Bankroll management refers to the organization and deployment of your sports betting budget. This may include setting deposit and wagering limits, in addition to seeking out the most competitive odds. As a fundamental rule, your bankroll should never exceed an amount that you can comfortably afford to lose.

Bet

One of the most straightforward of all gambling terms, a bet describes the act of wagering money at a sportsbook, casino, racebook, or poker room. Sports bet may be placed on available disciplines, events, and matches.

Betting Strategy

A betting strategy will describe any kind of deliberate plan or approach to deploy your bankroll. It may focus on elements such as setting optimal stake amounts and gaining a competitive advantage over sportsbooks. You’ll find significant crossover between your bankroll management and betting strategy.

Bookmaker (Bookie)

Bookmakers (also called bookies or sportsbooks) are licensed entities that set daily odds and betting lines across different markets. They also accept bets and issue payouts to bettors who wager successfully.

Buy Points

When you ‘buy points’ in sports betting, you’re effectively accessing a superior point spread in exchange for a higher stake. In theory, this affords you the chance to cover one or more additional betting lines in the point spread, while your financial commitment will increase with every point that you buy.

C

Circled Game

Injuries and suspensions can have a huge impact on sports outcomes and results. So, a ‘circled game’ refers to a match where sportsbooks may reduce their betting limits or options amid reports of one competing team reporting a significant number of injuries.

Chalk

In sports betting parlance, ‘chalk’ describes a heavy and significant betting favorite. For example, a team favored with a huge point spread would most likely be referred to as chalk.

Closing Line Value

The ‘Closing Line Value’ (CLV) describes the difference between an event’s starting odds and final price as the match or tournament gets underway. It can be incredibly useful when defining your profitability as a bettor and whether or not you’re able to beat the market.

Commission

When sportsbooks calculate odds, they often guarantee an incremental profit per betting line by charging a commission. This may also be referred to as the ‘juice’ or ‘vig’, while it’s usual for sportsbooks to apply a 10% commission per individual transaction.

Correct Score

With ‘correct score’ betting, you’ll wager on the exact score in a particular match. This wagering market is most popular in football betting, which is considered to be a high-risk bet type that allows you to bet at enhanced odds.

Cover/Cover the Spread

When you ‘cover the spread’, your points spread wager has been successful. For example, if you backed the 49ers to beat the Chiefs with a -10.5-point spread and they subsequently won 32-21, you’d beat the spread and receive a payout.

D

Decimal Odds

The decimal odds format is widely used in Europe, which features a single number to two decimal places. This relays precisely how much you can win for every $1 wagered (including your stake amount), while the format makes it easy to calculate the implied probability of a particular outcome occurring.

Double Action

‘Double Action’ describes a wager that includes multiple selections and is similar to a parlay. However, it must include two or more teams that are required to play at different times, while it may also be described as an ‘if’ bet.

Draw

In sports like soccer, the ‘draw’ describes a scenario where a game ends in a tie. It, therefore, has to be factored into your thinking when betting on football matches, although the draw is not a realistic consideration when wagering on basketball, football, or rugby.

Drift

In pre-game or ante-post markets, prices tend to change prior to the start of an event. When the odds of a particular team or player lengthen, they’re said to have ‘drifted.’ While this theoretically increases your potential returns, it often occurs because significantly more money has been placed on alternative competitors. Prices may also drift as new information comes to light.

E

Each Way

An each-way bet comprises two separate wagers: namely, a ‘win’ bet and a ‘place’ bet. So, you can split your stake between these two outcomes and simultaneously back your pick to win and place. It’s most common in horse racing betting, while runners typically have to finish in the top four for a place wager to pay out.

Edge

In casino and sports betting, there’s such a thing as a ‘house edge’. However, you may also seek out a competitive edge over sportsbooks, typically through strategies such as arbitrage betting, carrying out extensive analysis, and the strategic use of free bets.

Even Money

When you successfully leverage an even money bet or market, you’ll bank winnings that are equal to your stake amount. For example, if you were to bet on the outcome of a coin toss before a cricket match, the odds would be +100 for heads and +100 for tails. This may also be referred to as ‘50-50’ betting.

Exotic

An exotic bet may be placed on in-game events and outcomes that aren’t directly related to the final outcome. The most common iteration is prop bets. For example, you could wager on a player completing a specific number of rebounds in an NBA game or the identity of the top points scorer in a particular game.

Exposure

In sports betting, ‘exposure’ describes the amount of money you or a sportsbook could potentially lose on any given wager. Bookies may also calculate their total exposure based on the volume of bets placed on a specific event.

F

Favorite

In sports betting terminology, the ‘favorite’ describes a team or player most fancied to win a match or event. You can back betting favorites through pre-game and in-play markets, although the published odds may not be as competitive when wagering in real-time.

Field

In betting terms, the field describes the listed competitors in a tournament, league, or race. It’s most commonly used to discuss the runners in horse racing betting, while larger fields typically help you access enhanced ante-post odds.

First Half Bet

In sports like soccer and football, games are split into two halves. So, a ‘First Half Bet’ describes wagers that are placed during the first 45 minutes of a soccer game or 30 minutes of an NFL match. For example, you may back the score at the end of the first half or pick both sides to score during this period.

Fixed Odds

Fixed odds describe prices that are predetermined and locked into place when you execute your wager. Therefore, you’re able to calculate your return if your pick is successful accurately!

Fractional Odds

This odds format is often seen in the UK, featuring two numbers separated by a slash. The first number relays how much you can potentially win in relation to the second, which describes your stake amount. So, if you successfully bet $10 at odds of 5/1, you’ll bank $50 exclusive of your stake.

Futures

Futures bets may also be described as outright wagers, while they describe bets that are placed on the winner of a particular league or tournament. This includes wagers on the winner of events such as the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, or NBA finals, while futures bets may be placed on events that are either upcoming or scheduled for the distant future.

G

Graded Bet

If you hear the terminology ‘graded bet’, this describes a wager that has been officially declared as a winner or loser (or a push once the match has started). More commonly, this may be referred to as a ‘settled bet’.

Green

Green is an uncommon sports betting term, and it relates to winning or being ‘in the money’. This description is colloquial and typically used by successful bettors who are experiencing a profitable run or picking winning selections.

The Impact and Future Developments of Sports Betting Terms

Understanding sports betting terms is crucial for any bettor who wants to make more informed and strategic wagering decisions. By familiarizing themselves with these terms, bettors can increase their ability to identify value in odds, manage their bankroll effectively, and place more successful bets.

One significant trend in the sports betting industry is the increasing legalization and regulation of online sports betting in many countries. As more jurisdictions permit online sports betting, the demand for knowledge and understanding of sports betting terms is likely to grow.

Additionally, the rapid development of new technologies, such as machine learning and data analytics, is expected to impact the way sportsbooks set odds and analyze betting patterns. Bettors who are knowledgeable about sports betting terms will be better equipped to navigate these advancements and adapt to the changing landscape of the industry.

Conclusion

Sports betting terms can be overwhelming for beginners and even experienced bettors. However, by taking the time to understand and familiarize yourself with these terms, you can enhance your betting experience and increase your chances of success.

Remember, responsible gambling is crucial, and you should never wager more than you can comfortably afford to lose. If you ever feel like your gambling habits are becoming problematic, seek help and support from organizations that specialize in gambling addiction.

Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of sports betting terms, it’s time to make informed, strategic bets and enjoy the thrill of sports wagering!

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