Sports betting may seem as simple as picking one team or the other but with plenty of numbers and vocabulary involved, it takes a little bit of learning to understand the vernacular.
Here is a list of some of the basic terms that you have to know for sports betting:
Action - A sports bet.
ATS - An acronym for ‘against the spread’
Bet limit - the highest amount a sportsbook will accept for a bet.
Bet - To risk money on the outcome of an event
Bet limit - the highest amount a sportsbook will accept for a bet.
Bettor - Someone who places or has a bet
Buy Points - A bettor can pay an additional price to receive points in his favor on a point spread game. This is called buying points.
Circled Game - A game where the maximum bet is limited.
Chalk – The favorite in the sporting event
Chalk Player – Someone who bets favorites
Cover – A pointspread win for the bettor
Dime – $1,000
Dime Lines – This is when the juice is 10%.
Dog – Short for underdog; the team not expected to win.
Even Money – When there is no juice on the bet and the payout is 1-1.
Exotic – Proposition bets or bets that are more creative than just betting on one team to win
Fade – to place a bet against.
Favorite – The team expected to win the event.
First Half Bet – This is a bet for half of the game; you would bet on a team to win just the first half of the game.
Future – A bet on a team to win something long term; I.E. betting on a team to win the World Series / Super Bowl prior to the start of the season.
Halftime Bet – This is a bet for half of the game; you would bet on a team to win just the second half of the game.
Handicapper – Someone who studies the games and lines in an attempt to wager and make profit.
Handicapping – Studying the games and trying to predict the winners of the events
Hedging – Betting on the opposite side of a previous bet laid in order to limit losses to guarantee a return.
Hook – In point spreads, hook is half a point.
Hoops – Slang word used to indicate the game of basketball.
IBF – International Boxing Federation.
Juice – Bookies commission on a losing bet
Laying the points – Betting the favorite on the point spread
Lay a Bet – A bookie accepting a bet.
Layer – Another term for Bookie.
Line – The Betting line
Longshot – Big underdog
MLB – Major League Baseball.Money
Line – When you bet the money line, you are betting on a team to win outright (regardless of points or point spreads)
NBA – National Basketball Association.
NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association.
NFL – National Football League.
NHL – National Hockey League.
Nickel – A $500 wager.
No Action – A push or tie; money is refunded on the bet.
Odds – The lines set in numerical form to indicate who is the predicted favorite/underdog
Off the Board – A game or event that is not available for betting.
Opening Line – The first line set for a game.
Over – This is when the combined team score is higher than the set line for “over/under” on a specific game.
Parlay – This is when a bettor picks two or more games together – both outcomes have to be correct for the bettor to win. The odds of success are lower but the payout is higher. Pic’Em – When neither team is favored on the point spread.Point Spread – the number of points allocated and is shown with a – sign for the favorite and a + sign for the underdog
Price – The odds/lines on a game.
Prop Bet – See: Exotic.
Puckline – Point spread for hockey games.
Push – A tie; no winner or loser on the bet.
Run Line – Point spread for baseball games.Sharp – An experienced bettor.
Sportsbook – A company that accepts bets on sporting events.
Spread (or Point Spread) – The spread is the expected scoring differential between the favorite.and underdog for the listed game.
Square – A novice and relatively inexperienced bettor.
Straight Bet – A bet placed on the outcome of one game.
Straight Up – Betting on the Money Line or betting on a team to win outright, regardless of point spread.Super Bowl – NFL Championship game.
Ticket – A wager (in reference to Las Vegas, where you get a piece of paper or a ticket when you place a bet).
Tie – A push, stand-off or a draw.
Total – The predicted, combined score between both teams in one event.
Tout – A handicapper who sells his picks for money.
Under – This is when the combined team score is lower than the set line for “over/under” on a specific game.
Upset – when the underdog beats the favorite team.
Underdog – The team not expected to win.
Vigorish (or Vig) – Juice.
Wager – also known as bet.
Wise Guy – A knowledgeable handicapper or bettor.
WNBA – Womens National Basketball Association.
World Series – Championship of Major League Baseball (MLB). The final seven games of the baseball playoffs between the two league champions to determine the world champion.
