Whether it is to successfully place your bets or to blend in on a Sunday afternoon barbecue with friends, here are some of the most important and essential sports betting terminology for you to include in your vocabulary. If you would like to know more about the term you can click on the link and read on.
Abandoned: An event that is not concluded.
Accumulator: Also called “Parlay” in American sports betting, is a bet on multiple selections on two or more events. All the selections must win for the accumulator to win.
Across the board: A bet in horse racing on a horse to win, place, and show.
Action: A bet is considered “action” if it is considered valid. Different events have different rules to determine if a bet is considered “action”.
Action points: Points in a game that result in different payouts for different outcomes.
Draw: When both sides in an event finish evenly. If the draw was not offered as a betting option, usually the Dead Heat rule applies and the return will be divided by the number of joint winners.
Drift: When the odds of one outcome gets longer (lengthens) are said to be “on the drift” or “to have drifted”.
Dutching strategy: Spreading stake over multiple bets to achieve a consistent return.
Each way: A split wager for one bet to win and one bet to place.
Early cash out: A feature offered by some bookmakers where bettors can settle a bet before the event is concluded.
Handicap: An advantage to the weak individual or team in one-sided events. Bookmakers use it to make of any event a more attractive betting proposition to the punters.
Handicapper: A person who analyses sport events predicting the outcomes.
Handle: American term to indicate the total amount of money taken in bets by a bookmaker over a given event or period of time.
Hang Cheng: This is a form of soccer betting popular in Asia where returns on a team winning are determined by part-goal handicaps.
Head-to-head: A bet between two participants within an event, disregarding the rest.
Hedging: When a punter places a bet on the opposing outcome to his original selection in order to guarantee a winning or cut a loss.
Holding your own: To break even.
Hook: The half point in point spread.
Hot game: A game drawing a significant amount of action on one side by knowledgeable handicappers.
If bet: A bet that only goes ahead if a previous bet is won.
In the money: In horse racing, a horse that finishes first, second, or third.
Over/Under: A bet on whether the total points or goals scored will be over or under a specified number posted by the bookmaker.
Overbook: A term that indicates the bookmaker accepted more bets on the one end of the bet.
Overbroke: When the “book” results in a loss for the bookmaker.
Overlay: When the odds of a selection are high compared to its chance of winning.
Overround: Profit margin set by the bookmaker on every “book” he makes.
Paper trader: Someone who practices their betting strategies without investing real money.
Pari mutuals: A system where all bets are placed in a pool and the winners are paid from that pool.
Parlay: American term for accumulator.
Parlay card: A card filled out in advance to place a parlay.
Past post: Placing a bet after the event has started.
Patent bet: A bet of 3 selections comprising 7 bets.
Penny line: A betting line where the juice is only 1%.
Permutation: Selection of all specific accumulators from a list of selected outcomes. For example, if you select 4 outcomes (a, b, c, d) you could perm all the possible doubles and trebles. Six
Picks: Betting selections chosen by an expert.
Pick ’em game: A game where neither team is favored.
Place terms: The returns for place bets, which differ based on the type of race and number of runners.
Player: Another term for punter.
Pleaser parlay: A parlay that uses a modified point spread in the player’s disadvantage.
Point spread: The points allocated to the underdog to level the margin of the favourite in a mismatch.
Scalper: American term for a bettor who attempts to profit from the differences/variations in the odds from bookmaker to bookmaker by betting both sides of the game at different prices.
Scorecast betting: Predicting the first goal scorer and the match result.
Sharp: A knowledgeable and smart bettor.
Shortenor Short Odds: Referred to the odds getting shorter. The opposite of “lengthen”.
Show: A bet in which the horse must finish first, second, or third.
Shut out: When a bettor can’t get their bet in on time.
Single: A straight bet on one selection.
Soft line: A line that has been adjusted or moved as a result of action and does not reflect the true price.
Special: A bet offered by the bookmaker tailored for specific events.