Key Terms to Know
Action – A wager of any kind; a bet.
Added Game – A game not part of the typical menu of wagering offerings, often posted as an accommodation to patrons.
Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) - Wagering where you must have funds in your account to cover the cost of the wager before the wager can be placed.
Buy (Points) – A player pays an additional price (lays more money) to receive a half-point or more in his favor on a point spread game.
Canadian Line - A hockey wager. A combination point spread and money line.
Chalk – The favorite.
Circled Game - A game where the limits are lowered, or betting options are restricted, often due to injuries.
Cover – Winning by more than the point spread.
Dime Line - A line where the juice is 10 percent.
Dog - The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Short for underdog.
Double Action - An "if bet" that is processed when the precedent bet wins, ties, or cancels.
Edge - A person's advantage when it comes to betting.
Even Money - A wager on which neither side lays any odds or vigorish.
Exposure - The maximum amount of money a sportsbook stands to lose on a game.
Favorite – The team considered most likely to win an event.
First Half Bet - A bet placed only on the first half of the game.
Futures/Future Bet - A future bet is a wager placed on an event typically far in the future. An example of a future bet is "Which team will win next year's Super Bowl?”
Future Odds - Odds that are posted well in advance on the winner of major events.
Grand Salami - The grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.
Handicapper - A person trying to predict the winners of an event.
Handicapping - Attempting to predict the result of an event using known information.
Halftime Bet - A bet placed on the score in the second half of the game, including any overtime periods.
Handle – The total amount of bets taken.
Hedging - Betting the opposing side of your original bet, to either ensure some profit or minimize potential loss.
Hook - A half-point.
Hot Game - A game that is drawing a lot of action on one side from knowledgeable handicappers.
Juice – The bookmaker’s commission; also known as “vigorish.”
Laying the Points - Betting the favorite by giving up points.
Laying the Price - Betting the favorite by laying money odds.
Limit – The maximum amount accepted by the house before the odds and/or point spread are changed.
Line – The current odds or point spread on a particular event.
Linemaker - The person who establishes the betting lines. Also known as "Oddsmaker."
Listed Pitchers – A baseball bet placed only if both of the pitchers scheduled to start a game actually start. If they don’t, the bet is deemed “No Action” and refunded.
Lock - An exceptionally strong favorite.
Longshot – A team thought to be unlikely to win.
Middle - To win both sides of a game; wagering on the underdog at one point spread and the favorite at a different point spread and winning both sides.
Money Line - The money line represents the odds of a team winning the game outright without the use of the point spread. The money line is expressed as a 3-digit number.
No Action – A wager in which no money is lost or won, and the original bet amount is refunded.
Off the Board - A game in which no bets are being accepted.
Opening Line - The earliest line posted for a particular event. Called the "Morning Line" in horse racing.
Outlaw Line - The earliest line in sports betting. This is an overnight line that only a handful of players are allowed to bet into.
Over – A bet in which the player wagers that the combined point total of two teams will be more than a specified total.
Parlay – A single bet that links together two or more wagers; to win the bet, the player must win all the wagers in the parlay. If the player loses one wager, he loses the entire bet. However, if he wins all the wagers in the parlay, they win a higher payoff than if they had placed the bets separately.
Pick or Pick ‘em – A game in which neither team is favored.
Point Spread - Sometimes simply called the “Spread”, the most popular sports bets are based on the point spread. The point spread represents the margin of points in which the favored team must win by to "cover the spread." Point Spread odds are represented by each outcome having a + or a – handicap applied to it.
Price – The odds or point spread.
Propositions - Proposition bets, or "prop" bets, focus on the outcome of events within a given event. An example of a prop bet is "Which team will score the first point?"
Puck Line – In hockey, a spread used instead of the money line.
Push – When the contest ends with no winner or loser for wagering purposes; a tie for wagering purposes.
Round Robin – A series of parlays. For example, a 3-team round robin consists of four total bets- three 2 team parlays (A + B, A + C and B + C) and one 3-team parlay (A + B + C).
Run Down - All the lines for a specific date, sport, time, etc.
Run Line – In baseball, a spread used instead of the money line.
Sides – The two teams playing; the underdog and the favorite.
Sportsbook – An entity that accepts sports bets.
Steam - When a line starts to move rapidly. Most "steam games" are games that draw a mass of bettors.
Straight Bet – An individual wager on a game or event that will be determined by a point spread, money line or total.
Straight-up – Winning the game without any regard to the point spread; a money line bet.
Taking the Points - Betting the underdog and its advantage in the point spread.
Teaser – A type of parlay in which the point spread or total of each individual play is adjusted. The price of moving the point spread (teasing) is lower payoff odds on winning wagers.
Ticket - A wager.
Tie – A wager in which no money is lost or won because the teams’ scores were equal to the number of points in the given point spread or total.
Total – The combined number of runs, points or goals scored by both teams during the game, including overtime.
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 sportsbook.
Under – The player bets that the total points scored by two teams will be less than a certain figure.
Value - Getting the best odds on a wagering proposition; the highest possible edge.
Vigorish/Vig – The bookmaker's commission; also known as the "juice."
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