Glossary Sports Betting Terms, Words, and Slang

Alternate Lines

Alternate lines offer additional betting options beyond the standard spreads or totals lines provided for games. For example, if the standard point spread line for an NFL game sees -7 for the favorite, you could choose an alternate line that offers a -3.5 spread for the same team.

In this case, bettors would still be expecting that the favorite will win but that the end result will be closer than predicted. This gives bettors greater flexibility and control over their wagers. It is common to find alternate lines for all major US league sports.

American Odds

American odds display how much money must be wagered in order to win $100 or how much will be won if $100 is bet. Favorites are represented as negative odds and relate to how much must be wagered to win $100, while positive odds refer to underdogs and relate to the potential payout if $100 is wagered.

So, if you’re looking at odds of –110, then it means you have to bet $110 on the favorite to win $100. If the odds are +110, then you need to bet $100 on the underdog to win $110. Many sportsbooks allow users to change the format to the decimal system if this is more convenient.

Arbitrage

Arbitrage betting is a tactic that allows bettors to exploit odds differences at different sportsbooks to wager on two outcomes at once and guarantee a profit. This requires bettors to find these discrepancies in oddsmaker estimates and strategically wager funds to earn a payout.

While these are lucrative opportunities, they are usually short-lived and require attentive research, fast action, and a trained eye for odds discrepancies. Bookmakers tend to act fast in updating odds, and the process can require considerable investment to make small profits.

Bet Builder

Bet builders are new and popular online sportsbook tools that allow bettors to create custom parlays. For example, if you believe that an NFL player will score first and that their team will eventually win the game, you can select both markets through the builder to be calculated together as a parlay.

These are available for most sports and can guarantee higher payouts if all of the markets are successful. Bet builders tend to permit both same game parlays and parlays across multiple events. This provides greater flexibility for bettors and convenient, fast-paced wagering.

Betting Line

The betting line is all the odds numbers posted by a sportsbook that represent the predicted outcome for a particular sports event. For example, if a spread is -/+ 6.5, then -/+6.5 is the line. Usually, a sportsbook will post a couple of betting lines to give you useful data about an event.

One of the lines will always show the favorite/underdog. The figures will take into account a handicap so both outcomes are relatively even. You can refer to the betting line when calculating the potential payouts of each market, which is one of the basic skills of sports betting.

Early Cash-Out

An early cash-out allows bettors to settle a wager before the event has concluded to secure a limited payout on their winnings or minimize their losses. Bettors may wish to use this if it appears that their bet could be successful but there is still a chance of a loss, or if a loss looks like a near-guarantee.

In the event of a likely loss, bettors could be offered a partial return of their stake. This has become a standard feature at US sportsbooks but will only be offered for certain bets or markets at the sportsbook’s discretion.

Favorite

The favorite in sports betting terms refers to the team or player that is expected to win an event. In turn, backing the favorite will see smaller payouts than if one were to back their opponent, or the “underdog”. A favorite will be determined by historical data, league statistics, injury reports, and placement on a leaderboard.

The moneyline odds for favorites will be accompanied by a minus (-) sign. Therefore, the figure will indicate how much must be staked to win $100. If, for example, a team is a 1.5-point favorite for a spread bet, the spread will be written as “-1.5”.

Futures

Futures bets are wagers on an outcome that’s the result ofa series of events in the future . These tend to include the players or teams that will win a regular season tournament or championship event, such as the winner of the Super Bowl. They can also include the MVP of a season.

The odds for futures will be listed well in advance of a regular season’s start date and will be offered throughout seasons up to the final event though odds will fluctuate. Due to the unpredictability of a season’s outcome, payouts for futures can be extremely favorable.

Hedge

Hedging is a common strategy that involves placing a bet that neutralizes the risk of your first wager. This is adopted to reduce losses or secure an even payout regardless of the outcome of an event. Bettors tend to hedge their wagers when they lose confidence in their original wager.

It is also possible to hedge a parlay if only one remaining leg has to be successful. As bettors become more comfortable with live betting, this can provide a last-ditch effort to find hedging opportunities on the same or different markets and events.

Implied Probability

The implied probability is how likely an outcome will occur as suggested by the odds prices. It is possible to calculate the implied probability by converting the odds into percentages and is most useful in moneyline wagers. There are different formulas for negative and positive odds, which are as follows:

Negative odds: odds / (odds + 100) x 100 = implied probability

Positive odds: 100 / (odds + 100) x 100 = implied probability

Here is an example of this calculation for odds on an NBA game:

• Celtics -120: 120/(120+100) x 100 = 54.54%
• Knicks +110: 100/(110+100) x 100 = 47.62%

Moneyline

A moneyline bet is a wager on which team or player will win a game outright.ah This is the most common and simple bet type and can be found for almost all sporting events. In a moneyline, you do not have to take into consideration a point spread or individual player performances.

Odds are assigned to each party and reflect the favorite and underdog. In three-line games such as soccer where ties are possible, a line bet can also be wagered on a tie. In two-line bets such as regular season NFL games, a tie is classed as a “push” and stakes are refunded.

Odds Boost

Odds boosts are common online sportsbook promotions that offer enhanced odds for specific events or markets. While the same amount of risk applies to each bet, if you take advantage of an odds boost and win, it will result in a higher payout than the odds would otherwise permit.

These can be offered for spreads, moneylines, props, and even parlays. Odds are often boosted between 10% and 40%, and the value of this offer is that there is no increased risk to players. They can, however, encourage bettors to back an event they may otherwise avoid.

Over

The Over relates to totals bets, and more specifically, a wager on whether the combined points of both teams will be more than a certain number. Alternatively, bettors can wager whether the total points will be less than the set number in an Under bet.

Over/Under sports betting terms may be available throughout the entire game or half-time periods.

Overtime Rules

The overtime rules at a sportsbook refer to the terms around how extended play time affects the outcomes of a wager. These can vary between sports and a site’s terms and conditions will outline whether line bets and player props will be paid out or pushed if an event extends beyond its regular set time.

Games will go into overtime for sports such as the NFL if a game is tied at the end of the fourth quarter. Overtime results may not be included in second-half or final-quarter wagers, so it’s important to know overtime rules.

Pari-Mutuel

Pari-mutuel wagering is a betting payout system that sees all stakes pooled together and the winnings determined by the size of this common pool. This is used in horse and dog racing and was the most common legal form of sports betting in the USA in the 20th century.

A distinguishing characteristic is that pari-mutuel odds will fluctuate based on bettor activity until the bet closes. Therefore, this is different from standard fixed odds betting offered at standard online sportsbooks.

Parlay

A parlay is a wager that involves multiple “legs” or markets that are combined into a single bet. For a parlay to payout, all selections must win. The odds for individual legs are calculated, making success harder with every selection added. If successful, large payouts are possible from smaller stakes.

A parlay must contain at least two markets though they can be different types, including moneylines, spreads, or totals. These can be selected from different events or the same event to create a same-game parlay.

Payouts

A payout refers to the money distributed to bettors when their bet is successful. This will include both the original stake and the winnings. Bettors on any fixed-odds market will always know the potential payouts by calculating their stake with the odds.

Payouts can be impacted if using promotions such as odds boosts and profit boosts. If a successful bet is made with a bonus bet promotion or bonus funds rather than real money, the payout will often only include the profit.

Point Spread

A point spread is the predicted margin of victory for the favorite player or team that is calculated to handicap pair-ups despite how unevenly matched they are. This essentially evens the playing field with balanced odds.

If a favorite’s spread is –6.5 and an underdog’s is +6.5, that means the favorite needs to win by at least 7 points to “cover the spread” and result in a payout for those who bet on them. In the case of the underdog, if the favorite doesn’t win by 7 points or more, then those who bet on the underdog win their bet.

Point Spread Betting

Not to be confused with the point spread, point spread betting, is when you back whichever team is predicted to score higher than the sportsbook anticipates.

So if an NFL team are a 7 point favorite, then they that will be represented as –7. In this case the team just needs to win by more than 7 points for your point spread bet to cash out.

Prop Betting

A prop bet is a wager on an outcome within a sporting event that doesn’t relate to the final result of the game. These can be placed on the achievements of individual players or plays within a match. For example, a wager on the first player to score is a prop bet as this is unrelated to who will eventually win.

This is among the most common betting options and is often used to diversify parlays. Prop bets can often include over/under markets or simply require a wager on a yes or no result. Take note that not all sports and events will offer props.

Push

A push is declared when a bet doesn’t result in a winner. This is considered to be a tie between the bettor and the sportsbook, and in this event, stakes are refunded to bettors. The most common occurrence of a push is when the final score lands on the point spread.

To counteract this, many sportsbooks will include .5 figures in the spreads as this is an impossible number for competitors to hit. If there is a tie between teams in a two-way moneyline, this will also be considered a push. However, most sports where ties are possible will include a three-way line.

Run Line

A run line is a baseball-specific betting option similar to a point spread. Some sportsbooks may display this as a spread market. The run line is a handicap that is given to the favorite, and in most cases it’s -1.5 for the favorite and +1.5 for the underdog.

This standard spread figure is listed because as a low-scoring game, a baseball game’s team results are usually different by two or more runs. That said, many sportsbooks will also offer alternate run lines to give you greater options for the final point differentials.

Same Game Parlays

A same game parlay is a single wager that combines multiple markets from the same sporting event. As has been explained earlier in this glossary of betting terms, all markets within a parlay must be successful for the wager to pay out. Many sportsbooks offer promotions to boost odds for same game parlays.

Teaser

A teaser is a type of parlay bet that permits bettors to alter the point spread for a market to make the odds of winning more favorable. In turn, this will reduce the payout of the wager. The standard teaser bet allows bettors to buy six points in a football game or four points in a basketball game, though this is not always the point limit.

They must then add at least one other market to the bet to even the odds for the sportsbook. Like standard parlays, both markets must be successful for the teaser to pay out.

Under

The opposite of an over bet, an under is a wager on the prediction that the combined points of two competitors will be less than the figure set by the sportsbook. As we explained when we defined an “over”, these are often available for quarter-time, half-time, and full-time periods, and the set figure will be the same for both overs and unders.

Underdog

The underdog of an event is the player or team that is expected to lose. In American odds, the figure will reflect this with a positive (+) sign and is represented by how much will be won if $100 is wagered. Backing an underdog will result in higher payouts than the favorite if it wins.

Favorites and underdogs are some of the most common terms used when talking about moneyline odds. The odds will be determined by teams’ placement on leaderboards, historical performances, injury reports, and other crucial data.

Vigorish

The vigorish, “vig”, or “juice”, are betting term that refer to the fee that sportsbooks charge to ensure that bets guarantee a profit regardless of the outcome. This is essentially the same as the house edge in casino gambling. The vigorish will be factored into the odds and sportsbooks will not advertise this.

For example, if a team is considered to be evenly matched with -110 odds, a win on either bet will result in roughly a $91 payout. The remaining $9 is considered the vig. A sportsbook’s vig will impact the quality of the odds and can be reduced or increased to create more competition among betting sites.