Jump to letter: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z
A
- Action
- Any wager placed on a sporting event. 'Live action' refers to in-play bets placed after the game starts.
- Against the Spread (ATS)
- A team's record relative to the point spread, not just W/L. A 4-12 team can be 12-4 ATS if the lines underrated them.
- American Odds
- The standard US format. Negative odds (-110) show how much you must wager to win $100; positive odds (+200) show how much you win on a $100 stake. See our odds explained guide.
- Arbitrage
- A risk-free position created by betting both sides of a market at different sportsbooks where the combined implied probability is less than 100%. See our arbitrage calculator.
- Asian Handicap
- A handicap style common in soccer betting that eliminates draws by using fractional handicaps (-0.5, -1.25, etc.). Pushes refund part of the stake.
B
- Backdoor Cover
- A late, meaningless score that flips the spread result — e.g., a meaningless touchdown when down 17 covers the +13.5 spread.
- Bad Beat
- A bet that loses in unusual or unlucky fashion — e.g., a buzzer-beater that flips the spread, or a 17-point dog covering on the final play.
- Bankroll
- The pool of money set aside specifically for betting. Disciplined bettors size each wager as a fraction of bankroll. See our bankroll guide.
- Beard
- A surrogate bettor who places wagers on behalf of someone else (typically because the principal is limited). Most sportsbooks ban this practice.
- Bet Slip
- The on-screen ticket where you build and confirm a wager before placing it.
- Big Six
- Term used to describe DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN Bet and Fanatics — the six largest US online sportsbooks.
- Bonus Bets
- Free-bet credits issued by sportsbooks. The stake is not returned with winnings — only the profit on the bet is real money. Common welcome offer mechanic.
- Book
- Short for 'sportsbook.' The operator that takes the wager.
- Buying Points
- Adjusting a spread or total in your favor (e.g., from -7 to -6.5) at the cost of worse odds. Often poor value unless you're crossing a key number.
C
- Cash Out
- An offer from the sportsbook to settle a live wager early at a price set by the book. Typically carries 5-15% additional juice — read carefully.
- Chalk
- The favorite. 'Chalk player' = a bettor who consistently bets favorites.
- Closing Line
- The final odds posted before a market closes (kickoff). Beating the closing line consistently is the strongest indicator of edge. See our CLV guide.
- Closing Line Value (CLV)
- The amount by which your bet beat the closing line. Positive CLV = you got a better number than the market closed at. Long-term forecast of edge.
- Correlation
- Statistical relationship between bet legs. Same Game Parlays price correlations explicitly. See our SGP strategy guide.
- Cover
- Beating the spread. A -7 favorite that wins by 8+ has 'covered.'
D
- Decimal Odds
- The European format. Odds of 1.91 mean a $1 stake returns $1.91 (your $1 plus $0.91 profit). Common at international and offshore books.
- Dime Line
- A line with 10-cent juice — typically -105/-105 or similar — found at sharp-friendly books. Indicates lower operator hold.
- Dog
- Short for 'underdog.' The team or player not favored to win.
- Dollar
- $100 in betting slang. 'Two dollars on the Cowboys' = $200 wager.
- Draw
- A tie. In US sports, draws are rare; in soccer they're a primary market alongside Win/Loss.
E
- Edge
- The mathematical advantage a bettor has over the sportsbook on a given bet. Expressed as expected return per dollar wagered.
- Even Money
- Odds of +100 (or 2.0 decimal). A win returns the same as the stake.
- Expected Value (EV)
- The mathematically expected return of a bet over the long run. Positive EV (+EV) bets win money over time; negative EV (-EV) bets lose. EV calculator.
- Exposure
- The maximum amount the sportsbook stands to lose if a particular outcome wins. Heavy one-sided action increases the book's exposure and triggers line movement.
F
- Fade
- To bet against. 'Fading the public' = betting opposite the most-popular side.
- Favorite
- The team or player priced higher to win — denoted by negative American odds.
- First Half / First 5 (F5)
- Bets that settle on partial-game outcomes. F5 in baseball is the first five innings — heavily traded by sharps because pitcher matchups are clean.
- Fractional Odds
- The British format (e.g., 5/2). Common at horse-racing books. 5/2 means $5 profit on a $2 stake. Odds converter.
- Free Bet
- Synonym for bonus bet — see Bonus Bets.
- Futures
- Long-term wagers settled at end of season — championship winners, MVP awards, division winners.
G
- Geofencing
- GPS-based location verification used by mobile sportsbooks to ensure bettors are physically located in a legal state.
- Goliath
- A 247-bet parlay across 8 selections, including all combinations from doubles to the 8-fold accumulator. Common in UK racing markets.
- Grading
- The sportsbook's process of settling bets after a market resolves.
H
- Handicap
- A points adjustment applied to a team to balance the matchup — equivalent to the spread.
- Handle
- Total dollar amount wagered (volume), regardless of result. Often confused with revenue (GGR), which is what the book keeps.
- Hedge
- Placing an opposing bet to lock in profit or limit loss on a winning ticket. Hedge calculator.
- Hold
- The sportsbook's profit margin on a market — also called vig or juice. Operator-wide hold percentages typically run 7-11%.
- Hook
- The half-point added or subtracted from a spread (e.g., -3.5 instead of -3). The hook protects against pushes on key numbers.
I
- If Bet
- A conditional sequence of bets where the second bet only places if the first wins. Reduces variance versus a parlay; less common in US markets.
- Implied Probability
- The win probability implied by odds. -110 implies 52.4%; +200 implies 33.3%. Critical for evaluating EV. Odds converter.
- In-Play Betting
- Live betting placed during the game. Now over 50% of US handle. Live betting trends.
J
- Juice
- The sportsbook's commission, baked into odds. Standard juice is -110 on both sides of a spread (4.5% hold). Also called vig.
K
- Kelly Criterion
- A bet-sizing formula that maximizes long-term geometric growth of bankroll given an edge. Kelly calculator.
- Key Numbers
- Common margins of victory in NFL (3, 7, 10, 14, 6, 4) where moving a spread across the number changes the bet's character substantially.
L
- Lay
- To bet against — accepting odds that something will not happen. More common at betting exchanges than US books.
- Limit
- The maximum bet size a sportsbook will accept on a given market or from a given customer. Sharp customers see lower limits. Account longevity guide.
- Line
- The point spread, total, or moneyline posted by a sportsbook.
- Line Movement
- Change in odds over time. Driven by information, action, or market signaling. Line movement guide.
- Line Shopping
- Comparing odds across multiple sportsbooks to take the best available price. Captures 1.5-2.5% of EV annually. Line shopping guide.
- Live Betting
- See In-Play Betting.
- Lock
- An over-confident pick. 'Lock of the day.' In reality, no bet is a lock — variance always applies.
- Long Shot
- A bet at very high odds (e.g., +1500 or longer). Low probability of winning but high payout.
M
- Mobile App
- Native iOS or Android sportsbook app. The dominant interface — over 95% of US handle is placed via mobile app.
- Moneyline
- A bet on which team wins outright, no points spread. Simplest market type.
- Movement
- See Line Movement.
N
- Nickel
- $500 in betting slang. Hence 'nickel line' for the standard $500 limit market.
- No Action
- A bet voided and refunded — typically because the game was canceled, postponed, or didn't meet completion criteria (e.g., suspended baseball games).
O
- Odds
- The price expressed as American, decimal, or fractional. Convert any format.
- Off the Board
- When a sportsbook removes a market from betting — typically due to injury news or other late-breaking information.
- Over/Under
- See Total.
P
- Parlay
- A multi-leg bet where every leg must win. Pays out at compounded odds. Higher variance, higher house edge. Parlay strategy.
- Pick'em (Pk)
- A market with no spread — bet straight on which team wins.
- Point Spread
- A handicap added to one side to balance the market. The favorite gives points; the underdog receives points. Spread guide.
- Press
- Doubling down on a bet after a win. Increases variance.
- Price
- The odds on a market. 'Best price' = best odds across the books.
- Prop (Proposition Bet)
- A bet on something other than the game outcome — e.g., a player's stat line, a coin flip outcome, or a team's first score.
- Public
- The aggregate of recreational bettors. 'The public is heavy on the Cowboys' = retail majority. Sharp vs public money.
- Push
- A tied bet — the spread or total landed exactly on the number. Wager is refunded.
R
- Reverse Line Movement (RLM)
- When the line moves against the public bet majority. Signal of sharp action on the contrary side.
- Roll
- Synonym for bankroll.
- Round Robin
- A series of smaller parlays generated from a larger selection (e.g., 3-team round robin = three 2-team parlays).
- Run Line
- Baseball's version of the spread, typically -1.5 / +1.5.
S
- Same Game Parlay (SGP)
- A parlay with all legs from the same game. Correlation is priced into the SGP odds. SGP strategy.
- A consistently profitable bettor. Sharps beat closing line value and tend to receive lower limits as books recognize them.
- Side
- The team or player you bet on. 'Take the side' = bet that team.
- Single
- A straight bet on one outcome. The simplest wager structure.
- Sportsbook
- A licensed operator that takes wagers on sporting events.
- Spread
- See Point Spread.
- Square
- A recreational, less-informed bettor. Opposite of sharp.
- Stake
- The amount wagered on a bet.
- Steam
- A coordinated, sharp-driven line move across multiple books in a short window. Usually a sharp-action signal.
- Stop Loss
- A pre-set threshold at which you stop betting for the session, day, week or month. Discipline mechanic.
- Straight Bet
- A single-outcome wager. Most common bet type. All bet types.
- Sucker Bet
- A market with notably high house edge, often dressed up as a teaser or parlay boost. Usually behind fair value.
- Surveillance
- The book's monitoring infrastructure for detecting sharp customers, suspicious patterns, and integrity issues.
T
- Take the Points
- Bet the underdog ATS — accepting the points the spread offers.
- Take the Price
- Bet at the current odds. 'I'm taking the price' = locking in this number.
- A multi-leg bet that buys points on each leg in exchange for worse odds. Mostly -EV; specific 'sweet-spot' teasers (Wong Teasers) can have value. Teaser guide.
- Total (Over/Under)
- A bet on the combined points scored in a game. The bettor picks Over or Under the posted line. Total guide.
- Tout
- A pick-seller. Most touts have weak track records when audited honestly. Avoid paid picks.
- Trap
- A market with action skewed toward what looks like the obvious side — but where the line is set to attract that very action. Skeptical sharps fade.
U
- Underdog
- The team or player less likely to win — denoted by positive American odds.
- Unit
- A bettor's standard wager size, typically 1% of bankroll. 'Two units on the Bills' = 2x your normal bet.
V
- Variance
- Statistical fluctuation around expected outcomes. High-variance bets (long parlays) have wider win/loss distributions.
- Vig (Vigorish)
- See Juice. The book's commission baked into odds.
W
- Wager
- Synonym for bet.
- Welcome Offer
- Sign-up bonus for new customers. Common forms: deposit match, bonus bets, first-bet protection. Current bonuses.
- Win Probability
- The implied probability of winning given the odds. Same as implied probability.
- A 6-point NFL teaser that crosses two key numbers — historically +EV in specific spread ranges. Named for sharp Stanford Wong.
Y
- Yard
- $100 in betting slang. 'Three yards on the Steelers' = $300.
Z
- Zero Vig (No-Vig) Line
- The fair line implied by removing the operator's hold. Used to evaluate true probability and EV.
More: all reference guides · bet type cheat sheet · odds conversion table · bankroll quick reference · common mistakes & fixes.