we offer a glossary of terms to help get you through your sports gambling initiation phase.
Against the Spread – Also known as ATS, it’s a term that relates to how well a team does against the point spread. If a team loses, for instance, but came within a point after being made a 10-point underdog, it did well against the spread.
Backdoor cover – A surprise ending to a game, when one team scores late to cover the point spread.
Bookmaker – A person (or, loosely, a business) that takes bets on sporting events. Also known as a “bookie,” especially in relation to someone who takes illegal bets.
Chalk – The favored team or athlete in a bet. The name reportedly comes from a time when odds were posted with chalk on blackboards.
Dog – Short for underdog.
Even – What you see next to a game when no team is given better odds. Short for even money. Sometimes called a pick ’em game. If you bet $10 and your team or player wins, you win $10.
Favorite – A player or team favored to win.
Future bets – Bets placed on an upcoming event (such as the NCAA Basketball Tournament) or an entire season.
Grand Salami – A bet in NHL hockey, placed on the projected over/under line of total goals scored across the league on one day.
Handicapper – Also known as an oddsmaker.
Halftime bet – Often, a betting establishment will allow new bets to be placed during halftime of a game, with new odds on what might happen in the second half.
In-game wagering – Bets that can be placed during a game.
Key numbers – In certain sports, odds are made based on the game’s scoring. In football, the numbers are three and seven (for field goals and touchdowns). Oddsmakers will frequently set the point spread at 3½ or 7 ½.
Laying the points – Betting the favorite, allowing the underdog to get points from the spread.
Lock – What a bettor believes to be an absolute winning bet. It’s a lock.
Long shot – A team, player or horse that is considered a serious underdog.
Money line – A bet on a matchup of teams or players in which there is no point spread.
Odds – What a handicapper sets as the enticement to bettors. For instance, if a team is given 10-1 odds, $1 bet on it to win earns the bettor $10.
Oddsmaker – The professional in charge of setting the odds and propositions you’ll be able to bet on. Also known as linemaker or handicapper.
Off the board – A game that has been taken off the menu of games that can be bet, often because there’s a question about a key player’s status.
Online betting – Wagering done via a website on the internet.
Over/under – A bet in which a gambler can wager whether a contest will produce over or under a total set by the bookmaker.
Parlay – One bet that covers the outcomes of two or more teams or athletes. Both outcomes have to be correct to win the bet. The risk is greater but the payout is higher than a single bet.
Point spread – A way of betting a game, particularly football or basketball, when oddsmakers designate one team as the favorite, but the other team is given, say, 6½ points to entice betting.
Propositions – Also called props. These usually are specific bets that can be straightforward (such as picking between two players on which will have more points, catches or hits in a game, for example), or odd (such as what type of hat a golfer will wear or how long it will take a singer to complete the national anthem before a game). Sometimes these are called exotic bets.
Puck line – Version of a point spread, usually small, used in betting on hockey (also called a Canadian line).
Punter – A British term for a bettor.
Push – A bet that results in no winner. The betting establishment refunds all money wagered.
Run line – Version of a point spread, but small, used in betting on baseball.
Sportsbook – A business that sets odds, takes bets and pays out money on sports bets. Also called a book or store.
Teaser – A type of bet that gives the gambler a chance to “buy” points against the spread, particularly when making a parlay.
Ticket – The actual piece of paper you get that shows what you’ve bet on, when placing a wager at a sportsbook.
Totals – A type of bet in which a gambler wagers that the total number of points (or goals) in a game will be over or under an amount set by the oddsmaker.
Underdog – A player or team that is not favored to win. Someone who bets consistently on underdogs is a “dog player.”
Value – Searching to get the best odds on an event you want to bet is finding value.
Vigorish – Also known as “vig” or juice. This is the commission charged by the bookmaker to the bettor for making a bet.
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