Sports Betting Terminology and Glossary

The 1X2 option is probably the oldest option in betting. It is one of the old options that have long been existing before these new options started creeping in. In plain terms, 1X2 breaks down to the following:
1 – Home wins
X – Draw
2 – Away wins
So if you play 1, and the home team wins, you get your winnings. If you play X, and the match ends in a full-time draw, your bet wins. Lastly, if you play 2, and the away team wins, your bet is valid.
There are also other variations of this option, which is the 1X or X2, that connotes Home wins or Draw and Away wins or Draw respectively.

This is a bet type that allows a player to bet on multiple games and multiple options all in one bet. So for the bet to be valid, all the games selected in the betslip must win.
It is said to be a more risky bet type when compared to single bets. However, the returns are definitely worth it. It comes as no surprise that more bettors are inclined to playing accumulator bets, because of the prospects of winning big.

Arbitrage bet is a type of bet that allows punters to place bets on multiple outcomes of an event, to ensure that whatever the outcome of the event results, winning is assured to a great extent. This type of bet is also popularly called ‘Sure bet’.

Action has multifaceted meanings in betting. However, there are more popular meanings that should come in mind when you hear the word action in betting.
Action could mean that you have placed a bet on a game. So it could be like, “I have action on this game.”
Action can also be used to represent the games that the bookmaker is offering odds on.
Another term related to Action that’s often used is “No Action.” No Action implies that a bet is cancelled and the bettors refunded for that bet. This could happen as a result of one major reason: the match entirely was cancelled.

Odds are represented in different formats according to different sportsbooks. American odds as the name implies are the type of odds used by American Sportsbooks. American odds are represented in two forms. The way the odds are represented when betting a favorite is different from when betting an underdog.
When betting a favorite, the odds for favorites will have a negative sign attached to them and that implies the amount of money you need to risk to win $100.
On the other hand, when betting on an underdog, the odds for the underdog will have a positive sign attached to it. That more or less implies the amount of money that could be won for every $100 that’s risked.

The Asian Handicap is a bet option that originated from Indonesia that has over time become a staple in most sportsbooks around the world today.
Handicap in betting implies that one team has an advantage over the other. The handicap option allows you to give a team goal and decide what the final option will be.
For example, if two teams are playing and you bet the home team to win -1 Asian Handicap. This means that by virtue of the handicap, the away team is leading by one goal and for your bet to be valid, the home team has to win by at least one goal difference like, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, etc.
The image below culled from betshoot gives insights on the most used handicap betting options
Read more on Handicap betting

A backdoor cover happens when a team scores a relatively meaningless point when it’s late in the game, that’s results in one side covering the point spread. In general, it doesn’t in any way affect the outcome of the game but it does make sense to a bettor that’s bet on that spread.

Banker is a selection that’s popularly acclaimed to win based on verifiable data and stats. This selection, especially in an accumulator bet, is considered favorite to pull through amongst other selections.
For example, one could select Man City as straight win in their bet and term it a banker, given their current form and position in the league table. Or someone could play an over 1.5 in a game between two highly goal-scoring teams and term it a banker, given that the chances of them scoring at least two goals is very high.

Bank roll in betting refers to your betting budget in plain terms. This is the money you’ve set aside for betting purposes only, that in any case it finishes, you take a break. This is a strategy used by smart bettors to put a leash on their betting cravings and to ensure that they don’t go overboard by drilling a large hole in their pocket as a result of betting.

Beard is a known term used among those familiar with betting to describe someone that’s betting in place of another person, to hide the identity of the owner of the game. Beards are usually used by those who have influence on a game and can’t be allowed to bet on that same game. These people could be the coach, player or even the referee.

A betting exchange differs from traditional betting sites in the sense that they only pair bettors so that they can bet against each other. With betting exchanges, two terms are popular: laying and backing. One player is expected to lay the bet while the other backs it. The good thing about betting exchanges is that the bettors have more control as opposed to what’s attainable with betting sites.

A betting unit describes the size of a person’s bet in relation to his or her bankroll. In essence, one unit is equivalent to 1% of the bettor’s bankroll. This could be a way to measure how much a bettor is spending on each bet and to curtail expenses when necessary.

Virtually every sportsbook offers bonuses. These bonuses are used to entice bettors to patronize their platform. Bonus bets on the other hand are not calculated the same way cash bets are calculated. Different sportsbooks have their peculiar terms and conditions that governs the pay out of bonuses and bets related to it. So, it’s advisable to read the terms before going ahead to place a bet with that bonus.

This is someone or a body that runs betting operations. These operations covers setting of odds, bet placements, payout to winners. They mainly make profits from accumulated losses and charges on each bet placed.

This is an opportunity sportsbooks offer to bettors to enable them maximize their chances of winning by allowing them the option of moving point spreads. For example, if a bettor is betting on an underdog, they can decide to buy points to add half, 1 or 1.5 points.

Chalk refers to betting on the favorite mainly. In this case, it is the strong favorite. It is common for the largely dominant sides in European leagues, the likes of Ajax, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

A circle game in sports betting is one way sportsbooks control the amount of money a bettor can wager on a game due to some circumstances. These circumstances could be weather, injuries, etc. The circling is done by the sportsbooks to shield themselves from incurring too much loses as a result of the many uncertainties surrounding the event; hence reducing the stake limit on that event.

Contrarian is a term used in the betting space that describes when a bettor goes against the public. In this case, the bettor is betting on an outcome that’s parallel to what the public is going for.

This type of bet is widely popular in the NPL but can also be applicable to other sports too. Sometimes, the crowd may be wrong. That everyone is going for an option doesn’t mean it will eventually come through. So, betting against the public, when you have the right backing of data for doing so, isn’t an entirely bad strategy.

Cover is the short term for “cover the spread,” a widely known term amongst bettors that describe betting on a spread by a team. So in this case, the only thing the bettor is concerned about is how much a team wins or loses by, not whether a team wins or loses. This is a smart strategy to go about betting.

This term is only applicable in Horse racing and sometimes, Golf. Dead Heat is basically what happens when there is a tie between two horses. In the event that this happens and your bet is in a tie, you will lose a part of your bet and win a part of your bet.

This is an odd representation that is widely used amongst sportsbooks that are not in any way American. As the name implies, the odds are in decimal form, hence it is easier to calculate your winnings. To calculate your winnings, you just have to multiply your stake by the odds. So let’s say you are betting $100 on a 2.0 odds, this means your winnings will be $200 and your profit will be $100.

Dime is a slang used in betting to represent money or amount wagered. A dime in betting parlance is simply a $1000 bet. So if you say 10 dimes, you are saying the bet is a $10,000 bet.

Dog is used in betting to describe an Underdog, a team or player which is the least favourite to win.

This is an interesting betting option that gives a bettor two chances to win. In this case, the bettor’s chances of winning hinges on the possibility of any of the two outcomes happening. In soccer, there are three ways in which the double chance works. The first is that Home wins or Draws, if that happens, you’ve won your bet. The second is that the Away team wins or Draws, if any of those two options comes through, you’ve won your bet. The last case scenario is the “12” which means Home or Away team wins, so in this case you’ve won your bet when one team wins and there’s no draw.

This term describes a possibility in betting in which no team wins in an event.

This an option provided by most sportsbooks that allows bettors to take a part of their winnings before their bet is settled.

This basically connotes advantage. It mostly occurs when a bettor might have inside information that a particular option is going to pull through.

This is an opportunity offered by sportsbooks where bettor’s winnings will match the exact stake without any hidden taxes or charges applied.

This is a bet type in racing where a bettor can predict the order in which two horses finishes the race. The order which one can predict in this case is 1st or 2nd.

These type of bets are often called props bets. They are any wager that basically isn’t the common options we are familiar with. Exacta is one example of an exotic wager.

This is the amount a bettor can lose or win on each bet placed on the same odds.

In plain terms, exposure refers to the amount of money used to place a bet.

This basically refers to the team or player that’s considered most likely to win

This describes any other score apart from the one listed in the condition for a bet.

This is literally the first half of the game. Some bets are specific to the half. In this case a first half bet, would be specific only to First half.

This is a traditional betting type where the bookmaker decides the odds and the bettor chooses to accept or reject the odds.

This is a betting strategy where the bettor only bets a fixed amount over the course of a period of time and never sways from it.

These are basically odds represented in fractional formats.

These are kind of bets placed in view of future events. It could be that a team wins the league or that a player wins an award.
Read more about Future/Outrights Bets

This is a unique kind of bet especially offered in baseball or ice hockey matches where bettors can bet on Over/Under totals for games happening in a particular night.

In this case, a bettor is given the opportunity to decide the outcome of the first half of a game, whether a team wins or draws.

A handicapper is basically an individual who’s responsible for setting handicap for an activity.

This refers to the total amount wagered over a period of time.

This is the act of reducing risks in betting.

Hedging is basically when a bettor plays a counter bet on an option they’ve staked before, to avoid losses.

This is a phenomenon that believes a Home team has an advantage since they are playing in their home. Sometimes, people go with the home side simply because of the ‘home’ advantage.

This basically means half point. It is more or less a half point added to handicap, over/under markets and spread betting in a bid to see each bet end with a winner.

This is a type of bet made after a game has already commenced. Bettors make their picks based on how the game is faring. This method of betting has grown to be popular over recent years

This basically means that the bookmaker has two or more favorites for a particular event.

This is the amount charged by the bookie per bet.

This is a renowned formula that’s used by core pundits to decide how much they should stake on a bet.

These are the most common margins of winnings for different sports in betting.

 This is a strategy exploited by a bookmaker where they place bets with other bookmakers to reduce risk on a wager.

This refers to the maximum amount that a sportsbook will allow on a particular bet.

This is also called point spread, and it refers to the final margin of victory.

This is a kind of bet offered mostly in baseball events where your bet is valid if the scheduled pitchers actually start the game.

This is a feature offered by sportsbooks that allows bettors to bet on outcomes while the sporting event is still in play.

A lock is a term used in betting to describe an easy winner.

This a type of bet where the bettor decides the number goals or point a team will win by.

This is a betting strategy that involves the bettor doubling their bet after every loss. This strategy is designed to help the bettor recover from their previous loss.

This is a betting strategy explored by bettors where they try to stake on parallel outcomes so that whatever happens they win.

This is mostly referred to as betting in the middle. In this case, the bettor is betting on both sides of the same bet, with the sole aim of winning a bet regardless of the outcome.

This is a term used in betting to describe a $500 wager.

This is a kind of bet placed on events that are not sports-related. They could be about a Reality show, Tv show, or even Politics

This is a term used in betting to describe a team or player that is considered favourite.

This refers to a game/games that bookies are not taking wagers on.

In this case, the bookie sets odds for the number of  a statistic and the bettor wagers that the outcome is above or below that number. We have over/under 1.5, over/under 2.5 and many more, just to mention a few.

This is another term for accumulator bet. In this case, the chance of a betslip winning is dependent on the games in the multibet coming through.

This is a situation in betting where no team is considered favourite because they are both on equal form.

This is a range of special bets where a bettor can bet on a possible outcome that only relates to a player and not the overall outcome of the match.

This is the ratings between teams, in which their current strengths are being compared.

This is a type of bet placed on options that doesn’t in any way affect the final outcome of the game.

This is a statistic that gives the bettors insights on what the public is betting on.

This is a term used to describe spread betting in a hockey game.

Puppy refers to the team that’s considered an underdog.

This occurs when there is a tie between the bettor and the sportsbook and the bettor is being refunded their stake.

These are odds made available by a sportsbook when a game is still in session. They are also called live odds

This is an opportunity for a bettor to get the most of their winnings as a result of the juice being subsidized.

This refers to the profit made on a bet.

As the name implies, this refers to when the line is moving in a contradictory direction from the side getting most of the stakes.

This a bet type that gives bettors the opportunity to wager multiple parlays within a single bet.

This is a form of spread betting particular to baseball where the bettor can bet on whether the underdog will keep the game within a run or that the favourite will win by more than a run.

This majorly refers to a horse participating in a race. It could also refer to someone placing a bet for another person.

This is used in the betting world to describe the side that experts are putting their money on.

This is a term used to refer to novice bettors or bettors that only bet at leisure. These type of bettors are not usually revered by sportsbooks.

This refers to the changes in betting line as a result of too many people betting along that line. The bookies do this to protect themselves from incurring so much loss.

This is basically the act of watching a game live. This option is now widely popular amongst top sportsbooks. In this case, bettors are given the opportunity to keep tabs on their games live on the betting platform.

This is a term mostly used in roulette to refer to the single bet with the highest odds on the entire layout of a roulette table.

This is a type of bet where the bettor bets the underdog against the spread. In this case, if the favourite wins by eight or more points, the favorite has covered the spread and the bet is a loss.

This is a strategy applied by bettors when the line is a whole lot wider than expected.

This is a unique type of bet that gives a bettor the opportunity to combine their bets on two different games.

This is the initial odd placed on a new offer before the offer becomes saturated and it is reduced. This is mostly used by bookies to attract new users to their platform.

This is an individual or a body that puts up for the expert opinions for sale to help bettors make a more informed betting choice.

This parameter refers to the actual probability of something as opposed to what’s being offered by bookmakers.

This is a term used to refer to the size of a bet as it pertains to the bettor’s bankroll. A unit is equivalent to 1% of the bettor’s bankroll.

This is a term used to refer to a bet.

This is a unique type of bet where the bettor is given the privilege to bet on which teams wins every quarter. In this case, the bettor is sure that the team will dominate throughout the match and is willing to put their mouth where their money is. This type of bet is mainly popular in basketball. As expected, the odds for this particular option is expected to be highly competitive in comparison to others.