Sports betting has a lot of interesting and sometimes confusing terms, but by using the BET.CA glossary, you’ll never come unstuck again. We explain the most common words and phrases you’re likely to come across on your sports betting journey, so you can bet with complete confidence.
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Accumulator: Another word for a Parlay Bet containing four or more selections, sometimes referred to as an “Acca”.
Across The Board: A combination bet on one horse in US racing that splits the bet into three parts: win, place, and show.
Action: A general betting term that refers to betting activity, usually related to a specific event or outcome. If an event has action, that means it’s attracting betting interest. If a bettor has action on an event, it means they have bet on the event.
Added Game: A college game that was not initially included in betting lists, but was added due to public demand or because a game has been rearranged to a different date.
AET: An acronym for After Extra Time. This refers to a scoreline for a soccer match that has required extra time (usually in a cup or tournament knockout phase). This does not refer to added time at the end of the regular 90 minutes and instead means an additional period of 30-minute play for games where a draw/tie is not permitted.
Alternative Lines: These are alternative betting options on the same game, but with different point spreads and different odds. These are also a key feature in Teasers.
American Odds: The most commonly-used odds format with North American sportsbooks. American Odds indicate the betting favorite (prefixed with a - minus symbol) and underdog (prefixed with a + plus symbol). The numbers refer to 100-unit bets – the favorite (-) number refers to the amount you need to bet to win $100, while the underdog (+) number refers to the amount you win if you bet $100.
Ante-Post: This is the initial list of odds released by oddsmakers for horse races and major sports championships. These are often known as Futures or Outrights. In horse racing, ante-post odds offer among the best value for betting on a specific race, but carry greater risk as fields are often reduced before the race start and ante-post wagers on horses that do not run are classed as losing bets.
Anytime goalscorer: A popular bet for hockey and soccer, this is a bet that allows you to wager on a specific player to score a goal at any point during the course of a game.
Arbing/Arbitrage betting: The act of betting on opposite sides of the same match using odds from different sportsbooks in order to lock in a guaranteed profit, regardless of the outcome. For example, if there is an NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings and one sportsbook offers Toronto at +110 and another offers Detroit at +110, you can bet on both and lock in a small but guaranteed profit.
Asian Handicap: A version of betting on the spread typically associated with soccer that eliminates the possibility of a draw/tie. Most handicaps on soccer include the draw as a potential outcome, but Asian Handicaps use part-goals in their spread to eliminate them.
ATS: An acronym for Against The Spread. Betting against the spread means you are looking to bet on the point spread market, rather than the moneyline market. ATS is also a stat to show how often a team has performed against the spread set by sportsbooks.
Backdoor Cover: When an underdog is trailing by more than the point spread and scores meaningless points late in the game to cover the spread.
Backed: This refers to when a selection has received significant betting action and often results in that selection’s odds being shortened as a result. If a person has wagered on something, they have also “backed” that outcome.
Bad Beat: When you lose a bet that looked all but guaranteed to win.
Banker: A selection a bettor considers to be a guaranteed winner. This is sometimes referred to as a Lock or Sure Thing.
Best-Price Percentage: This shows you how much of an edge the oddsmaker has built into a given bet or market based on the best odds available on each selection. Oddsmakers typically look to make up each event or market to a figure between 103% and 110%, to ensure they have a solid profit margin.
Bet: A wager on a specified outcome.
Betslip: The receipt issued by a sportsbook for a bet that has been placed, sometimes referred to as a Ticket.
Betting Exchange: Different to a sportsbook, a betting exchange offers odds set by bettors, who can back or lay their own odds to “match” bets against other bettors. If a bettor wants to bet on the Toronto Raptors to win the NBA Finals at +1800, they would need to find another bettor prepared to lay odds of +1800 to attract bets. A betting exchange facilitates these exchanges and often allows bettors to find greater value, especially at smaller stake levels.
Betting Strategy: The planned betting activity of a specific bettor. Each bettor has their own opinions and tactics, but some strategies, such as backing home underdogs, struggling teams playing tight schedules, or back-to-back games, are popular with recreational bettors looking for regular returns.
Bettor: Someone who places a bet or wager.
Bonus: A reward or gift offered by sportsbooks to encourage potential customers to sign up and deposit money with them. Welcome bonuses can sometimes amount to several hundreds of dollars, while free bets, enhanced odds, and reload bonuses are a regular tactic to help stimulate betting activity among a sportsbook’s existing customer base.
Book: This can refer to either a sportsbook or the complete odds list for a specific market.
Bookie: A slang term for an oddsmaker who sets the odds for a sportsbook.
Buy Points: When a bettor is not comfortable with the spread, they can sacrifice odds and take a lower price to receive more favorable spread terms. For the opposite action, see Sell Points.
Canadian Line: Ice hockey bets that combine point spreads and moneyline wagers.
Chalk: Slang term for the favorite in any wager.
Chalk Player: A bettor who consistently bets on favorites.
Circled Game: A game where a sportsbook has reduced the amount of markets or stake levels available to bettors. This could be due to concerns over the legitimacy of the game or event, injuries to key players, or any other unusual conditions in play.
Closing Line: The final odds available to bettors prior to the start of an event. These are often different from the Opening Line odds due to betting activity and/or relevant news around the game or event that could affect the final outcome.
Co-Favorite: If two or more teams or players lead a betting market with identical odds, they are all the co-favourite, or Joint Favorites. This is most commonly seen in futures markets.
Commission: Also known as the Juice, Margin, Take, Vig, or Vigorish, this is the built-in profit sportsbooks incorporate into their odds via their margin to ensure they take a cut from winning bets.
Correct Score: A popular soccer bet, where bettors bet on the specific final score in a match.
Cover: A term that refers to a team beating the point spread. For example, if the Seattle Seahawks were three-point favorites (-3) to defeat the Detroit Lions, and subsequently won by four points or more, they are said to have covered the spread.
D’Alembert System: A negative progression betting system similar to the Martingale system that involves raising the stakes after a losing bet.
Dead Heat: The result of a horse race where the two finishers cannot be separated as they cross the line, even after checking the photo-finish. In this situation, both horses are declared joint-winners.
Decimal Odds: The most commonly used odds format in Europe, decimal odds refer to the total payout for a 1-unit bet. For example, odds of 2.00 are equal to +100 in US odds, or evens in fractional odds, with a $1 stake returning $2 ($1 in winnings plus the $1 stake). Odds of +1000 would be shown as 11.00 in decimal odds, reflecting the $10 winnings plus the $1 stake.
Dog: Slang term for the Underdog, the team or player sportsbooks expect to lose a match or event.
Dollar: The currency of Canada, that almost all bets with sportsbooks in Canada are placed in.
Double: A single-stake bet that combines two different outcomes, where the winnings from the first outcome roll over to the second. Both selections need to win for the double bet to pay out.
Double Action: A type of “If Bet” that includes two different events.
Double Result: Sometimes called Halftime/Fulltime Bets, this is a single-stake bet where bettors predict both which team will be leading at halftime and win the match.
Doubleheader: Most commonly seen in baseball, a doubleheader is two games between two teams played back-to-back on the same day.
Doubling Up: A high-risk betting strategy that sees bettors double their stake each time they place a losing bet in order to offset earlier losses when they back a winner. Also known as the Martingale System.
Draw: The result of a game where the scores are tied between two teams. Many US sports look to eliminate draws/ties with overtime, but draws are commonplace in soccer. The term is also used to describe how horses’ starting gates are decided, or how the group stages of major soccer competitions (such as the UEFA Champions League and World Cup) are determined.
Drift: Sometimes referred to as lengthening, odds drift when a sportsbook starts to offer a higher or longer price for them, particularly when featured in ante-post or futures markets. For example, an injury to a NBA star could see his team’s NBA futures odds start to drift.
Dutch/Dutching: A betting strategy that sees a bettor bet on more than one outcome for the same event to spread their risk and increase their chances of a winning bet. This is commonly used when betting on futures for markets with long selection lists, such as the NFL MVP or World Cup winner.
Each-Way: A single-stake bet most commonly placed on horse racing or golf whereby the stake is split in half, with one half betting on the selection to win and the other half betting on the selection to place. Sportsbooks offer different “place” terms on events, depending on the number of runners/participants and the popularity of the event.
Edge: An edge in sports betting is the ability to find bets that have a higher probability of happening than the odds you are offered for it.
Even Money: A bet with odds of +100, 2.00, or 1/1 that returns winnings equal to the value of the stake.
Exotic: More commonly referred to as Prop Bets or Specials/Special Bets, these are bets that are neither straight nor parlay bets.
Expected Goals: Often denoted by the acronym xG, expected goals is a metric used in soccer that measures the quality of goalscoring chances in a game and therefore how effective a team is in attack.
Expected Value: An aggregated figure that states how much a bettor can expect to win (or lose) if betting on the same odds repeatedly.
Exposure: The amount a sportsbook stands to lose on a specific outcome of an event. This is often referred to in sports news reports when a specific outcome has received significant betting action in the lead-up to an event.
Favorite: The team or selection in a given event that the sportsbook expects to win and is priced with the smallest/shortest odds.
Fibonacci System: A negative progression betting system that sees bettors increase their stake following a losing bet, in line with an established number sequence.
Field: A catch-all term meaning all remaining contenders not specifically listed in the odds. Sometimes you can bet the field as opposed to a specific contender.
First Half Bet: A bet where players can wager on which team will be leading at halftime during a game, regardless of the final result.
First Goalscorer: A popular bet for hockey and soccer, this is a wager on a specific player to score the first goal in a specified match.
Fixed-Odds Betting: Fixed-odds bets are bets with odds that do not change for the bettor after the wager has been placed. Most mainstream sports bets offered by sportsbooks are fixed-odds bets.
Fractional Odds: The odds format used most frequently in the UK, fractional odds denote the prices in fractions, rather than decimal numbers or US-style moneyline odds. A bet of +200 or 3.00 odds would be shown as 2/1 in fractional odds.
Future: A bet that is placed ahead of the event taking place in the future. Popular futures markets include betting on a team to win the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, World Series, or NBA Championship, or a player to win a league’s MVP award.
Grand Salami: An over/under bet that predicts the total number of goals or points scored in all the listed games for a given day. Grand Salami bets are available for a number of sports, with bets needing to be placed before any of the games have started.
Half Time/Second Half Bet: A bet placed on a team to win the second half of a specified game.
Half-Ball Handicap: A handicap bet where the favored team’s handicap is set with half a point or goal. For example, Liverpool may be a -1.5 favorite to defeat Everton in the English Premier League, meaning they would have to win the match by two goals or more to cover the spread and win the bet.
Handicap: How a sportsbook levels the playing field between two mismatched teams. The favored team receives a points or goals handicap (denoted by a - symbol), while the underdog receives a points or goals head-start (denoted by a + symbol). Similar to the point spread.
Handicapper: This can refer to someone who sets the handicap lines for a sportsbook, someone who predicts the outcome of a handicapped event, or someone who wagers on a handicap market.
Handle: The total monetary amount accepted in bets by a sportsbook on a specific event or across a defined period of time.
Heater: A term used when a bettor is enjoying an extended run of winning wagers.
Hedge betting/Hedging: Hedging is the act of betting against an earlier bet you have placed (often a selection in a parlay) in order to protect yourself from losses and try and guarantee a return.
Holding Your Own: A term for a bettor who is breaking even over a lengthy run of bets.
Home Field Advantage: The advantage home teams are thought to have over their opponents for a match.
If Bet: A secondary bet that is conditional on a previous bet being successful, with the winnings from the first bet rolling over to the follow-up if bet.
In-play or In-game Betting: Betting on an event while it is taking place. This is also referred to as Live Betting.
Joint Favorites: If two or more teams or players lead a betting market with identical odds, they are all the joint favorites, or Co-Favourite. This is most commonly seen in futures markets.
Juice: The margin taken by a sportsbook on any bet placed. This is also referred to as the Commission, Margin, Take, Vig or Vigorish.
Kelly Criterion: A betting strategy that helps a bettor determine the optimal stake size for handicap bets.
Landing on Three/Seven: The most common scores in NFL games end in either a three or a seven, due to the scoring system. Landing on three or landing on seven refers to the final score differential being exactly one score – a three-point field goal or a seven-point converted touchdown.
Last Goalscorer: A popular bet for hockey and soccer that involves betting on a specific player to score the last goal in a specified match.
Lay a Bet: The sportsbook’s side of a bet transaction, laying a bet is the act of setting odds against an outcome taking place. The sportsbook lays the bet by setting odds and the bettors place wagers against those odds.
Laying The Points: The act of betting on a favorite on the spread and giving the underdog a points head-start in the process.
Layoff/Laying off: A term describing when a bettor backs against their own selection to reduce their risk level.
Lengthen: The increasing of a selection’s odds when it becomes less fancied to win, sometimes referred to as Drifting (this is the opposite of shorten).
Limit: The maximum amount a bettor can stake on a specified betting option. Sportsbooks have these built into their systems, but many also offer Responsible Gaming options to users so they can set their own limits for bets placed, values staked, deposits made, and time spent on their websites.
Line: A sportsbook’s handicap odds for a given event.
Linemaker: A sportsbook staffer who sets the odds for events, sometimes referred to as an Oddsmaker or Trader.
Listed Pitchers: The confirmed starting pitchers ahead of a baseball game. Changes to listed pitchers can result in bets being voided, stakes being returned and odds being changed before the market is reopened.
Live Betting: Betting on an event while it is taking place. This is also referred to as In-play Betting or In-game Betting.
Lock: A selection a bettor considers to be a guaranteed winner. This is sometimes referred to as a Banker or Sure Thing.
Long Odds: Large odds priced for a selection that is not fancied to win.
Long Shot: A selection that is considered highly unlikely to win and is priced with long odds as a result.
Margin: The level of profit earned by a sportsbook on a given market, often quoted as a percentage. This is also referred to as the Commission, Juice, Take, Vig, or Vigorish.
Martingale System: A high-risk betting system that involves the bettor doubling their bet stake after each losing bet, and reverting back to their regular stake level after a winning bet. Also known as Doubling Up.
Match Bet: A straight head-to-head bet between two selections.
Matched Betting: Matched betting is a sports betting strategy in which you place two bets, at least one being a free bet, with different bookmakers on the same market for an event to guarantee a profit, regardless of the outcome.
Middle: Winning both sides of a bet when the odds move. This is rare but occasionally happens, such as for Super Bowl XIII when the movement of the market meant that backers of both the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers won on the spread.
Moneyline: A straight bet on a team or player to win a match, regardless of the final score.
Multiple: A bet that consists of more than one selection, where all selections have to win in order for the bet to be a winner, more commonly referred to as a Parlay or an Accumulator.
Mush: A term used to describe an "unseen force" which is said to create or contribute to bad luck in betting situations.
MVP: Acronym for Most Valuable Player, an accolade awarded to the player voted the best in their league (such as the MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) over the course of the season.
Nap: A sports picks writer’s strongest, most confident selection. The word nap is taken from the French card game Napoleon, where the nap is the best hand you can be dealt.
No Action: A bet type or market that is voided by a sportsbook. When this happens, all stakes are returned to bettors.
Non-Runner: A horse that was listed in the ante-post odds, but is subsequently not declared for the final race list. A non-runner is considered a loser in ante-post betting, but treated as a voided bet (with stakes returned) for other horse racing markets.
Novelty Bet: Sometimes referred to as Specials, novelty bets are additional prop bets that offer odds on unusual outcomes that are difficult to predict using a handicap or spread. Often these are offered as straight Yes or No bets.
Odds: A numerical indicator of an outcome’s chances of success, odds also show how much a bettor can win if the selection is successful.
Odds Against: The price for a selection that wins more money than the amount staked.
Odds Format: The way odds are displayed on a website or odds board. There are three formats used: American (+200), Decimal (3.00), or Fractional (2/1).
Odds-On Favorite: The most favored selection in an event, which earns less money in winnings than the amount staked. For example a -200 / 1.50 / 1/2 favorite would mean the bettor would receive $0.50 in winnings for every $1 staked.
Oddsmaker: A sportsbook staffer who sets the odds for events, sometimes referred to as a Linemaker or Trader.
Off The Board (OTB): Any upcoming event that does not have available odds. For example, a sportsbook may leave a specific game OTB while it assesses breaking injury news and rumors before posting odds for that matchup.
On The Nose: A term for a bet, usually on horse racing, that is specifically on a selection to win.
Oscar’s Grind: A betting system that sees the bettor raise the stakes after a winning bet.
Outright Betting: More commonly known as Futures betting, outright bets are wagers placed on a winner of a sports league or tournament before the competition itself begins.
Outsiders: A term referring to a team or group of competitors that are considered unlikely winners, and carry long odds for a given event.
Over: Betting that a team or player will surpass a sportsbook-set total in a given category in a Total or Over/Under bet.
Overbroke: A betting scenario where the market is less than 100 percent, meaning the odds are in the bettors’ favor rather than the sportsbook’s. Unusual circumstances or significant alterations to a market can cause a book to be overbroke (the reverse of Overround).
Overround: A betting scenario where the market is more than 100 percent, meaning the odds are in the sportsbook’s favor, rather than the bettors’. A well-run sportsbook will ensure every market is set as an overround (the reverse of Overbroke).
Over/Under: A sportsbook-set total applied to a given stat in a game, with odds offered on a team or player’s total to fall either over or under that number. This is also referred to as a Total Bet.
Parlay: A bet that consists of more than one selection, whereby all selections have to win in order for the bet to pay out. This is sometimes referred to as a Multiple or an Accumulator.
Payout: The full amount (bet stake plus winnings) a bettor receives following a winning bet, sometimes referred to as the Return.
Picks: A slang term for selections or betting tips.
Pick’em/Pickem: An event in which two outcomes are said to have a virtual 50/50 chance of occurring, with the two opposing selections both carrying identical odds.
Place: A bet on a selection to finish in the first three or four places in a given race or event. The odds to place are smaller than the odds on the same selection to win. Often paired with Each-Way bets.
Point Spread: The handicap set by sportsbooks to level the playing field between two teams in a game. The favorite receives a handicap (denoted by a - symbol), while the underdog receives a head-start (denoted by a + symbol).
Post Time: The time that horses or greyhounds are set to line up for the start of a race.
Power Ranking: Team or player rankings that take various factors into account in order to produce a list that ranks teams or players in a league from best to worst, based on their current form and recent results.
Price: Another word for odds.
Prop/Proposition Bet: A bet that offers odds on an outcome that is not directly linked to the result of a game, or that is different to the standard betting markets available. These are sometimes referred to as Exotic or Special bets.
Public Money: Term referring to the amount of money bet on a selection (usually the favorite or an underdog whose price is shortening) by recreational bettors.
Puck Line: The ice hockey equivalent of a Point Spread or Handicap bet, the puck line gives the favored team a goal handicap (often 1.5 goals), with the underdog team receiving a head start.
Push: A term referring to a scenario where there is no winner between the bettor and sportsbook and the stake is returned to the bettor after the event. This could happen if the final score of a game lands exactly on the spread mark, effectively making the result on the spread a tie.
Quarter/Quarter Line Bet: A bet on a game split into quarters (such as football), where the player bets on the outcome of one specific quarter.
Rag: Slang term for the betting underdog in a game or event.
Reload Bonus: A financial amount (often in the form of cashback or free bets) gifted by sportsbooks to bettors who deposit additional funds into their betting accounts.
Return: The full return (bet stake plus winnings) a bettor receives following a winning bet, sometimes referred to as the Payout.
Round Robin: An all-encompassing parlay that covers all possible winning combinations on three or more betting lines involving at least two teams.
Run Line: The baseball equivalent of a Point Spread or Handicap bet, the run line gives the favored team a run handicap (often 1.5 runs), with the underdog team receiving a head start. This handicap can change on live betting markets based on how the game is playing out.
Scalping: A term referring to bettors taking advantage of bonuses and price differentials between rival sportsbooks.
Scorecast: A popular bet with casual matchday soccer bettors, in a scorecast bet bettors have to correctly predict the winning team, final score, and first goalscorer in a game.
Second Half Bet: A bet where players can bet after the first half on what happens in the second half of a game. These bets are usually placed live during halftime in the game.
Sell Points: The opposite of buying points, bettors sell points to sacrifice points on the spread in order to get better odds.
Sharp: A term referring to a betting expert or experienced handicapper. These are usually professional bettors, with some offering their own picks and insights to subscribers or on websites.
Shorten: The decreasing of a selection’s odds by a sportsbook when the selection becomes more fancied to win and attracts significant betting action (the opposite of Lengthen).
Single: A straight up bet, featuring one stake on one outcome.
Smart Money: A collective term referring to the money bet on an event by respected and experienced bettors with considerable knowledge of it.
Specials: A bet that offers odds on an outcome that is not directly linked to the result of a game, or that is different to the standard betting markets available. This is more commonly known as a Prop or Proposition Bet, and also sometimes referred to an Exotic bet.
Split-Ball Handicap: A bet that is split between two handicaps for the same game or match, one a whole ball handicap (e.g. 1, 2, 3) and one a half ball handicap (e.g. 0.5, 1.5, 2.5).
Sportsbook: A betting website or physical location that offers odds on sporting events. This term is also commonly used to refer to a bookmaker or bookmaker brand.
Spread: A number set by sportsbooks that estimates the margin of victory between two teams in a given match.
Stake: The amount a bettor chooses to wager on a specified outcome.
Staking Method: The practice employed by bettors using an optimized system to minimize risk and maximize the likelihood of regular returns.
Starting Price/SP: The final odds on a horse or greyhound race prior to the race starting.
Steam: A word used to describe a selection whose odds rapidly fluctuate.
Straight Bet: A single wager placed on a moneyline, spread, or total (under/over) market.
Sure Thing: A selection a bettor considers to be a guaranteed winner, sometimes referred to as a Lock or Banker.
Take: A term for the profit made by a sportsbook via their margin, also commonly referred to as the Commission, Juice, Margin, Vig, or Vigorish.
Taking The Points: This is when a bettor backs the underdog team to win on the spread, because they are effectively accepting the head start offered by the sportsbook.
Teaser: A popular way to bet parlays in the US, teasers are multiple-selection parlay bets that allow the bettor to adjust point spreads in order to improve the chances of winning or to increase the potential payout.
Ticket: The receipt issued by a sportsbook for a bet that has been placed, sometimes referred to as a Betslip.
Tie: This commonly refers to when there is no winner in an event, commonly seen in sports such as soccer. This is also when a bet is settled as a draw or tie, usually when the final score of a match exactly matches the margin of victory on the stated spread. In this case, the bet is ruled a tie (often called a Push) and the stake is returned to the bettor.
Tip: A piece of betting advice, usually given by an expert in the form of an article or blog post, that recommends a specific bet based on key information.
Tipster: A person who provides tips to the public. Sometimes tipsters are paid to write for outlets or sportsbooks, while others provide their tips as a paid subscription service.
Total/Totals Bet: A sportsbook-set total applied to a given stat in a game (most commonly points, goals, or runs), with odds offered on a team or player’s total to fall either over or under that number. A totals bet (also called an Over/Under bet) requires bettors to decide whether the final total in a game will fall over or under the sportsbook’s predicted total.
Treble/Triple: A parlay bet that features three selections, with all three needing to win in order for the bet to pay out.
True Odds: The mathematical probability of a given outcome taking place, with no Vigorish applied by the sportsbook.
Under: Betting that a team or player will fall short of a sportsbook-set total in a given category in a Total or Over/Under bet.
Underdog: The outsider in a given sporting event, who is priced with larger/longer odds as they are not fancied to win.
Value: A bet that is perceived to offer odds close to (or in some cases, better than) the actual probability of the outcome happening.
Vig/Vigorish: The margin taken by a sportsbook on any bet placed, also referred to as the Commission, Juice, Margin, or Take.
Wager: Another word for Bet, a wager is the betting transaction between a bettor and a sportsbook.
Win-Draw-Win: A term sometimes used to describe a soccer Moneyline bet, with its three potential betting outcomes - home win, draw, and away win.
Win Only: A single bet on a selection to finish first, with no additional options to finish in a Place. In horse and greyhound racing, this is sometimes referred to as betting On The Nose.
Winning Margin: The number of goals or points a team wins by. This is most commonly referred to in conjunction with Total or Over/Under bets.
All betting guides on BET.CA are written by in-our house team, who have over 40 years’ experience in the sports betting and gaming industries, and have worked and written for several of the world’s leading sportsbooks. They possess in-depth knowledge of betting markets and strategies, as well as an understanding of what is important to bettors, meaning you can read on with the confidence that they will help improve your betting.