Action: Any bet/wager that you have on a specific game/event.
Alternate Line: A spread/total that a bettor makes higher or lower than the posted number. For example, if you like a football team that is favored by 7.5 points, you can turn it into a 10.5-point favorite and get better odds if the team wins.
ATS (Against The Spread): An against-the-spread record refers to how a team has done against the point spread. So, if a team is 5-0 ATS, that means that team has covered in all five of its games. An “ATS bet” would be a wager placed on the point spread, rather than on the outright winner of a game.
Backdoor Cover: Any wager that is won at the end of a game but doesn’t impact the overall outcome of the contest. For example, a basketball team is an 11-point underdog but hits a late three pointer to lose by 10.
Bad Beat: A bad beat refers to a lost wager that probably should have been a winner. A bettor that is on the wrong side of the aforementioned backdoor cover would experience a bad beat, as they were on the right side before an innocuous play happened and resulted in them losing money.
Bankroll: The amount of money you put into your betting account. As you win and lose bets, your bankroll will either increase or decrease. However, your bankroll should only be as much as you are comfortable losing.
Bookie: Refers to a person that accepts bets/wagers illegally.
Breaking Even: If you don’t win or lose money on the bets you’ve placed, you are breaking even. Many people will tell you that simply not losing money is considered a win, so breaking even isn’t the worst thing in the world.
Buying Points: Paying a small price to alter the point spread or total in your favor. For example, if you like a 3-point underdog in football, you can buy a point to make the spread +4 so that losing by a field goal means that you win money.
Chalk: Another name for the favorite in a game. A “chalk bettor” is considered somebody that only bets favorites.
Closing Line: Refers to the final spread/total before a specific game/event begins.
Consensus Pick: Betting with the consensus means you are on the same side/total as a majority of the betting public.
Contrarian Pick: Refers to being on the opposite side of the aforementioned consensus. If 70% of the betting public is on Team A, the contrarian is part of the 30% wagering on Team B.
Cover: Covering is a way of referring to the winner of a spread bet. If Team A is favored by 7.5 points and wins by eight, that means that Team A covered the spread. However, if Team A only wins by seven, that means that Team B covered as the underdog.
Edge: Any advantage a bettor might feel they have against a sportsbook/oddsmaker. If somebody feels that the wrong team is favored in a game, betting the team they think should be favored would be them feeling that they have an edge.
Even Money: Any bet that returns exactly what you wagered on a specific game/event. For example, a $200 bet would win $200.
Favorite: Refers to the team expected to win the game/event outright. Generally speaking, the favorite in a game will be laying points to the underdog. If a basketball team is a 4.5-point favorite, that team must win by at least five in order to cover.
First Half Bet: Any bet/wager made on only the first half of a game. If you bet on the first half, halftime will bring the end of your wager.
Fixed: Any game/event in which foul play alters the ending. For example, a game would be considered fixed if a referee or official prefers one team over the other. Game fixing is illegal.
Future Bet (“Future”): A long-term bet that generally runs throughout the course of a season. Betting on a player to win MVP of a certain league is an example of a future bet. Another example of a future would be betting on how many games a team will win in the regular season.
Graded Bet: When a game/event has ended and the result of your bet is final, it is considered graded once the play is reflected in your account or ready to be cashed in, in person.
Halftime Bet (Or “Second Half Bet”): Much like a First Half Bet, a halftime bet, or second half bet, is a bet made at halftime. The entire wager will be decided over the course of the second half, with overtime normally included.
Handicapper: A person that tries to predict the outcome of games/events.
Handle: The total amount of money that is wagered on a specific game/event on a sportsbook.
Hedging: Betting the opposite of your original bet to either guarantee a return or minimize losses. Hedging is most common when winning the earlier parts of a parlay and not wanting the final leg to be the reason you don’t win anything.
Hook: Refers to a half point that you can buy before a game. When a spread or total has a hook, the wager is guaranteed not to end in a push.
Juice (Also known as a “Vig”): Any added price that a sportsbook puts on a particular wager. For example, with a point spread that is offered at -130 odds, a bettor has to bet $130 to win $100. That -130, compared to the standard -110, is considered the juice. The more a team is favored, the heavier the juice.
Laying Points: The amount of points the favorite is giving to the underdog. If Team A is a 6.5-point favorite, that means that Team A is laying 6.5 points.
Limit: The maximum that a sportsbook allows bettors to wager on a specific game/event, or the maximum amount a bettor is personally willing to lose on a single play.
Line Movement: If a team opens as a 3-point favorite and the closing line is -2.5, that means that there was line movement. A lot of bettors track line movement to determine what they want to bet on, as the way a line moves can say a lot about a potential outcome.
Live Betting (Also known as “In-Game Betting”): Betting on a game or event once it has already started. Many bettors will look for favorites to start off poorly and then get a more favorable line with live betting.
Lock: A bettor will call something a lock when they believe they’ve made a bet that can’t lose.
Money Line (ML): When you’re betting on the outright winner of a game, without a point spread, that’s considered a moneyline bet. The favorite in a game will generally have bad odds in a money line play, and the underdog will pay out at better prices.
No Action: Any play that a sportsbook deems as not actionable will be considered a no action. A no action means that the play simply doesn’t count. No money will be won or lost.
Oddsmaker (Or “Linemaker”): The person or group of people tasked with setting the odds on things you can bet on.
Off The Board: If a game or event is no longer visible to the betting public, that likely means it was taken down for a reason. For example, if a starting pitcher is scratched in baseball, the game might be taken off the board until there is more information.
Outright: The outcome of a game, not factoring in a point spread. If a team wins outright, that means it won the game.
Over/Under: Refers to a bet made on the total amount of points scored in a game. If a football game has a total of 41.5, betting the Over means that you think at least 42 points will be scored. Betting the Under means that you believe there will be 41 points or fewer.
Parlay: A bet that includes more than just one single wager. In order to win a parlay, all of your bets must win (or) push. One loss would make the entire parlay a loser. However, parlays generally pay out much better than single-game wagers, and you can win more by adding more and more games.
Payout: The amount a wager will bring back if it ends up winning.
Pick’em (PK): A game that is expected to be so close that there is no true favorite or underdog in regard to the spread. A pick’em bet comes down to the outright winner of a game.
Point Spread (“Spread”): The number of points that one team is either getting or laying in a specific game.
Prop Bet: A special bet (sometimes referred to as “exotic”) on a game that generally isn’t offered on the regular board. An example of a prop bet would be betting on a specific player to score the first touchdown in a football game.
Push: Refers to a wager that ends up being a tie. For example, if a 7-point favorite wins a game by seven points, there is no winner and the bet ends in a push. The money wagered would be returned.
Settled Bet: A bet is 'settled' as soon as the result of the event on which the customer’s bet is made has been officially declared and the corresponding wager processed.
Sharp: Can either refer to a professional sports bettor or the side/total in a game in which the wise guys/sharps are more likely to be on.
Sportsbook (Also known as “Book”): A company or establishment that takes action from bettors.
Square: The opposite of a sharp or professional bettor. Generally, it refers to somebody that casually wagers on games, and they’ll normally be betting on the consensus option.
Steam: When the odds move quickly, or in drastic fashion, because of large amounts of money from sharp bettors, that movement will be considered the steam.
Straight Up (SU): This is very much similar to the previously mentioned “outright” in that it describes the winner or loser of a game. The spread doesn’t matter. For example, if a team is 5-0 SU, that means that team has won all five of its games. However, it doesn’t mean that team has covered the spread in all five.
Teaser: A multi-team wager in which the spread changes in the bettor’s favor. The bettor must win every part of the teaser to win money, and the odds generally aren’t as favorable as a parlay.
Total: The amount of points two teams will combine to score in a game, as set by the oddsmakers. Betting on the Over means bettors believe there will be more points scored, while betting on the Under means bettors believe there will be less points scored.
Tout: A person or company that charges people money for betting picks. The general idea is that touts are professional gamblers that can help casual bettors make money.
Underdog (Or “’Dog”): Refers to the team expected to lose the game/event outright. Generally speaking, the underdog in a game will be getting points from the favorite. If a basketball team is a 4.5-point underdog, that team must lose by four or less to cover the spread.
Wager: Refers to any bet somebody makes on a game/event.
Wise Guy: A bettor that has more knowledge or information than a casual bettor. When a wise guy is on a certain side or total, their money is generally considered sharp money.