Are you new to the betting world and feeling lost? That’s alright since the sports betting world can get quite overwhelming for beginners. Regardless of where you’re from, it’s important to get familiar with terminologies often used during betting on sports.
Sometimes, the numbers might not always mean what you think or be as attractive as you understand. Since most of the sports games used for betting are European or American, here are some popular terminologies you should get familiar with:
Accumulator
Similar to parlay, here, the bettor places a series of bets in a single wager. However, to win the wager, they must win each bet too. Even if you lose a single bet, you lose the entire wager.
American Odds
American odds is a different way of display than the rest of the world in the form of + and -. Outside the US, the same numbers may be mentioned in the form of decimals or fractions.
Arbitrage
This is a betting strategy where the bettor places a wager on an event’s possible outcomes for guaranteed profits regardless of the winner.
Asian Handicap
This term is an alternative to betting on soccer where the winning team is “handicapped” to become the favorite. The origin of this betting is from Asia.
Backdoor Cover
If a team secures a point spread quite late into the game, they’re called “backdoor covers.” That’s because the team starts “covering” late, but it doesn’t affect the game’s result, only the wager itself.
Banker
Like robin bets in the US, the bettor places different teams into the “system bet” to make a different accumulator bet—It’s a European wager system.
Beard
A person who places a wager for a person who wants to remain unknown is a beard.
Betting Exchange
This is a betting platform where people place wagers against one another rather than a sportsbook. The operator ends up taking a small percentage of the total winning wager.
Betting Unit
This is quite a typical wager where bettors have multiple bankrolls and one unit based on the betting. This is used to place a bet without disclosing the specific dollar amount that you intend to bet.
Bonus
Sportsbook offers different financial bonuses to customers for multiple reasons. The most common is the Signup bonus that helps incentivize bettors to use only a certain sportsbook for all their bets.
Chalk
The favorite team of a sports event is called a “chalk.” The winning team or player is a big favorite who wins by a large margin.
Circle Game
A sports event that has lower betting limits than usual is called a circle game. This mostly happens when any player faces a questionable injury before the game or some other causes, such as bad weather conditions or a trading rumor.
Opening Line
The first point spread that becomes available for a game is called the opening line.
Closing Line
The point spread where a game begins is called the closing line.
Consensus
Consensus is when the majority of the people are in general agreement in sports betting. It’s one of the most famous betting terms.
Contrarian
The person who places bets against the trend of the mainstream opinion is a contrarian. It usually happens when there’s something highly valuable in the opposite opinion, aka the other team.
Dead Heat
It’s another word for a tie match where sportsbooks already have a set of rules on how the payment is made in terms of a dead heat event.
Dog
It’s the team that’s not expected to win. It’s not the losing team, but a team that just doesn’t have higher chances of winning the game.
Double Chance
This is usually used when betting on soccer since it’s a European betting term. Here the bettor gets two opportunities to win one bet by combining two or more possible outcomes together.
Double Pop
This is the European way of saying that the bettor will be betting twice the normal amount. It’s known as doubling up in the US.
Early Cash Out
Before the event is over, the bettors agree to settle the wager at a certain dollar to lock in smaller profit rather than lose it all.
Even Money
This is where the risk equals the wager. It’s often listed as +100 or -100 in the sportsbook.
Exacta
This is a betting term used in horse racing where you choose the horse that’ll finish first and second in a race.
Exotic Wager
This consists of non-traditional sports bets and is often listed as a prop bet in the sportsbook. This is different from point spreads, Moneyline, and future bets.
Exposure
The amount of money a sportsbook can potentially lose for a specific event is called exposure.
First Half
This consists of a bet placed on games usually divided into two parts: football and basketball. The bettor places a bet on the team that he thinks will lead the first half.
Flat Betting
This is a betting system where all wagers are the same based on a percentage of the bankroll or a fixed dollar amount. It doesn’t apply to wins, losses, or other opinions from the outside.
Ready to Place Your Bets?
These are some of the most common betting terms that are used globally. If you’re planning to set your first foot into the international betting world, it’s essential that you know these terms. Once you’re familiar, hop onto our website and start placing your bets.
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About the Author
Alex is an international sports bettor that has been a part of the betting world for many years. After making a fortune from his bets, he now helps novice and pro bettors make accurate and winning bets through expert tips and predictions.