Sports Betting Terms at LinesMaker

Sports Betting Terms

Action — Is nor­mally known as hav­ing money in a game (bet), but when you wager on base­ball and you choose action, it means that you don’t mind which pitch­ers are start­ing the game.

Bad Beat — Tough loss

Bal­ance — To have equal action on either side of a game.

Beard — Mes­sen­ger bet­tor. This is a per­son bet­ting on another’s behalf, often to con­ceal the iden­tity of the actual bettor.

Beef — Dispute

Buck — $100

Chalk — The favorite

Chalk Eater — A player who wagers in the favorite.

Churn — The effect of bet­ting and re-betting money

Cir­cle Game — Game where action is lim­ited due to uncer­tain­ties about weather, injuries, etc.

Cover — in by more than the point spread

Degen­er­ate — a per­son with a gam­bling problem.

Dime — $1000

Dog — The under­dog or team expected to lose.

Dol­lar — $100

Earn — Prac­ti­cal hold percentage

Edge — Advantage

Exotic Bet — Action other than a straight bet or parlay

Favorite — The team expected to win.

Fig­ure — Amount owed by or to a book­maker
Get Down — Make a bet

Gross Win — Win before expenses

Hand­i­cap­per — One who stud­ies sports and pre­dicts outcomes.

Han­dle — Total amount of bets taken or total bet­ting volume.

Hedge — Bet the oppo­site of your orig­i­nal wager in order to reduce the amount of action you have on a game

Hook — Half point in point spreads, as in “lost by the hook”

Home Field Advan­tage — Edge the home team is expected to have as a result of the famil­iar­ity with the arena and effect of travel on the vis­it­ing team.

Hoops — Basketball

Hot Tip — Infor­ma­tion the book­maker is not yet privy to

Juice — Bookmaker’s com­mis­sion, most often refers to the –110 foot­ball bet­tors lay on straight wagers; also the vig or vigorish

Lay Off — To bet make bet on a game to reduce the expo­sure or risk. A book­maker who has accepted too much action on one side of an event may lay off by plac­ing a wager with another book­maker to ensure that he is not over exposed.

Lay A Price — Bet a favorite, lay the points

Limit - Max­i­mum bet accepted by the house before the price will be changed

Line — The bet­ting propo­si­tion on a game and/or pay­off odds on the bet

Long Shot — Large underdog

Mid­dle — To win both sides of a game. For exam­ple, if you bet the under­dog +3 1/2 and the favorite –2 1/2 and the favorite wins by 3, you’ve MIDDLED the book. The book has BEEN MIDDLED.

Minus Pool — In pari-mutuel wager­ing, when after the take is extracted, there is not enough money left to pay win­ning patrons the min­i­mum bet. The track must then make up the difference

Mutual — Price paid on a win­ning pari-mutuel wager

Neu­tral Site — Arena, court, or field where nei­ther side has a home field advantage

Nickel — $500

Off The Board — Game where no bets are being accepted

Out — Book­maker, usu­ally refers to an ille­gal book­maker Over­play — When the odds on a propo­si­tion are in favor of the bet­tor rather than the house

Par­lay - A bet with two or more teams where all the teams must win for the bet­tor to be successful

Past Post — To make a bet after an event has started

Pick or Pick’em — A game where nei­ther team is favored

Player — Bet­tor or gambler

Prac­ti­cal Hold Per­cent­age — The amount won by a book­maker divided by the total amount booked

Press — To bet a larger amount than usual

Price — Line

Puppy — Underdog

Push — A tie

Round Robin — A series of par­lays. A three team round robin con­sists of three two-team parlays.

Run­down — Line update

Scalper — One who attempts to profit from the dif­fer­ences in odds from book to book by bet­ting both sides of the same game at dif­fer­ent odds.

Score — To win a lot of money

Scratch — With­draw; cancel

Sharp — Wise guy

Side — To win one side and tie the other. For exam­ple, if you lay –2 1/2 and take 3 on the same game and the favorite wins by 3 you have SIDED the book. The book has been SIDED.

Square — Recre­ational gambler

Steam — Heavy action on one side

Straight Bet — A bet on just one team against the spread.

Sucker Bet — Bet with a large house edge

Take A Price - Bet the under­dog, take the points

Tapped Out — Broke, busted, com­mon result of pressing

The­o­ret­i­cal Hold Per­cent­age - The edge the book­maker would have IF the odds guar­an­teed him a con­stant com­mis­sion regard­less of the outcome

Toss Up — Game where the line is close to Pick’em

Tout Ser­vice — A busi­ness that sells opin­ions on sport­ing events

Under­lay - When the odds on a propo­si­tion are in favor of the house

Value - An overlay

Vig­or­ish — Often called the Vig or Juice

Wise Guy — Estab­lished and suc­cess­ful sports bettor

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