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Football Betting Glossary

Action
A wager of any kind.

Book
An establishment that accepts wagers on the outcome of horseracing and sporting events.

Bookie
Person who takes clients bets.

Bankroll
Your available gambling money.

Beard
A friend, acquaintance or other contact who is used to place bets so that the bookmakers will not know the identity of the actual bettor. Many top handicappers and persons occupying sensitive positions use this method of wagering.

Buck
A $100 wager.

Buy Points
Buy Points means that you can move the pointspread so that you give away less points with the favorite or get more points with the underdog, for both football and basketball. To do this you must pay an extra 10% for each ½ point you buy in your favor. For the NFL and NCAA football, you will pay an additional 15% to buy on or off of 3 points – also know as Key Points. And if you buy through 3 points, you will pay an additional 20%. NOTE: There are NO Key Points for basketball. You pay a flat 10% for each 1/2 point you buy. An example of how to buy off of 3 points: the Kansas City Chiefs (-3) are 3 point favorites. To buy 1/2 point and make them a 2.5 point favorite, you would need to lay $125 to win $100.

Buy Point Table (Football Key Points)

Canadian Line
A combination point line and moneyline in hockey.

Chalk
The favored team.

Chalk Player
Someone who usually only plays the favored teams. Rarely bets on underdogs. Also known as Favorite Freddie.

Circle Game
A game in which the betting action is severely limited. Usually occurs in those games that feature key injuries, inclement weather, or unsubstantiated rumors regarding a team. Most bookies “circle” all Ivy League Games.

Cover
To bet the spread by the required number of points. If such occurs you have “covered the spread”.

Dime Bet
A $1000 wager.

Dog
The underdog in any betting proposition.

Dog Player
One who mostly plays the underdog.

Dollar Bet
A $100 wager.

Double Bet
A wager for twice the size of one’s usual wager.

Due For
A team that is “due for” whether it is a win or a loss; many bettors like to play “due for” situations.

East Coast Line
Mainly used in hockey, which has a split-goal line e.g. – NY Rangers (1 – 1 ½) favorite over the Vancouver Canucks as opposed to goal spread plus moneyline (-1/2 -180).

Edge
Advantage.

Even Money
A wager in which no virgorish or juice is laid.

Exotic Wager
Any bet other than a straight bet, i.e., parlays, teasers, if bets, reverses, round robin, round robin box reverses, etc.

Fixed
Point shaving. Never say to a client that a game is fixed!

Future Bet
Bets accepted well in advance.

Futures
Odds posted on the winners of various major sport championships in advance of the event, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup and the NBA championship.

Getting Down
Making a wager.

Going Down
Losing.

Handicapper
One who studies and rates sporting events.

Handle
Total amounts of bets taken.

Hedging
Placing bets on the opposite side in order to cut losses or guarantee winning a minimal amount of money.

Holding Your Own
Neither winning or losing, just breaking even.

Hook
A half point added to football and basketball betting lines.

Hooked
Losing a wager by exactly one-half a point.

Hot Game
A game which is drawing a lot of action on one side by knowledgeable handicappers.

Juice
The bookmaker’s commission, also known as vigorish.

Laying The Points
Betting on the favorite

Limit
The maximum amount a bookmaker will allow you to bet before he changes odds and/or the points. Also the “cap” on what you can personally wager.

Line
The listed odds on a game ( points or money line ).

Linemaker
The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines.

Lock
Easy winner, can not lose.

Longshot
A team or horse that is unlikely to win.

“The Man”
Bookie.

Middles
To win both sides of the same betting proposition; betting the favorite team at -1.5 with one bookmaker and then taking +3.5 with another bookmaker; the game ends up with the favorite winning by exactly 3 points, you have then “middle the game”; a favorite betting method of “Wise Guys”.

Money Lline
A money line is offered when no handicap is given, such as a point spread or run line, and the odds are not therefore fixed. Payouts are then based on true odds rather than fixed odds. The favorite and underdog are given odds to win a game or fight.
The minus sign (e.g.-130) always indicates the favorite and the amount you must bet to win $100. The plus sign (e.g.+110) always indicates the underdog and the amount you win for every $100 bet. Therefore based on the above money line, you bet $130 to win $100 on the favorite. For the underdog, you win $110 for every $100 bet.

Newspaper Line
The betting line which quite often appears in the daily newspapers. The lines are only approximate and quiet often totally inaccurate and misleading.

Nickel
A $500 wager.

Oddsmaker
The same as a line maker.

Odds On Favorite
A horse, team or individual so favored by the public that the odds are less than even.

Off The Board
A game on which the bookmaker will not accept action.

Off Lines
The amount the Las Vegas point spread differs from our computerized mathematical line.

Official Line
The line that the bookmaker uses for wagering purposes. The line which comes from Las Vegas is quite often referred to as the official line; however, the line that your bookie offers you is actually your “official line”. Many smart bettors like to know the Las Vegas official line so that they can compare to their local bookies in order to determine how badly they are being “faded”.

Outlaw Line
An early line which is not an official line. Quite often line makers allow specially  selected bettors to wager into the “outlaw line” before entering the line to the public.
The winemakers respect these individuals and use their input to create a final opening number. This process is also called “ironing” or “flattening” the line.

Overplay
An advantage for the bettor in which the price on a given wager is greater than the
real probability of its success.

Over & Under
A wager for the total score by both teams will more or less than the total posted by the sports book.

Parlay
The number of teams in the parlay must all hit or the parlay loses. 2-team parlay pay 13-5 odds. 3-team parlay pay 5-1 odds. 4-team parlays pay 8-1 odds.

Parlay Cards
Wagers on a minimum of 3 and up to 15 propositions; the more you pick, the higher the payoff.

Past Performance
What has occurred previously to the forthcoming games.

Pick
Occasionally, there will be no favorite on a game. In this instance the game is said to be a pick and you can bet 10/11 (bet $110 to win $100) on either team.

Pick’em Game
Neither team is favored. Take your pick and lay 11 to 10.

Point spread
The point spread – also called “the line” – is used as a margin to handicap the favorite team. The odds maker – also called the handicapper – “gives” points (or goals) to the underdog – for betting purposes only. The bettor must take either the favorite or the underdog. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign (e.g. -8.5) and the underdog by a plus sign (e.g.+8.5). For betting purposes, the outcome of the game is determined by taking the actual game score and finding the difference between the scores of the two teams playing (called the point spread or just the “spread”).

For example – The Green Bay Packers are 8 point favorites over the Miami Dolphins (an 8 point spread shown as -8 beside Green Bay on our “lines” page). If the final score is Green Bay 20 Miami 13, then the actual game score “spread” is 7 points (20 minus 13). In our example if you took Miami (called the “dog”), you would win the bet since Green Bay had to win by 9 points or more to “cover the spread.” Green Bay needed 2 more points to “cover” since if the game landed right on the “spread” of 8 points it would be called a “push” (similar in concept to a tie in Moneyline wagering, which is also called a push) and it would be “no action” (no bet and money held in your account to cover the wager is released back into your available balance). If the “spread” is put in at a half point (eg. -8.5 for the favorite Green Bay) by the Sportsbook handicappers then there can be no “push.” In this case, there is “action” at any final game score point spread. In a point spread, you must wager $11 to win $10 ($21 is returned to the winner). 10/11 is the standard for point spread bets on most sports.

Post Time
The Schedule starting time.

Press
To bet a larger amount than usual.

Price
The odds or pointspread.

Proposition Bet
A wager on a particular aspect of the game such as how many field goals will be made.

Puckline

Hockey combines both a handicap/spread and odds. This is called the Puckline. Sample line:

The favorites are the Detroit Red Wings, who are giving the Boston Bruins 1.5 goals. To win the bet, Detroit would have to win the game by 2 goals. When placing this bet you are getting even money, which means that for every $110 you wager, you will win $100. If you are betting on Boston, you will receive a 1.0 goal handicap, meaning that if Detroit wins by 1 goal the game is a push. If the game ends in a tie or Boston wins, then you win the bet. The odds again are at -110.

Push
If the result of a game lands exactly on the pointspread or is a tie in the case of betting a moneyline, or if the exact score of the game matches exactly the Sportsbook’s posted game total (Total), then the game is a “Push” or “No Action” and all wagers are released back to the Available Account Balance .

Round Robin
A form of parlay betting in which we wager various combining team wagers. A 3-team robin is team 1 to 2, 1 to 3, and 2 to 3. 4-team robin is team 1 to 2, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, 2 to 3, 2 to 4, and 3 to 4. 5-team, etc.

Run Line
A line used when wagering on baseball.

Scouts
Person(s) who study team plays and/or practice and report findings to handicappers.

Smart Money
Sides that are bet on by the more knowledgeable handicappers.

Sport Player
A person who waits for what he thinks is an unusually strong wager.

Steam
When a betting line starts to move quite rapidly; most “steam games” do not necessarily reflect the “right side,” but are games that the mass of bettors somehow decide to key on.

Score
To make a big win.

Scratch
To call off a wager.

Side
When one side of a wager wins and the other side ties.

Smart Money
Sides that are bet on by the more knowledgeable handicappers.

Sport Player
A person who waits for what he thinks is an unusually strong wager.

Star
Rating.

Steam
When a betting line starts to move quite rapidly. Most “steam games” do not necessarily reflect the “right side”, but are games that the mass of bettors somehow
decide to key on.

The Store
Bookie.

Sucker Bet
A bet that is very disadvantageous to the player such as a public opinion game.

Taking
Wagering on the underdog; taking the odds.

Totals
Total combined point/runs/goals scored in a game; In baseball, if either of the two listed starting pitchers don’t go the bet is automatically cancelled.

Tout
Someone who sells his opinions on sports or horse wagers.

Value
Getting the best odds on a betting proposition; the highest possible edge.

Virgornish
The commission paid to the bookmaker.

Wager
Any Bet.

Wise Guy
A sophisticated gambler.

Wood
Laying points.