Betting Terminology A to Z: Betting Terms Explained

Betting terminology is the shorthand sportsbooks and bettors use for prices, bet types and results, and this A to Z explains the terms you will meet on an odds screen or a bet slip. Where a number helps, the entry uses a real price from this week’s NFL games at DraftKings, as listed on ESPN on the morning of September 24, 2026; any other example is labeled as made up.

Several terms have British and American versions, or two names for one thing. The main pairs are cross-referenced: accumulator and parlay, juice and vig, in-play and live betting, handicap and point spread.

A to C

Accumulator: the British name for a parlay: one bet on several selections, all of which must win. Also called an acca or a multiple.

Action: a bet that stands and will be graded. “No action” means the bet is void and the stake is returned.

Against the spread (ATS): a result or record counted against the point spread instead of the final score. A 7-point underdog that loses by 3 is 1-0 ATS for that game.

American odds: prices written against $100. A minus number is what you risk to win $100, and a plus number is what $100 wins. Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers on Thursday, September 24, had Green Bay at -245 and Atlanta at +200: $245 on Green Bay wins $100, and $100 on Atlanta wins $200.

Ante-post: the British racing term for a bet placed well before the event, usually days or weeks ahead. In racing, an ante-post bet is normally lost if the horse does not run.

Arbitrage: betting every outcome of one event at different books, where the prices differ enough that you win the same amount whatever happens. In a made-up game with no draw, +110 on one side at one book and +105 on the other side at another imply 47.62% and 48.78%, which add to less than 100%, and that gap is the arbitrage.

Asian handicap: a soccer handicap that removes the draw. A half-goal line such as -0.5 cannot push, a whole-goal line refunds the stake if the margin lands on it, and a quarter line such as -0.25 splits the stake in half across the two nearest lines.

Backdoor cover: a late score, after the game is decided, that changes the result against the spread.

Bad beat: a bet lost late and in an unlikely way.

Bankroll: the money set aside for betting and nothing else. See our guide to what a unit is in betting for sizing bets from it.

Beard: a person who places bets for someone else to hide who is really betting.

Betting exchange: a market where customers bet against each other instead of against a sportsbook. The exchange takes a commission on winnings.

Bonus bet: sportsbook credit that can be used to place bets. Read its terms: a bonus bet that pays out only the winnings, not the stake, is worth less than the same amount in cash.

Both teams to score (BTTS): a soccer bet on whether each team scores at least one goal.

Buying points: taking a worse price to move a spread or total in your favor, such as moving a favorite from -2.5 to -2.

Canadian: also called a Super Yankee: 26 bets on five selections, made up of 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and 1 five-fold.

Cash out: an offer from the sportsbook to settle your bet before the event ends, at an amount it sets.

Chalk: the favorite. A “chalky” weekend is one where most favorites won.

Circled game: a game where the book has lowered its betting limits, usually because of an injury, the weather or some other uncertainty.

Closing line: the last price or spread before the game starts.

Closing line value: the difference between the number you got and the closing line. If you bet a made-up team at -3 and it closes at -4.5, you beat the closing line by 1.5 points.

Cover: to win against the spread. A 7-point favorite that wins by 8 covers.

D to H

Decimal odds: the total return for each 1 staked, including the stake. 3.00 is the same as +200, and -115 is 1.87.

Dime: American slang for a $1,000 bet.

Dog: short for underdog, the side expected to lose.

Double: a parlay with two selections, both of which must win.

Double chance: a soccer bet that covers two of the three results: home or draw, away or draw, or home or away. See our double chance guide.

Draw no bet: a soccer bet on one team to win, with the stake refunded if the game is drawn. See our draw no bet guide.

Dutching: splitting a stake across several selections in one event so that the same amount comes back whichever of them wins. It does not cover every outcome, so it can still lose.

Each way: two equal bets on one selection, one to win and one to place. $10 each way costs $20. Used mostly in racing and golf.

Edge: your estimated advantage over the price. If you rate a side at 55% and the price implies 52.38%, your edge on that bet is 2.62 points.

Even money: a price where a win pays the same as the stake: +100 in American odds, 2.00 in decimal, 1/1 in fractional. Carolina Panthers at Cleveland Browns on September 27 had Cleveland +2.5 at +100.

Exacta: a racing bet on the first two finishers in the right order.

Favorite: the side expected to win, shown with a minus price in American odds. Kansas City was -650 on the moneyline at Miami for September 27.

Fractional odds: profit relative to stake, used mainly in Britain. 2/1 pays $2 profit for every $1 staked, the same as +200 or 3.00.

Futures: a bet on something settled later, such as a championship or a season award. See our futures betting guide.

Gamblers Anonymous: a fellowship for people with a gambling problem, based on a twelve-step program. See also our page on responsible gambling.

Goliath: 247 bets on eight selections: every double, treble and larger combination, up to one eight-fold.

Half-time bet: a bet on the result of the first half only.

Handicap: a head start in points or goals given to one side to even out a bet. In American sports it is called the point spread. See our handicap guide.

Handle: the total amount bet on an event or at a book over a period.

Hedge: a second bet against your first one, placed to lock in a profit or cut a loss. See our guide to hedging bets.

Heinz: 57 bets on six selections: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds and 1 six-fold.

Hold: the share of the handle the book keeps after paying winning bets.

Hook: a half point on a spread or total. New York Jets at Detroit Lions on September 27 had Detroit -6.5: the hook sits just below 7.

I to M

Implied probability: the chance of winning that a price implies. For a minus price, divide the price by the price plus 100; for a plus price, divide 100 by the price plus 100. Green Bay at -245 implies 71.01%, and Atlanta at +200 implies 33.33%.

In-play betting: betting while the game is being played, also called live betting. See our live betting guide.

Juice: the book’s margin, built into the price. Also called the vig. At -110 on both sides, each side implies 52.38%, and the two add to 104.76%.

Kelly criterion: a formula for stake size: (b x p – q) / b, where b is the profit per $1 at the price, p your chance of winning and q your chance of losing.

Key numbers: the margins football games most often end on, 3 and 7 above all. Of the 272 games in the 2025 NFL regular season, ESPN’s results show 41 decided by exactly 3 points and 26 by exactly 7.

Lay: to bet against an outcome, usually on a betting exchange, where you take the bookmaker’s side. “Laying points” means betting the favorite on the spread, and “laying -110” means risking $110 to win $100.

Limit: the most a book will accept on one bet.

Line: the spread, total or price on a bet. Line movement is a change in it after it opens.

Longshot: a selection with a long price and a small chance of winning. Miami was +470 against Kansas City for September 27.

Middle: holding bets on both sides of one game at different numbers, so that a result between them wins both. A made-up favorite bet at -3 and its opponent at +7 both win if the favorite wins by 4, 5 or 6.

Moneyline: a bet on who wins, with no spread. See our moneyline guide.

Monkey: British slang for £500.

N to R

Nickel: American slang for a $500 bet.

No action: a bet that is void, with the stake returned.

Off the board: a game the book is not taking bets on for now.

Over/under: a bet on whether the combined score goes over or under a number set by the book. Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys on September 27 had a total of 52.5.

Parlay: one bet on two or more selections, all of which must win, at a price built by multiplying the decimal prices of the legs.

Patent: seven bets on three selections: 3 singles, 3 doubles and 1 treble.

Pick’em: a game with no favorite, where the spread is zero. Written PK. See our pick’em guide.

Point spread: the handicap on a game: the favorite has to win by more than the spread, and the underdog wins the bet if it loses by less or wins outright. Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills on September 27 had Buffalo -7 at -115 and the Chargers +7 at -105.

Pony: British slang for £25.

Prop: a bet on something inside a game other than the final result, such as a player’s yards. See our prop bet guide.

Push: a bet that lands exactly on its number. The stake is returned. Buffalo -7 pushes on a 7-point Buffalo win.

Round robin: a set of smaller parlays built from a longer list of selections. See our round robin guide.

S to Y

Sharp: a skilled bettor whose bets tend to beat the closing line, or the money such bettors place.

Square: a casual bettor, or money from casual bettors.

Steam: a sudden move in a line across many books at once.

Straight bet: a single bet on one selection, the opposite of a parlay.

Teaser: a parlay in which every spread or total is moved in your favor by a set number of points, for a lower payout. See our teaser guide.

Total: the combined score an over/under bet is measured against.

Tout: a person or service that sells picks.

Treble: a parlay with three selections, all of which must win.

Trixie: four bets on three selections: 3 doubles and 1 treble.

Unit: the standard size of one bet, set as a share of the bankroll.

Value: a price that pays more than your own estimate of the chance says it should. At +200, which implies 33.33%, a side you rate at 40% is value to you.

Vig: short for vigorish, the book’s margin. The same thing as juice.

Wise guy: slang for a sharp bettor.

Yankee: 11 bets on four selections: 6 doubles, 4 trebles and 1 four-fold. Add the four singles and it becomes a Lucky 15.

For the week’s NFL games and our calls on them, see our NFL predictions hub, and for how the prices are built, our explainer on how betting odds work.