Glossary
Betting Terms Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the words bettors actually use.
A
- Action
- Money in play on a wager. Having action on a game just means you have a bet riding on it.
- American odds
- The plus/minus format. A positive number is the profit on a $100 stake (+150 wins $150); a negative number is what you must stake to win $100 (-110 risks $110). Convert odds
B
- Bankroll
- The money you set aside specifically for betting, separate from the rest of your finances. Smart sizing is a percentage of it, not a fixed dollar amount.
C
- Chalk
- The favorite. Betting chalk means backing the side everyone expects to win.
- Closing line value (CLV)
- The gap between the price you bet and the price the game closed at. Consistently beating the close is the clearest sign of a winning bettor. Why CLV matters
- Cover
- To beat the point spread. A 7-point favorite covers by winning the game by 8 or more.
D
- Decimal odds
- Odds shown as your total return per unit staked. 2.50 means $2.50 back for every $1, the stake included. Odds calculator
E
- Edge
- Any advantage that makes a bet positive expected value. If your true win probability beats the price's implied probability, you have an edge.
- Expected value (EV)
- What a bet is worth per dollar on average over the long run. Positive EV means the math is in your favor; negative EV means the book's hold wins out. Edge calculator
F
- Favorite
- The side more likely to win, priced with negative American odds or decimal odds below 2.00.
- Fractional odds
- Profit relative to stake, written as a fraction. 3/2 returns $3 profit for every $2 staked. Convert odds
H
- Hedge
- A second bet on the opposite outcome to lock in a result no matter what happens, usually to guarantee a profit or cut a loss. Hedge calculator
I
- Implied probability
- The break-even win rate a price represents. Divide 1 by the decimal odds: 2.50 implies 40%. Implied probability
- In-play (live) betting
- Wagering on a game while it is happening, against odds that move in real time as the action unfolds. Live betting alerts
J
- Juice (vig)
- The book's built-in margin, baked into the price. It is why the two sides of a market add up to more than 100% implied probability.
K
- Kelly criterion
- A staking formula that sizes a bet in proportion to your edge and the odds to maximize long-run bankroll growth. Most bettors use a fraction of it to cut variance. Kelly stake
L
- Limit
- The most a book will let you stake. Getting limited is when a book cuts your max bet because it thinks you are too sharp. Why books limit you
- Line
- The current price or number on a game, whether a spread, a total, or a moneyline.
- Line movement
- How a number changes between when it opens and when it closes, driven by money and information. Line movement, explained
- Live dog
- An underdog whose in-play price gets longer after it falls behind early, often well beyond where it sat pre-match. Live dogs
M
- Middle
- Betting both sides of a line that has moved, so a result landing in the gap between the two numbers wins both bets.
- Moneyline
- A bet on which side wins the game outright, with no point spread involved.
P
- Parlay
- A single bet that combines multiple legs, where every leg must win. The odds multiply, and so does the risk. Are parlays worth it?
- Push
- A tie against the number, where the stake is refunded. A 3-point favorite winning by exactly 3 pushes the spread.
S
- Spread (point spread)
- A margin the favorite must win by, or the underdog can lose within, for the bet to cover. A -6.5 favorite has to win by 7.
- Square
- A casual or recreational bettor, the opposite of a sharp. Books are happy to keep square action.
- Steam
- A fast, market-wide line move as sharp money hits multiple books at once. Chasing it after the fact usually means you are late. What steam means
T
- Total (over/under)
- A bet on whether the combined score lands over or under a posted number, rather than on who wins.
U
- Underdog
- The side less likely to win, priced with positive American odds or decimal odds above 2.00. An underdog pays plus money.
- Unit
- A standard bet size, usually 1% to 2% of your bankroll. Tracking results in units instead of dollars keeps your sizing consistent.
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