Football Betting Terminology
Look closely at the (American) football listings in any sportsbook and you will find a lot of information. The teams are listed in pairs, and the bottom team by convention is the home team.
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Often used in football, bettors will buy 'on' or 'off' key numbers to avoid losing by a point or two. Chalk: Favorite in a game by a large margin. Chalk Eater:Bettor who is known for betting on the favorites consistently. Churn: The effect of betting and rebetting money, similar to Arbitrage. BETTING GLOSSARY. When you first enter the world of football prediction site, it can be overwhelming.There are a lot of betting terms to master, and understanding the various elements of betting terminology. NFL Betting Terminology NFL Betting terminology can sound confusing – just ask any novice bettor who has spent time in a Las Vegas sportsbook or listened to a football talk show on the radio. To the uninitiated, it can sound like the “handicappers” (outcome predictors), “sharps” (pro gamblers) and “touts” (NFL pick sellers) are speaking another language when they talk shop. In football terms this is when you are betting on the winner of a competition or tournament. Each way bets are actually two bets, one for the win and one for a high placing, and are settled as two bets.
One of the teams will have a small number to the right of it, such as 3 or 5.5. The other team will have a larger number listed to the right of it, such as 37 or 40.5. The smaller number is the point spread and the larger number is the total. Experienced sports bettors know that, so there is no reason to label them as “spread” and “total” on the board.
The number to the left of the team’s name is the unique number assigned to that team to avoid confusion when you bet.
The number giving the spread will be next to the team that is the favorite. That number is understood to be a negative number, though to save space the board might have eliminated the negative signs.
The number giving the total will be next to the name of the underdog.
Sometimes there will be a money line listed, and sometimes there will be no money line. Usually the money line is identified somehow as the money line, perhaps with “M/L.” If there is a money line listed, it generally will be off to the right of the spread and totals. Each team will have its own money line.
The most popular way to bet football is against the spread. When someone says he is betting the Bears, what he usually means is he is betting on the Bears to cover the spread. If the Bears are favored by four points, then a bet on the Bears means Bears -4. If the Bears win by more than four points, the bet wins. If the Bears win by fewer than four points or lose the game, then a bet on Bears -4 is a loser. If a game falls right on the spread, bettors on both teams get their money back.
Sometimes to save space, half points are shown as an apostrophe, called a hook. Thus Rams 5’ would mean the Rams are favored by 5.5 points. A bet on Rams against the spread would be Rams -5.5.
Spreads on favorites are negative numbers. Spreads on dogs are positive numbers. If you bet on a dog against the spread, you win your bet if your team wins the game, and you also win your bet if your team loses the game but by less than the amount of the spread.
The money lines are for bets on which team will win with no points given to either team. You might see, for example, Philadelphia Eagles +160, New York Giants -180.
There might also be numbers for betting spreads and totals for the first half of the game. If you watch the game in a sportsbook, at halftime you will be presented with spreads and totals for betting the second half.
Besides numbers for betting upcoming games, the boards sometimes also list odds for winning conference titles and division championships. You can bet on which team is going to win the next Super Bowl. These wagers, on events whose outcome may not be decided until a date considerably in the future, are called futures bets
Excerpted with permission from Sharp Sports Betting by Stanford Wong.
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Internet sports betting will use a lot of gambling terms that you may not be familiar with as a lot of the language comes from the 'street' language of old school bookies. The following is a Glossary of Gambling Terms for: NFL betting, College Football betting, NCAA Football betting, Baseball Betting, MMA Betting, UFC betting, Boxing wagering, NHL betting, NBA betting, NCAA Basketball betting, College Basketball Betting and other major sports. You will find all the major terms that Internet sportsbooks use in posting their betting lines.Gambling Terminology
Slang for gambling is hard, but we’re here to help! Gambling terms vary far and wide, but we have assembled a gambling terminology glossary here. All the gambling terminology and gambler slang you could ever find will be made clear here. You’ll be speaking the gambling vocabulary after a quick review of this page in no time, including betting terms, and slang for gambling itself. Most of these are specific to sports betting, but still find their way to other areas online. Whether you’re into NCAA Football betting, NFL betting, NCAA Basketball betting, College Basketball Betting, College Football betting, Baseball Betting, MMA Betting, UFC betting, Boxing wagering, NHL betting, NBA betting, or all other major sports, you’ll be speaking gambler lingo in no time! This can be particularly challenging without help, as sports betting lingo, bet slang, betting jargon, betting lingo, betting acronyms, sports betting terminology, and specifically basketball betting terms all have very specific sports betting terms that need to be mastered to even make a bet! Football betting terms and football betting terminology in particular can be challenging, but we’ve got you covered there too:Action
- Any time you make a bet, this counts as an action.Added Game
- Any betting line not typically part of the usual pool of games to bet on in the Las Vegas rotation, but is included to benefit those making wagers with a bookie.ATS
- The ATS betting term means Against The Spread. This is when you’re betting on the underdog team to win by a wide margin, and along with it, ample winnings.Bet
- Any time you put down money on the outcome of a sporting event, you’re betting.Book
- Originally, bookies were the ones that took bets on sporting events. Book is short for any sportsbook or related group that takes these bets.Bookie
- The original term that started them all, a bookie is someone that takes bets on sporting events.Bookmaker
- Another term referencing a bookie that takes bets on sporting events.Buck
- A $100 bet, being an example of a sports betting slang term.Buy (Points)
- If you are willing to pay more for it, you can get a half point or more in your favor on any point spread you bet on.Canadian Line
- Alternatively called a Puck Line, this is a mixture of a Point Spread and Moneyline.Chalk
- Another slang term, this one meaning the favored side to win.Chalk Player
- Anyone that typically bets on the favored side and never on underdogs.Circled Game
- Events of this kind have lower betting limits and limitations on how many people can get so a bookie won’t carry as much risk. Sometimes called a Red Circle box. This happens when unintended circumstances may adversely effect the outcome of an event, such as player injuries, unusual weather conditions, and games being unexpectedly added. Doesn’t include parlays and teaser wagers.Cover
- Any time a point spread is won.Dime Bet
- Another betting slang term that means a $1000 bet is placed.Dimeline
- When the favored party and the underdog only differ on their moneyline by 10 cents, such as the Yankees and Red Socks. This is used in baseball to attract eager gamblings looking for a decent risk to reward ratio.Dog
- The underdog not favored to win in an event.Dog Player
- A gambler that typically bets on the underdog.Dollar Bet
- Another betting slang term, here meaning $100. It’s the same as “Buck,” and they are used interchangeably just like the terms are outside of gambling.Even Money
- Any wager with 1:1 odds, meaning there is no juice or vigorish.Exotic Wager
- Wagers that aren’t Straight Bets or Parlays count as exotic wagers, such as Teasers, Sweetheart Teasers, IF bet, Reverses, and Prop bets.Favorite
- Any side expected to win an event. The opposite of the dog or underdog.Fifth Inning Line (5 Inn.)
- Any bet placed on only the initial 5 innings of any baseball game.Fifty Cents
- Another betting slang term that means a $50 bet.First Half Bet (1H)
- Bets placed on a football or basketball game that only account for the score up to halftime.Future
- The betting odds calculated in advanced on future sporting events.Getting Value
- Gambling vocabulary for the best odds on betting line.Grand Salami
- The Total of goals scored in all hockey games played on the same day.Grading
- After you bet and the event has been decided, this is when the amount is put into your account.Half a Dollar
- Another piece of gambling slang for a $50 wager.Half Time Bet (2H)
- The opposite of a First Half Bet, this is any bet placed on the second half of a football or basketball game.Handicapper
- These are the people that look at all available information on a sporting event, and calculate the odds of the outcome.