Betting Terms Explained

Educate yourself and make your next bet with a clear understanding of the meaning of key betting terms. Our sports betting glossary contains many of the phrases you will hear around any online Indian bookmaker. They are essential to know if you want an edge when betting on the outcome of sporting contests. And while it's true that knowing what these terms mean won't make you a winner, understanding their significance can only improve your handicapping skills.

Reviewing and understanding betting specific vocabulary will certainly help bettors win their bets. We define terms used in the context of betting on the following sports: horse racing, football and rugby, and almost any other sport. If you are just starting to bet on any of these sports, this guide has been written with you in mind.

A newcomer to sports betting may need to know these common terms in order to place the right bets.

A-H

Accumulator – this term refers to the collective bet that features two or more bets in a single bet slip.
Ante-post – this relates to the early market bets offered before the competition begins.
Betting Line – refers to the odds on a match that determine the favourites and the underdog in a tie.
Buy points – this bet entails paying more than what the sportsbook’s predetermined to move the point spread to a custom betting line.
Chalk – the team pegged as the favourites to win.
Cover – this reflects the scenario in which the favourite team wins the match by a bigger margin than described in the handicap or spread bet.
Double bet – also known as doubling up, when a player wagers twice the value of the bet to take advantage of the odds.
Draw – when a match ends in a tie after regulation time.
Edge – relates to the advantage that a bettor has from having knowledge about how the result will go.
Exposure – refers to the value attached to a potential loss in a match.
Favourite – this is the individual or the team that is perceived to have the best chance to win the match.
Future – this refers to wagers on the winner of the competition before the event begins.
Grand Salami – this refers to the bet on the total number of goals that will be scored in all the games in a single league round of matches.
Handicap – this refers to the point margin given to the underdog in a match that is intended to level the playing field.
Hedging – this refers to placing a bet on the opposite side after having placed a wager on a different side to ensure that you do not lose.

I-W

In-play betting – the process of placing bets on the outcome of the game after it has already started playing. It is also known as live betting.
Juice – this is the portion that the sportsbook charge for the allowing players to bet online.
Limit – reflects the maximum bet that is allowed on a specific line.
Lock – a situation in which a selected bet is considered an obvious win.
Money Line – refers to a wager on the outcome of the game to be either win, lose or draw.
Odds – indicates the probability of the outcome of a match.
Outright bet – betting on the winner of a tournament.
Pari-mutuel – this refers to a wager amongst bettors as opposed to against a sportsbook.
Parlay – the process in which the betting calculator adds extra bets onto a single bet slip to improve the odds.
Stake – to risk your money wagering on a sports event.
Teaser – a specific selection of parlay bets that are combined in a single ticket to attract players to wager online.
Total – the aggregate amount of goals or points in a match in which bettors predict the match will end. It is also known as the betting terms over-under.
Underdog – the team or player pegged the less likely to win in a tie.
Wiseguy – a term used to refer to a well-informed or knowledgeable bettor or handicapper.