Sports Betting Terms and Definitions
Like any hobby, sports betting has a massive library of jargon and terms that new bettors may not know. If you're a novice sportsbook customer, reading through this list of the most commonly-used sports betting terms, along with their dictionary definitions, will help you ease your way into the world of gambling on sporting events.
Accountant
Batting His Eyes – A gambler's term for men who look on but don't play. Battlin' Stick – A stick to stir clothes in the wash pot. Bat Wings – Chaps. Bay – A horse of light-red color. Bay-window – Pregnancy. 'Shut your big bazoo.' Beads – The bubbles which rise on a glass of wine or spirits. Bean Eater – A Mexican. If you haven't solved the crossword clue a-gambler-(slang) yet try to search our Crossword Dictionary by entering the letters you already know! (Enter a dot for each missing letters, e.g. 'P.ZZ.' will find 'PUZZLE'.) Also look at the related clues for crossword clues with similar answers to 'a-gambler-(slang)'. Shooter: A gambler who is rolling the dice on a craps table. Spoon: A device used by slot machine cheaters. Stickman: The dealer who moves the dice around on a craps table with a hook-shaped stick. Stiff: A casino player who never tips or tokes regardless of how much they win. Soft Count: Counting the folding money.
This is a euphemism for 'bookie,' used by some gamblers on message boards and in email as a kind of secret code. For example: 'My accountant offered me a half-point at a decent price, so I took it.'
Action
Slang For Gamblers
This word refers to a valid and active wager. It's opposite, 'no action,' refers to bets that have been invalidated, either because of a rain-out, postponement, or other suspension of game play. The word is also used to refer to the complete amount of bets a gambler places at a time: if you place 20 bets of $10 apiece, your total action is $200.
Arbitrage
Arbs, as they're sometimes called, are differences between odds at different books that allow players to wager on both sides for a guaranteed win. Arbitrage can make sports betting a positive expectation gamble.
Buck
This slang word refers to a $100 wager. Sometimes called a one dollar bet, the term probably originated in the early days after the passage of the Federal Wire Act to disguise how much money was actually being bet.
Buying Points
Sometimes a bookie will let you change the point spread or the over/under on a game that you think will give you an advantage. Sports bettors buy points one half-point at a time. Generally, each half-point costs the gambler an extra 10% in juice. Slotastic casino instant play.
Dime
Another slang term originally used to disguise gambler's bets; a dime actually means a wager of $1,000. You'll still hear people use the term 'dime' or 'dime bet,' though these colorful slang terms are not as common at online books.
Fifty Cents
Yet another bet size slang word, a wager of fifty cents is actually a bet of $50.
Futures
This term refers to any bet you make on a sporting event in the future. The most common Futures bet in the Western world are wagers placed on who will win the Super Bowl before the NFL season even starts. The idea behind a future wager is to get a better line now than after the season starts and your team's performance means the bookmaker shifts the odds. Placing futures bets is all about finding high-value wagers at the cheapest prices.
Hedge
This gambling term has made it into the common parlance; to hedge your bet means to wager the opposite side of a wager you've already placed in order to limit your potential losses. Placing hedge bets is a way to shield your bankroll from exposure.
Juice
This word refers to the bookmaker's commission. A common example is the 110/100 lines offered on straight bets on football games. Juice goes by many names, including vigorish and vig. A sportsbook's juice is the cash amount that actually gives the bookmaker an advantage against the sports bettor.
Line
This generic gambling term refers to the totality of all posted odds, points, money lines, and point spreads for a sporting event.
Rich man toys. Money Line
When a gambler's odds are shown in terms of dollar signs, they're looking at a money line. The money line tells you how much you have to risk to win $100 if you bet on a favorite, or the amount a gambler will win based on a wager of $100 if they bet on the underdog. There are no point spreads in money line odds; rather the gambler only has to pick the winner, not worry about how much they win by.
Newspaper Line
Odds that appear in your daily newspaper. The least-trustworthy lines you can find, usually given for entertainment purposes only.
No Action
A 'No Action' game is a game that's either already in progress or has been re-scheduled. All sporting events that are played at a different time than the original schedule are ineligible for wagers.
Off the Board
Any game that your bookmaker won't accept bets on is considered 'off the board.'
Over/Under Wager
This is a type of bet on the combined total of points scored by two teams competing against each other. Over/Under bets let the gambler decide whether the final points total will be more or less than the number put out by the bookmaker.
Point Spread
The point spread is the number of points a bookmaker will give to an underdog, the predicted difference in two team's final scores. If the point spread reads Dallas +5 at New York, a gambler who lays his money on Dallas will win if the Cowboys win OR lose by less than 5 points.
Rundown
When the sportsbook reads all the available lines to a customer, this is referred to as the 'rundown.' Sometimes the board on which odds and prices are listed is called the 'rundown' as well.
Running Bad / Running Good
If a player is on a losing streak, he's said to be 'running bad.' When on a winning streak, he's said to be 'running good.'
Scratch
A slang term describing the withdrawal or cancellation of a bet.
Sharp
A term of endearment for smart professional gamblers, usually guys that are expert handicappers or know how to calculate positive expectation wagers.
Square
The opposite of a sharp, a square is a novice or totally ignorant sports bettor.
Teaser
A teaser is a wager on two or more teams in which the line on each bet is adjusted slightly in favor of the gambler. A gambler has to pick each game on the teaser to win the payoff, which gets bigger the more teams you wager on.
Tout
A gambler or sports betting expert that sells or otherwise gives away his picks on sporting events. Some touts hand out their info for free, while other charge fees for their 'inside information.' Most touts that charge for their picks are probably not worth the investment, especially if you know how to shop for lines and handicap games yourself. Free picks from touts that don't charge anything can often help a gambler, but should not be considered a guaranteed winner.
The online gambling world has its own language and terminology that is used by online players. Acronyms, abbreviations, and slang words were invented by players as a faster way to communicate with one another. Of course, for every gaming genre, there is a unique set of terms. For example, there are gambling terms used by gamers, terms used by online gamblers and common acronyms used in everyday conversation via text or email and can be used while playing any game, such as 'brb' for 'be right back.' We've listed the terms most often used in the gambling world whether that be in the chat rooms, forums, and/or blogs.
Common Terms:
Before going into the gambling terms, here are some of the general terms and abbreviations that are used by everyone in the online world, whether gamers, gamblers or social networkers. These terms include:
BRB: It is a term that is used by players who are away from their PC for a while and they will 'Be Right Back'.
BBL: 'Be Back Later'.
AFK: It is what players type to indicate that they will not be at their keyboards for a while as it's an abbreviation for 'Away From
Keyboard'.
WB: A term that is used to welcome players who were away, it translates to 'Welcome Back'.
LOL: It is a term used to show that the player is laughing or smiling at what other players said or anything that has happened in the gameplay. It is an abbreviation for 'Laughing Out Loud'. Of course, it is known that everyone in the online world tends to overstate their reaction so when players say LOL, they are not actually laughing out loud, but they are simply smiling or chuckling.
ROFL: It shows that the player is overwhelmed with laughter due to what other players said or an event that happened. It is an abbreviation for 'Rolling on the Floor Laughing'.
LMAO: It is another term that indicates laughter, it stands for 'Laughing My A** Off'.
ROFLMAO: It shows that players are in a laughing frenzy and that they can't help themselves, it is a mix between the previous two terms
'ROFL' & 'LMAO' to translate to 'Rolling on the Floor Laughing My A** Off'.
WTH: It is a term that is used to express shock or surprise; it stands for 'What The Hell' or 'What The Heck?'
PM: It is short for 'Private Message' which is a message or a chat between two players in private.
WTG: It is a term that is used to show approval and encouragement, it is an abbreviation for 'Way To Go'.
GTG: It is short for 'Got to Go' which indicates that the player or the user has to leave.
OMG: It is another term that expresses surprise and disbelief, it is an abbreviation for 'Oh My God', 'Oh My Goodness' or 'Oh My Gosh'.
TY: It is used to thank players for what they said or did, it's an abbreviation for 'Thank You'.
TYVM: It is also used to thank players as it stands for 'Thank You Very Much'.
NP: It is what players say to respond to TY or TYVM, it's an abbreviation for 'No Problem'.
BTW: It is an abbreviation for 'By The Way'.
ATM: 'At the Moment', for example, 'ATM, I do not have enough money to cover the bet'
Newb – Noob: It refers to a new player who does not yet know how to play.
STFU: It is a rude way to ask someone to shut up, it stands for 'Shut The F*** Up'
Gambling-related Terms:
These terms are used in gambling, most commonly in Sports Betting and Poker related games.
Poker-Related Terms:
AC: It stands for Atlantic City. For example, 'This game follows AC rules'.
AI: This is when a player raises or calls a bet that includes all of the money or chips he has on the table, it stands for 'All-In'.
AFAIK: It is an abbreviation for 'As Far As I Know'. For example, 'AFAIK, he is not here'.
AIPF: This is when a player goes 'All-In' before the flop is dealt, which means he goes all in after getting the initial two cards, it is short for 'All-In Pre Flop'
ATC: It is short for 'Any Two Cards'. For example, 'You can choose ATC'.
Ax: It is a term used to describe players who get an Ace with any 2nd card.
B&M: It is short for Bricks & Mortar, which is a term that is used to describe land-based casinos or poker rooms as they are made of 'Bricks & Mortar'.
BB: It stands for 'Big Blind'. A blind is an obligatory bet that players have to place before they are dealt any cards. It can also stand for Big Bet. It is understood by the following sentence. i.e, 'I hate the games that have an initial BB' (Big Blind). Another example would be, 'I always start the game with a BB' (Big Bet).
BB/100: It is a standard measure of the win percentage, which stands for Big Bets per one-hundred poker hands.
B/C: It stands for Bet & Call a Raise. It is an option to players at most poker rooms, and they select it to automatically call any raise. Players only do that when they have a strong hand.
B/F: It is the opposite of the previous one, It is Bet & Fold to a Raise.
BR: It is short for Bank Roll, which is the money that players have in their balance.
BWDIK: It is short for 'But What Do I Know'. For example, 'I don't think he has a straight, BWDIK'
CK: It stands for 'Check', it is when players do not raise or fold.
DP: It stands for one of the favored types of poker games, 'Draw Poker'.
HE: It is short for another popular poker type that is called Texas Hold' EM Poker.
HEAP: It stands for Texas Hold' EM Poker for Advanced Players.
FH: It is short for one of the strongest poker hands namely 'Full House'.
FT: It has three meanings, which differ according to the sentence itself. These meanings are Full Tilt (a well-known poker room), Final Table, which is the final poker table in a tournament or Full Table, which is a table that does not have any empty seats.
GG: It is short for Good Game. It is commonly said by players at the end of a game or a poker hand.
GL: It is short for 'Good Luck'.
GTD: It stands for Guaranteed. It is used in this way, e.g. '1M GTD Tournament' which means that this tournament has a guaranteed prize of 1 million.
FYI: It is short for 'For Your Information' which is used to correct a statement or add to it.
HH: It stands for Hand History; it is a feature at some games, which enables players to see their hand history.
HORSE: It is a poker game that does not follow one poker type; instead, it rotates through different poker types that are represented by each letter. These letters are H for Hold ‘Em, O for Omaha, R for Razz, S for Stud, and E for Eight or Better.
MHIG: It is used by players to indicate that they have a good hand and stands for My Hand Is Good.
MHING: It is the opposite of the previous term. It stands for My Hand Is Not Good.
ML: It refers to games that have a medium limit, as it is short for Middle Limit.
MTT: It is a term used to describe tournaments that have more than one table in it, as it is short for Multi-Table Tournament.
STT: It is the opposite of the previous term; it refers to tournaments with one table, as it is short for Single Table Tournament.
NH: It is short for Nice Hand; it is what players say to compliment other players if they have a good winning hand.
VNH: It is short for Very Nice Hand, it is when players if they had a good winning hand.
NT: It is what is said to players when they play a good hand but lose. It is short for 'Nice Try'.
PF: It is short for Pre Flop, which refers to anything that happens before the dealer deals the three cards that represent the flop on the poker table.
PFR: It refers to a player who raises the stakes before the flop is dealt. It is short for Pre-Flop Raiser.
PL: It refers to the limit of the pot, it is short for Pot-Limit.
PP: It is short for 'Pocket Pair' which means that the player has a pair of identical cards in his pocket (the initial two cards).
PTL and PTR: They are terms that refer to players depending on the position of the speaker. PTL stands for 'Player to my Left' while PTR stands for 'Player to my Right'.
S: It is short for suited which means that they have the same suit. So S K7 means that the King and the Seven have the same suit.
SB: It can stand for Small Bet or Small Blind, depending on how it's used in the sentence.
SNG: It refers to one of the most popular Texas Hold'em poker tournaments, the Sit N Go Tournaments.
TAG: It is a term used to refer to players who are aggressive and tight. It is short for Tight and Aggressive.
TPBK: It refers to the poker hand of players if they have a Top Pair with the Best possible kicker. It is short for 'Top Pair Best Kicker'.
TPGK: Like the previous one but instead of the Best Kicker, it is a Good Kicker.
TPNK: It is when players have a Top Pair but with No Kicker.
TPWK: It is when players have a Top Pair accompanied by a Weak Kicker.
WPT: It is short for the World Poker Tour.
WSOP: short for the World Series of Poker, which is one of the biggest poker tournaments in the world.
WSOPME: Refers to the Main Event of the WSOP.
Sports Gambling Related Terms:
Slang For Gambler
Action: Refers to a bet or a wager.
ATS: Short for 'Against the Spread.'
Angles: Refers to a specific team or the league in general.
BR: It is the same as in poker, as it stands for 'Bank Roll,' which is the money the player has in his balance.
Bad Beat: It is a term used to describe a hard loss. For example, 'He suffered a bad beat in his last match.'
Beef: It refers to a problem or dispute between individuals or teams.
Bet or Wager: Placing an amount of money or anything of value on the outcome of a race or a match.
Bet Limit: It refers to the maximum bet that is accepted by a bookmaker on a particular bet.
Book: An organization or an individual that accepts wagers and bets on sporting events or races.
Bookie: The person that accepts the wagers himself but sometimes Book and Bookie are used to
describe the same thing.
Bookmaker: Someone who accepts bets under the law.
Buck: Although in real life, a buck translates to $1, in sports wagering, it usually refers to $100.
Chalk: The Favorite.
Chalk Eater: A bettor who always wagers on the favorite.
Circled Game: A game that is limited due to unexpected weather conditions or injuries.
Cover: Winning by more than the spread.
Degenerate: A compulsive gambler who keeps on betting whether he loses or wins.
Dime: $1000.
DOG: A team or a person who is expected to lose a match or a fight.
Early Money: The bets that come in as soon as the wagering lines are available to gamblers.
Edge: The advantage that is given to players or the house.
Even Money: Bets in which players will win the same amount they wagered. In other words, bets
that pay 1:1.
Exotic Bet: Any bet that is not a parlay or a straight bet.
Exposure: The monetary amount the house or the bookie can stand to lose on a race or a game.
Extension: The monetary amount the house or the bookie will theoretically risk on losing a race
or a game.
Fade: A bet against a specific individual.
Favorite: It refers to the team or person expected to win in a race or a match.
Figure: The amount owed to or by the bookie.
Firing: A term used to describe players who are placing many large bets.
First Half Bet: A bet that is determined by the score at the 1st halftime rather than the entire match.
Flea: A person who wants to win something without risking anything.
Form: The performance of a team according to studies on paper.
Franklin: Another term that refers to $100.
Get Down: A term used to describe placing a bet.
Gross Win: The amount of winnings before deducting the expenses.
Handicap: Studying a sporting event or a race for betting purposes.
Handicapper: The person who studies a certain sport and makes predictions about the outcome of its matches.
Handle: The total amounts of the taken wagers.
Hedge: Placing a wager that is the opposite of your initial bet so you can reduce the amount of money you are staking on a game.
Hold: The percentage the house or the bookie wins.
Hook: It is ½ a point in spread betting.
Home Field Advantage: The advantage teams have when they play at their home stadium because of the familiar playing area, the supporting crowds and the negative effects of travel on the other visiting team.
Hoops: The sport of basketball.
Juice: The commission the bookmaker will take off the winnings.
Lay a Price: To bet on the favorite.
Layoff Bet: A bet that one bookie makes with another bookie to balance his bets and decrease his risk on a team or a horse.
Lines Maker: The person who sets odds or spread points on a sporting event or race.
Long Shot: The team or the player that does not have a lot of chances of winning.
Money Line: A bet that does not involve a point spread; it is when the bettor picks the winner only.
Nickel: A monetary amount of $500.
Neutral Site: An arena, field, stadium, or court where neither team has the advantage of the home field.
Odds: Different money lines or point spreads on a given match or contest.
Odds Maker: The person who is in charge of creating the odds on any sporting match but he does not accept bets.
Off The Board: A game that does not exist on the board, which means that no bets for the game
are accepted.
Opening Line: The money line or the point spread that is offered to bettors by the sportsbook or
the bookie.
Out: Refers to illegal bookmakers and bookies.
Overlay: The odds when they are in the favor of bettors instead of the house or the bookie.
Parlay: A bet that includes more than one team, all of these teams have to win for the bet to be a winning bet.
Past Post: Placing a bet after the beginning of the match or the sporting event.
Pick' EM or Pick: A game that does not have any favorites.
Press: Placing a bet that has a larger amount than usual.
Push: Matches that end in a tie.
Risk: The amount of money that is placed on an event or a game.
Scalper: A person who is trying to make profit by placing bets on different bookies who offer
different odds by betting on the two sides at different prices.
Score: To win a large amount of money.
Shortstop: A player who does not wager large sums.
Square: A gambler who is not sophisticated enough.
Stiff: A gambler who does not pay his debts.
Sportsbook: An establishment that accepts bets made on sporting events such as matches and
races.
Straight Bet: A wager on one of the teams.
Sucker Bet: A bet with a large house advantage.
Systems: Specific systems and formulas that are used to determine the winning team to bet on in a match or race.
Tap Out: Losing all of the money, which leaves the player broke.
Underlay: When the odds on a game are in the favor of the sportsbook or the house.
Underdog: The team or the individual who has a lesser chances of winning in a match or a fight.
Toke: A gratuity or a tip.
Toss Up: A game where the lines are very close to Pick EM.
