Sports betting has a language of its own, and understanding it is the first step to betting well. This glossary defines the terms you'll encounter across odds, markets, staking, and strategy. Where a term has a full guide, we've linked it. Jump to a letter or scroll through — and bookmark this page as a reference.
- Action Market
- A bet or wager of any kind. "Having action" on a game simply means having a bet placed on it.
- Arbitrage Strategy
- A situation where differing odds at two or more sportsbooks let you bet all outcomes and lock a guaranteed profit regardless of the result. Also called an "arb." See our expected value guide for the underlying math.
- ATS Market
- "Against the spread." A team's record measured by whether it covered the point spread, rather than whether it won outright.
- Backdoor cover Market
- When a team scores late in a game — often meaninglessly for the outcome — in a way that changes which side covers the spread.
- Bankroll Staking
- The dedicated pool of money you set aside specifically for betting, separate from your everyday finances. Managing it well is covered in our bankroll management guide.
- Beard Market
- A person who places bets on behalf of someone else, usually to disguise who is really betting.
- Book / Sportsbook Market
- The company or establishment that sets odds and accepts bets.
- Buying points Market
- Paying a worse price in exchange for moving a point spread or total in your favor by half a point or more.
- Chalk Market
- The favorite in a given matchup. "Betting chalk" means betting favorites.
- Closing line Measurement
- The final odds a market offers right before an event begins — the sharpest, most-informed price of the betting cycle.
- Closing line value (CLV) Measurement
- The difference between the odds you bet and the closing line. Consistently beating the close is the strongest predictor of long-term success. See our CLV guide.
- Cover Market
- To beat the point spread. A favorite covers by winning by more than the spread; an underdog covers by losing by less than the spread (or winning outright).
- Decimal odds Odds
- An odds format showing total return per unit staked, including your stake. Decimal 2.50 returns $2.50 for every $1 bet. Explained in our odds formats guide.
- Dime Market
- Betting slang for a $1,000 wager.
- Dog / Underdog Market
- The team or outcome expected to lose, priced with plus-money (positive) odds that pay more than even money.
- Edge Strategy
- Your advantage over the sportsbook's price — the gap between the true probability of an outcome and the probability implied by the odds you're getting.
- Even money Odds
- Odds where you win the same amount you stake. +100 in American, 2.00 in decimal, 1/1 fractional. Implies a 50% break-even rate.
- Expected value (EV) Strategy
- The average profit or loss a bet would produce if placed many times. Positive EV (+EV) bets win over the long run; negative EV (−EV) bets lose. The foundation of profitable betting — see our EV guide.
- Exposure Staking
- The amount of money a bettor — or a sportsbook — stands to lose on a given outcome or event.
- Favorite Market
- The team or outcome expected to win, priced with minus-money (negative) odds where you risk more than you win.
- Fractional odds Odds
- The traditional British odds format expressing profit relative to stake as a fraction. 3/1 means $3 profit per $1 staked. Covered in our odds formats guide.
- Futures Bet Type
- A bet on an outcome decided in the future, such as a team to win a championship, often placed weeks or months in advance.
- Grand salami Bet Type
- A bet on the combined total of all games on a given day's slate in a sport, most common in hockey and baseball.
- Handicap Bet Type
- Another term for the point spread, especially common outside North America — the margin applied to level a matchup.
- Handle Market
- The total amount of money wagered on an event or by a sportsbook over a period of time.
- Hedge Strategy
- Betting the opposite side of a wager you already hold to lock in profit or reduce risk. When it makes sense is covered in our hedging guide.
- Hook Market
- A half-point added to a spread or total, as in "7 and a hook" for 7.5. The hook prevents a push.
- Implied probability Measurement
- The win probability that a set of odds represents — the break-even rate for that price. The lens sharp bettors read every line through. See our implied probability guide.
- Juice / Vig Odds
- The sportsbook's built-in commission on a bet, also called the vigorish or margin. It's why both sides of an even market are often priced at -110. Learn to remove it in our vig guide.
- Juice-free Measurement
- Another way of describing no-vig or fair odds, with the sportsbook margin stripped out.
- Kelly criterion Staking
- A formula for calculating the mathematically optimal bet size based on your edge and the odds. Most pros use a fraction of it — see our Kelly guide.
- Limit Market
- The maximum amount a sportsbook will accept on a particular bet or market.
- Line Market
- The odds or point spread a sportsbook offers on an event.
- Line shopping Strategy
- Comparing odds across multiple sportsbooks to bet at the best available price — one of the highest-ROI habits in betting.
- Lock Market
- Slang for a bet perceived as a near-certain winner. In reality, no bet is a lock — a term worth treating with skepticism.
- Middle Strategy
- Betting both sides of a game at different numbers so that a specific result wins both bets. Possible when a line moves after your first bet.
- Moneyline Bet Type
- A bet on which team simply wins the game outright, with no point spread involved.
- Nickel Market
- Betting slang for a $500 wager.
- No-vig / Fair odds Measurement
- The odds with the sportsbook's margin removed, revealing the market's true estimate of an outcome's probability. Calculate it with our no-vig calculator.
- Odds Odds
- The price of a bet, expressing both the potential payout and the implied probability of an outcome.
- Off the board Market
- A game or market a sportsbook has removed and is not currently taking bets on, often due to injury uncertainty.
- Over/Under Bet Type
- A bet on whether the combined score of a game will be over or under a number set by the sportsbook. Also called the total.
- Overround Measurement
- The amount by which the implied probabilities of all outcomes in a market exceed 100%. It represents the sportsbook's built-in margin.
- Parlay Bet Type
- A single bet combining multiple selections where all must win to pay out. Payouts are large but the vig compounds — see our parlay guide.
- Pick 'em Market
- A game with no favorite, where neither side gives or gets points and the moneyline is roughly even.
- Point spread Bet Type
- A margin of victory set by the sportsbook that the favorite must exceed and the underdog must stay within, designed to make both sides roughly even-money propositions.
- Prop bet Bet Type
- A wager on an occurrence within a game that isn't tied to the final outcome, such as a player's total yards or points.
- Public / Square money Market
- Bets from casual, recreational bettors, who tend to favor favorites and overs. Contrast with sharp money.
- Push Market
- A tie between the bettor and the sportsbook, where the result lands exactly on the line. Stakes are returned with no win or loss.
- ROI Measurement
- "Return on investment." Your profit divided by the total amount staked, expressed as a percentage — a truer measure of performance than win rate.
- Runline Bet Type
- Baseball's version of a point spread, almost always set at 1.5 runs.
- Sharp Market
- A professional or highly skilled bettor who wins long-term. "Sharp money" is money from these bettors, and it moves lines.
- Steam Market
- A rapid, significant line move across the market caused by heavy, often sharp, betting on one side.
- Straight bet Bet Type
- A single wager on one outcome — the simplest and, for most winning bettors, the most efficient bet type.
- Total Bet Type
- The combined score line set by a sportsbook for an over/under bet.
- Tout Market
- A person who sells betting picks. EV Labs is explicitly not a tout service — we provide tools and education, not picks.
- Unit Staking
- A standardized bet size, typically 1% of your bankroll, used to measure and normalize betting results regardless of bankroll size.
- Value Strategy
- A bet where the price offered is better than the true probability warrants — the essence of a +EV wager.
- Wiseguy Market
- Another term for a sharp — a respected professional bettor whose action sportsbooks watch closely.
- Yield Measurement
- Similar to ROI, the percentage return on your total amount staked over a sample of bets.
