Gambling Dictionary

Action – Having action means having a bet on a sporting event.  An action bet has a slightly different meaning in baseball, in which case it refers to the bet counting even if the starting pitchers for the game change.

Agent – A person who sends potential bettors to a certain sportsbook, in return for either a flat fee or a percentage of any potential money that player may lose with his bets.

Bad Beat – A game that you should have won but something happened, such as an injury or a bad referee call, that prevented you from winning.

Betting Exchange – Similar to a sportsbook but you do not place your bets against the sportsbook.  Rather, you place your bet against another individual with the betting exchange taking a small commission.

Book – Another word for sportsbook.

Bookie – The person who takes your bets.  If you “beat your bookie”, he pays you.  If not you pay him what you lose.  This can also refer to a sportsbook as opposed to a single person.

Bonus – Sportsbooks will generally give you an extra percentage of money based on your deposit amount and the extra amount is referred to as the “bonus”.

Chalk – Refers to betting on the team that is favored to win the game.

Degenerate – A compulsive gambler who probably should not be betting sports.  Signs of a degenerate gambler are betting more then they can afford, betting on anything, and placing money just for the sake of placing money on a game.

Dime – Refers to $1000 on a bet.

Dog – Another word for underdog, meaning the team that is not favored to win.

Even Money – A bet at +100 where the sportsbook does not take any juice or vig off the top.

Fav – Another word for favorite, meaning the team that is favored to win.

Favorite Bet – A bet on the team that is favored.  A $100 bet on a -200 favorite will get you back your original $100, plus $50 more.  A loss would result in you losing the $100. 

Future Bet – A bet about a sporting event that isn’t going to happen for a while.  An example would be betting on who would win the Super Bowl before the season starts.

Handicapper – Refers to anyone who figures out who should win the game, generally via an in-depth statistical breakdown.  This term is also sometimes used to refer to “touts” who are mentioned further down in this gambling dictionary.

Hedge – The act of placing a second bet, the opposite of your first, in order to assure profit no matter the outcome of the sporting event.  For instance, if you had the Cardinals to win the Super Bowl for $100 at 50-1 odds but were not convinced they were going to win, you would “hedge” by placing a large amount on the Steelers on the money line to assure yourself a profit.  In this example, if the Cardinals win you win $50,000 so you would want to place something like $25,000 on the Steelers to win the game to assure yourself a large profit.

Hook – Refers to getting a half point in a game.  For instance, if the Nuggets were 7.5-point underdogs, they would be able to lose by 7 but the bet would still win because of that half point hook.

Juice – The bookie or sportsbook’s commission on a bet that is usually between 5% and 10% depending on where you place your bet.

Lock – A word, generally used by touts, to refer to a bet that cannot lose or a sure-thing.  Be careful of this word being thrown around because there is no such thing as a “lock” in sports betting.

Longshot – Used to denote a large underdog that doesn’t have a great chance to win.

Money line – Refers to a bet where you risk a certain amount on the favorite or the underdog to win the game outright.  No points are involved in this type of bet. 

Nickel – Refers to $500 on a bet.

Parlay – A bet where you select multiple bets that are grouped together and all have to win for you to win the parlay bet.  Betting in this way creates a much larger payout if all the sides win.

Pick Em – Refers to a bet that is even money or a bet where no team is favored. 

Point Spread – The amount of points a team is favored by.  As an example, you can take the Steelers -7 points on the point spread which means they would need to win by more than 7 for you to win your bet.  A bet on the Cardinals +7 means they have to stay within that number, or win outright, for you to win your bet.  If the game is exactly the same as the point spread, in this case if the Steelers win by exactly 7, then the bet is refunded.

Pleaser Bet – The opposite of a teaser bet.  In a pleaser, you would pick multiple games and move the line against yourself.  For instance, if the Lions, Bears, and Vikings are all +10 on the point spread but you think the games will be much closer, you would move all of those games to +3 and get a much higher return coming back if all the games are winners with the new point spreads.

Point Spread – A term used to describe the amount of points a team is favored by or listed as an underdog by.  If the Celtics were favored by 7 over the Spurs, then the Celtics -7 and the Spurs +7 would be the point spread for that game.

Prop Bet – These are bets that are different than the normal offering such as point spread, money line, and total.  They are generally on things such as individual player performance, a coin toss, or whether or not a team scores in the 1^st inning.  More or less, they are additional fun ways to bet on a game other than the norm.

Punter – Refers to a bettor and is generally used more in Europe than in the United States.

Public Action – Generally refers to what the vast majority of those betting like in a certain game.  As a rule, it’s a good idea not to be on the same side of the public action with only a percentage of gamblers winning money over the long haul.

Push – The term used to describe what happens if neither side of the bet wins and the money is refunded.  For instance, if the Warriors are favored by 3 over the Celtics and you bet on the point spread but the Warriors win by exactly 3, then the bet is a “push” and you are refunded your money no matter which side you bet on.

Scalp – A bettor who tries to bet both sides of a game at favorable odds to assure themselves a profit no matter who wins the game.  As an example, if the bettor finds the Steelers +7 +101 at one sportsbook, then finds the 49ers -7 +105 at another sportsbook, the player is assured to win money no matter who wins the game assuming they place an even amount on both sides.

Sharp – Refers to a gambler who wins a good percentage of his bets and knows what he is doing more so than most.  Sportsbooks will occasionally limit the amount you can bet if you are labeled a “sharp”.

Sportsbook – A company that accepts bets, generally over the internet. 

Square – The opposite of being sharp, a “square” is one who loses money on his bets regularly. 

Teaser Bet – A type of bet where you select multiple teams and are able to adjust the line in your favor by however many points you choose to “tease” the bet by.  As an example, you can pick your favorite 10 NFL games for the weekend and move the line a touchdown better in your favor with the odds becoming less and less profitable the more you move the line.

Tout – One who sells their sports betting selections for money.

Trap Bet – A term used by gamblers to point out that a betting line looks too good to be true.  If one team is dominating and another is playing lousy yet the lousy team is favored, most gamblers would refer to the game as a “trap bet” that may be a good one not to play considering it appears that the sportsbook is just begging for money on the good team for no apparent reason.

Underdog bet – A bet on the underdog that pays more than you bet.  If an underdog is +200 and you place $100 on it, you will win back your original $100 plus $200 more.  If you lose, you would lose the $100 you placed.

Vig or Vigorish – The same thing as “juice” with it being a commission the sportsbook takes on your bets.

Wiseguy – Another word for a sharp bettor.  Anyone deemed a “wiseguy” is likely a professional gambler who makes a good amount of money on his bets and is integral in moving the betting lines with his large (and respected) wagers.