Betting glossary
Plain-English meanings for the sports betting terms you'll run into, with links to our free tools and guides.
- Action
- Your bet being live, or the amount you have riding on a game.
- Alternate line
- A different spread, total or prop line than the main one, at a different price.
- American odds
- Odds shown as +150 or -110. A plus number is the profit on $100. A minus number is what you bet to win $100.
- Arbitrage (arb)
- Betting both sides at different books when the prices let you profit either way. See the arbitrage guide.
- Bankroll
- The money you've set aside for betting.
- Bet slip
- Where your picks sit before you place them at a book.
- Book / sportsbook
- A company that takes bets and sets prices.
- Closing line
- The last price before a game starts.
- Closing line value (CLV)
- Getting a better price than the closing line. Over time it's a good sign your bets are beating the market.
- Cover
- Winning by more than the spread, or losing by less than it.
- Decimal odds
- Your total return per $1 bet. 2.50 returns $2.50, including your stake.
- Exchange
- A market where bettors trade with each other and the site usually takes a fee. See the exchange guide.
- Expected value (EV)
- What a bet would make on average if you could repeat it many times.
- +EV
- A price better than the true chance of the bet winning. See the +EV guide.
- Fair odds
- The price with the book's cut taken out. Try the no-vig calculator.
- Favorite
- The team expected to win.
- Hedge
- Betting the other side to lock in profit or cut risk. Try the hedge calculator.
- Hold
- The share of the money a book expects to keep, also called the vig or juice.
- Implied probability
- The chance a price suggests. +100 implies 50%.
- Juice / vig
- The book's cut, built into the price.
- Limit
- The most a book will let you bet, or a cap it places on your account.
- Line
- The number set for a spread, total or prop.
- Line movement
- A price or line changing after it opens.
- Longshot
- A bet with long odds that wins rarely and pays a lot.
- Middle
- Betting the over at a low line and the under at a higher one. Land in between and both win. See the middles guide.
- Moneyline
- A bet on who wins, with no spread.
- Over / under
- A bet on whether a total lands above or below the line.
- Parlay
- Several bets combined into one. Every leg has to win. Try the parlay calculator.
- Player prop
- A bet on one player's stats, such as points or receiving yards.
- Push
- A tie with the line. Your stake comes back.
- Same-game parlay (SGP)
- A parlay with legs from one game, priced by the book with correlation in mind.
- Sharp
- A bettor or book known for accurate prices.
- Spread
- The points a favorite gives to an underdog.
- Stake
- How much you bet.
- Steam
- Quick line movement across many books at once.
- Total
- The combined score that overs and unders are bet against.
- Underdog
- The team expected to lose.
- Unit
- A set amount you use to size bets, often 1% of your bankroll.
- Void
- A canceled bet, with your stake returned.