Sportsbook Terms
The following is a list of common sportsbook wagering terms. If you have any questions, please visit our Help page or FAQs section.
- Make-up figure
- When you withdraw funds, the make-up figure is the amount you are required to deposit before you are eligible for bonuses again.
- March Madness
- The annual NCAA men's basketball championship tournament.
- Middle(s)
- To win both sides of the same betting proposition. For example, placing a wager on the favorite team at 2 1/2 with one bookmaker, then taking +3 1/2 with another bookmaker. When the game ends up with the favorite winning by exactly three points, the player has "middled" the game. Middling is a favorite betting method of "wise guys".
- Middler
- A player who tends to middle his bets.
- MLB
- An abbreviation for Major League Baseball.
- Money Line
- Odds expressed in terms of money. It refers to the amount the player must risk to win $100, or the amount the player wins on a wager of $100. The team being wagered on simply has to win the game. Payoffs are based on true odds rather than fixed odds.
- NBA
- An abbreviation for National Basketball Association.
- NCAA
- An abbreviation for National Collegiate Athletic Association.
- Neutral Site
- An arena, court, ring, rink or field where neither side has a home-field advantage.
- Newspaper Line
- The lines which appear in various daily newspapers. These lines are only approximate and can be inaccurate and misleading.
- NFC
- An acronym for National Football Conference.
- NFL
- An acronym for National Football League.
- NHL
- An acronym for National Hockey League.
- Nickel
- A $500 wager.
- NIT
- An acronym for National Invitational Tournament (college basketball).
- No Action
- The situation where no wagers can be accepted by the house because a game has already started. Also, all sporting events must be played on the date and site as scheduled unless otherwise specified. Any event postponed, rescheduled or moved to another site will automatically constitute "No Action".
- Oddsmaker
- The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines for an event. Also known as the linesmaker.
- Odds On Favorite
- A horse, team or contestant so favored by the public that the odds for the event are less than even.
- Off the Board
- A game on which the bookmaker accepts no action.
- Off Lines
- The amount the Las Vegas point spread differs from the lines of other sports betting sites, which have derived their data from various computer-software systems.
- Official Line
- The line the bookmaker uses for wagering purposes. The line produced in Las Vegas is often referred to as the official line; however the line the bookmaker offers the player is actually the official line. Many smart players compare the Las Vegas official line to that of their local bookmaker to ensure they get every possible edge.
- Out
- A bookie (bookmaker).
- Outlaw Line
- An early line that is not an official line. Often, linemakers will invite specially selected players to wager into the outlaw line before entering the line to the public. The linemakers respect these experts and use their input to create a final opening number. This process is called ironing, or flattening, the line.
- Overtime
- The continuation of a game that is tied at the end of regulation time, until a winner is determined or the maximum specified overtime periods have expired.
- Over/Under Wager
- A wager on whether the combined total of the points/goals scored by two competing teams will exceed, or be less, than a specified number.
- Pari-Mutuel Wagering
- A term taken from the French language that means "betting among ourselves". In practice, it amounts to making wagers in which winnings are taken from the total amount of money in play. Pari-Mutuel wagering ensures that the player cannot wager against the track, but only against the other players.
- Parlay
- A combination or multiple wager on two or more teams. In order for the player to win a parlay, all of his selections must win in each game. If the game results in a tie, or is postponed or cancelled, the parlay is automatically reduced by one selection.
- Past Performance
- An accurate record of the performance of specific teams, horses or contestants when participating in sports events similar to those scheduled.
- Penny Line
- A money line which is adjusted in increments of one cent at a time.
- PGA
- An acronym for Professional Golfers' Association.
- Pick'em Game
- A game where no team is favored. The player takes a pick and lays 11 to 10.
- Point Spread
- A margin, in points or goals, given to an underdog taking part in an event, usually to give the underdog a head start. It is the predicted scoring differential between the contestants or teams concerned.
- Post Up (Player)
- A sportsbook customer who has deposited money with the house in the form of an active account and plays with that balance.
- Press
- To wager a greater amount than usual.
- Pressing
- Wagering winnings along with the original bet. A player is pressing a bet when he lets winnings ride.
- Price
- The money line, odds or point spread on the favorite in a sports event. Also the pot odds a player gets in poker on a draw or call.
- Probability
- A branch of mathematics measuring the likelihood an event will occur. Probabilities are expressed as numbers between zero and one. The probability of an impossible event is zero, while an event that is certain to occur has a probability of one.
- Proposition Bet
- A wager on a specific aspect of an event such as the number of field goals, free throws, etc., that will be made during a game.
- Puck Line
- A wager on ice hockey that combines both a handicap/spread and odds.
- Puck
- Slang term for the game of ice hockey. Also, the disc-like object in ice hockey with which players try to score goals.
- Push
- A tie hand between a book and a player where no money changes hands because the final score of a game is exactly the same as the point spread or total points (combined scores of both teams).
- Rain Out
- An event cancelled because of bad weather.
- Rollover
- Refers to the number of times you need to wager funds before a withdrawal of funds in order to keep your bonus winnings.
- Round Robin
- A way to enter multiple parlays at one time. Allows you to select between three and eight picks and combine them in parlays of two to six teams (e.g. You can have three two-team parlays).
- Rundown
- A read out of all of the lines to a customer by the sportsbook.
- Run Line
- Refers to a baseball bet in which the bettor can either take the favorite (for example, -1.5 runs) or take the underdog (for example, +1.5 runs).
- Running Bad
- A term for a player on a losing streak.
- Running Good
- A term for a player on a winning streak.
- Ryder Cup
- A golf tournament between American and European golfers that takes place every two years.
