Betting terminology

Betting Terminology A-Z Guide
If you are a beginner wanting to learn sports betting, it is important that you learn the basic betting terminology to be able to understand what you have to do in betting and how you have to make your bets. This comprehensive A-Z guide will help you in your learning process.

 

Accumulator
An Accumulator bet is a multiple selection where all the outcomes of your selection should win in order for you to win the bet. It is used to achieve large payouts.

Against the Spread
This is a type of bet where you decide which of the teams will be able to cover the spread and not the one that you think will win.

 

All In
This is a bet where your entire bankroll is put on stake.

 

All Out
This term refers to a horse when it is trying very hard to win.

 

All Weather Racing
Horse racing that is hosted on an artificial surface such as the polytrack surface of Lingfield, Wolverhampton and Kempton racecourses.

 

Ante Post Bet
These are bets that you place a day, week or months in advance from the day of the actual event. These bets stand a chance of being offered higher odds. Also while placing your bet, you are also betting that the entrant will actually participate in the event. If in case it doesn’t, you will lose your bet.

 

Apprentice
This is a term referring to a young jockey who has an advantage of a weight allowance over senior and experienced jockeys. This however reduces with the number of victories achieved.

 

Arber
A punter who manipulates the market and sets a profit by supporting all the results of an event at a collective book of less than 100%.

 

Arbitrage
A bet that offers an assured profit no matter what the outcome.

 

Asian Handicap
A bet used in football that allows the weaker team a head start to make the betting more viable.

 

Backward
A horse that is not able to live up to its expectation because it is not developed enough.

 

Banker
A bet that is believed in strongly and is the foundation for combination bets.

 

Bar
The lowest odds that are not quoted in a betting forecast.

 

Bismarck
A horse that a punter strongly believes will lose.

 

Blanket Finish
When many of the competing horses finish the race neck to neck.

 

Canadian
Also known as the Super Yankee, the Canadian bet is an amalgamation of 26 bets with 5 selections in various events and includes doubles, trebles, fourfolds and an accumulator. In order to get a return at least two of your selections must win.

 

Chalk
A favourite

 

Chasing
Pursuing bets in the hope of recovering loses.

 

Co-Favourite
A horse that is also a favourite along with two others in a race.

 

Correct Score
This is a type of bet generally used in football where the odds depend on the real match odds between the two teams.

 

Dead Heat
Where two or more horses finish at the same position.

 

Doubles
An accumulator bet where two selections are made and both horses must win for your bet to be a winner.

 

Drift
When the odds of a horse get bigger because of low support in the betting.

 

Dutching
Supporting two or more selections in order to accomplish an equal profit irrespective of which of the two selections wins.

 

Each Way
Two different bets with one for a win and the other for place. Your selection must either win or achieve a place in order for your bet to win.

 

Edge
An advantage that a punter has in a bet.

 

Exacta
A bet on the Tote that calls for the finishing two horses to be announced in the right order.

 

Favourite: A selection on a bookie’s rate that has the greatest possibility of winning.

 

Fourfold
A bet placed on four different horses of which all must win.

 

Going
The ground condition of a racecourse.

 

Handicap
An advantage of a head start given to a weaker team for better betting. Also in a handicap race, horses depending on their official rating carry different weights while greyhounds are given a head start according to their capability.

 

Hedging
Making another selection in an event in order to reduce the risk.

 

IBAS
A betting service that settles any disagreement between the punter and the bookmaker.

 

Lay
A bet that predicts that a selection will not win.

 

Monkey
A slang used by bookmakers for £500.

 

Nap
The best bet of the day from a tipster.

 

Odds
The returns offered by a bookmaker for a selection to win.

 

Odds On
Where the returns on the odds are less than the punter’s original stake.

 

Over Round
The leeway that a bookmaker creates into the odds to ensure his profit on an event.

 

Patent
7 bets with three selections in different events, comprising of three singles, three doubles and a treble.

 

Place Pot
A bet on the tote where the placed selection must be announced in the first six races.

 

Permutation
A bet that comprises of a series of selections securing various results.

 

Pony
A slang used by bookmakers for £25.

 

Round Robin
A bet with three selections, in three races, in three doubles, one treble and six single stakes about bets.

 

Rule 4
A cut in odds on bets placed earlier before a particular time because the favoured runner is being withdrawn. The greater the favourite, the larger will be the rule 4 deduction.

 

Spread Betting
A bet where the punter must buy or sell (bet high or low) on the spread devised by the traders.

 

Tic Tac
A sign language used by the bookmakers to communicate on a racecourse.

 

Tote
A betting system that resolves bets not on dividends but on set prices.

 

Treble
A bet on three selections where all must win.

 

Trixie
4 bets with three selections consisting of three doubles and a treble.

 

Value Bet
If you perceive that the odds are better than the mathematical probability of the team winning, you have a value bet.

 

Walkover
A race where only a single runner remains after a series of non-runners.

 

Yankee
11 bets with four selections in different events comprising of six doubles, four trebles and a fourfold.

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