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20 cent line – In money line contests,
a twenty cent difference in the money lines between the favorite and the
underdog
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Action - Any wager; The total amount bet, either from the bettor's
point of view or that of the house. In baseball, placing a bet regardless
who pitches.
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Added Game - a game not part of Las Vegas regular rotation posted
as an accommodation to customers.
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ATS - "Against the spread," taking points rather than betting with
the spread and laying points.
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Beard - a friend or acquaintance who is used to place bets as to
conceal the true identity of the real bettor.
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Book - an establishment that accepts bets on the outcome of horse
racing and sporting events.
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Bookie - a person who accepts bets.
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Buck - Sports betting term for a $100 wager.
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Buy (Points) - a player pays an additional price to receive half a
point or more in his favor on a point spread game.
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Canadian Line - the Canadian line is a combination point spread and
money line in hockey.
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Chalk - The favorite.
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Chalk Player - someone who usually only plays the favored teams,
rarely betting on the underdogs.
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Circled game - a game in which the betting action is reduced;
usually occurs in added games, games with injuries, bad weather,
propositions, or halves of games. These games cannot be included in
parlays or teasers.
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Cover - When a favorite wins by more than the required number of
points.
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Dime - $1000 sports betting wager.
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Dime Line - a line where the juice is
10%.
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Dog - the team perceived to be most
likely to lose.
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Dog Player - refers to one who mostly
plays the underdog.
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Dollar - $100
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Double action - An "if bet" in sports
betting that is processed if the precedent bet wins, ties or cancels.
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Double Bet - a wager for twice the
size of one's usual wager; also known as "double pop" or "doubling up."
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Double Header – Two separate games
played by the same teams on the same day.
East Coast Line - Mainly used in hockey, which has a split-goal
line e.g. - Philadelphia Flyers (1 - 1 ½) favorite over the LA Kings as
opposed to goal spread plus moneyline (-1/2 -180).
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Edge - A persons Advantage when it
comes to sports betting.
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Even Money - a bet whose odds are 1/1;
a wager in which no vigorish or juice is laid.
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Exotic - any wager other than a
straight bet or parlay - also called a prop or proposition.
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Exposure - The maximum amount of money
a sports book stands to lose on a game.
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Favorite - the team expected to win an
event. The quoted odds reflect the extent to which the choice is favored.
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Fifty cents - $50
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Figure - the amount owed to or by a
bookmaker
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First half bet - a bet placed only on
the first half of the game.
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Future - odds are posted in advance on
the winners of various major events including the Super Bowl, the World
Series, the Stanley Cup, and the NBA Championship this is called a Future
bet
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Grand Salami - A sports betting term
meaning the grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the
day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.
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Half a dollar - $50
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Half time bet - a bet placed only on
the second half of the game.
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Handicapper - one who studies, rates
and wagers on sporting events and/or races.
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Handicapping - the attempt to predict
the outcome of sporting events.
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Handle - the total amount of bets
taken.
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Hedging - A sports betting term that
means placing wagers on the opposite side in order to cut losses or
guarantee a minimum amount of winnings.
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Hook - a half point added to football
and basketball betting lines.
Hot game - a game which is drawing a lot of action on one side by
knowledgeable handicappers.
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Juice - The bookmaker's commission on
a losing bet, also known as "vigorish."
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Laying the points - betting the
favorite by giving up points.
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Laying the price - betting the
favorite by laying money odds.
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Layoff - money bet by a house with
another bookmaker to reduce its liability.
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Limit - the maximum amount a bookmaker
will allow you to bet before he changes the odds and/or the points.
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Line - the current odds or point
spread on a particular event.
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Linemaker - in the sports betting
industry this is the person who establishes the original and subsequent
betting lines.
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Listed Pitchers - a baseball bet which
will be placed only if both of the pitchers scheduled to start a game
actually start. If they don't, the bet is cancelled.
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Lock - Easy winner, can not lose.
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Longshot - a team or horse perceived
to be unlikely to win.
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Middle - to win both sides of the same
contest in sports betting event. Wagering on the underdog at one point
spread and the favorite at a different point spread and winning both
sides.
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Money line - odds expressed in terms
of money. With money odds, whenever there is a minus (-) you lay that
amount to win a hundred dollars, where there is a plus (+) you get that
amount for every hundred dollars wagered.
Move the line - a player pays an additional price to receive half a point
or more in his favor on a point spread game.
Newspaper Line - t he betting line which quite often appears in the daily
newspapers. The lines are only approximate and quiet often totally
inaccurate and misleading.
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Nickel - $500
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Nickel line - A sports wagering line
where the juice is 5%.
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No action - A wager in sports betting
in which no money is lost nor won.
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Odds On Favorite - A horse, team, or
individual so favored by the public that the odds are less than even.
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Off the board - a game on which the
bookmaker will not accept action.
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Official Line - The line that the
bookmaker uses for wagering purposes. The line which comes from Las Vegas
is quite often referred to as the official line; however, the line that
your bookie offers you is actually your "official line."
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One dollar - $100
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Outlaw Line - term for the earliest
line in sports betting. This is an overnight line which only a handful of
players are allowed to bet into.
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Over - the "over" is a sports bet in
which the bettor guesses that the combined point total of two teams will
be above a specified total.
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Overplay - An advantage for the bettor
in which the price on a given wager is greater than the real probability
of its success.
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Parlay - a bet with two or more teams
in which all teams must win or cover for the bettor to win and receive
higher payouts
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Pick 'em - When neither team is
favored. Also called a "pick" in sports betting terms.
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Pointspread - The pointspread - also
called "the line" - is used as a margin to handicap the favorite team. The
oddsmaker - also called the handicapper - "gives" points (or goals) to the
underdog - for betting purposes only. The bettor must take either the
favorite or the underdog. The favorite is always indicated by a minus sign
(e.g. -8.5) and the underdog by a plus sign (e.g.+8.5). For betting
purposes, the outcome of the game is determined by taking the actual game
score and finding the difference between the scores of the two teams
playing (called the pointspread or just the "spread").
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Post Time - The Schedule starting
time.
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Press - to wager a larger amount than
usual.
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Price - Sports betting term for the
odds or point spread.
Prop (Proposition) Bet - a special wager offered by the sports book on
unique and various topics. These wagers can be on sporting events,
politics, and even trial outcomes. The wagers use the money line format of
pay off odds and might included who scores the first touchdown in the
super bowl, who will win the next presidential election, or whether or not
O. J. will be found guilty.
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Puckline - giving odds of a goal
spread instead of using a Canadian Line in hockey, where both a goal
spread and money line are played.
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Puppy - The underdog
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Push - When the contest ends with no
winner or loser for wagering purposes.
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Round Robin - a series of three or
more teams in 2-team parlays.
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Run down - all the lines for an
specific date, sport, time, etc.
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Run line - In baseball a spread used
instead of the money line.
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Runner - One who places bets for
another when it comes to sports betting
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Scouts - person(s) who waits for what
he thinks is an unusually strong wager. A.K.A. Sports Player.
-
Sharp - a sophisticated or
professional gambler.
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Sides - the names of the two teams
playing: the underdog and the favorite.
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Single action - An "if bet" in sports
gambling that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.
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Spread - A spread in sports wagering
is the predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a
sports book. See "point spread."
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Square - A novice when it comes to
sports betting.
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Steam - when a line starts to move
rapidly. Most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect objective
circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors are drawn to for some
reason.
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Store - A bookie or sports betting
establishment.
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Straight bet - a wager on just one
team or horse.
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Taking the points - betting the
underdog and its advantage in the point spread.
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Taking the price - betting the
underdog and accepting money odds.
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Teaser - A teaser is a special type of
parlay in sports betting in which you adjust the point spread or total of
each individual play. The price of moving the point spread (teasing) is
lower pay off odds winning wagers.
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Ticket - A sports betting wager.
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Tie - a wager in which no money is
lost nor won because the teams' scores were equal to the number of points
in the given line.
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Total - The combined amount of runs,
points or goals scored by both teams during the game, including the
overtime.
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Totals Bet - a proposition bet in
which the bettor speculates that the total score by both teams in a game
will be more or less than the line posted by the sports book.
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Tout - Someone who sells their
expertise on sports wagering.
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Under - an under is a wager in which
the bettor guesses that the total points scored by two teams will be under
a certain figure.
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Underdog - The team perceived to be
most likely to lose. Also known as the "dog" .
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Value - getting the best odds on a
wagering proposition; the highest possible edge.
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Vigorish - The bookmaker's commission
on a losing bet; also known as juice in sports betting
