Glossary

Online betting jargon has grown by the day and fans looking to get involved have become confused. Today however we provide you with a sports betting glossary of terms to clear up all of the confusion. Here are a few terms to help you get started on your road to becoming a successful sports bettor.

Dog - Short term for underdog.

Dollar Bet - Slang for $100 wager.

Draw - When participants tie in an event, the winnings are split in half. In horse racing this has been overruled by the photo finish, which determines which horse finished first based on a photo.

Drift - Moving point spreads from side to side before the start of an event.

Even Money - A bet that has even odds.

Exotic - Any bet that is made aside from a straight bet or a parlay bet.

Exposure - The total amount of money a sportsbook or bookie stands to lose on a given game.

Favorite - The individual or team which is deemed to have the best odds of winning the match as determined by the bookie.

Form - The program used for betting on horses.

Handicapper - A knowledgeable bettor who is not the bookie but knows as much about the bets being wagered on.

Handle - Total amount of money on a single game.

Hook - The half points attached to a spread. Ex. 7.5 would be seven and a hook.

Juice - The bookie's commission for taking on your bet.

Layoff - Money bet by a sportsbook with a separate sportsbook to make back the money it loses with an exposure.

Lines - Odds offered to the bettors.

Long Odds - Lines greater than 10 to one, most commonly seen in horse racing.

Middle - Betting on both sides of a game using different betting lines.

Money Line - The amount of money wagered in order to win back $100.

Ever year around the beginning of May fans around the betting world watch horse racing for the Triple Crown. Since many fans from other sports decide to watch horse racing for the Triple Crown, they have much difficulty in picking the winning horses. Here is a horse racing glossary for you to use the next time you bet on a race.

Across the board - This is when you would bet on a horse to finish in first, second or third. If a horse wins the race your bet pays out three ways, if it finishes second only two ways and third only one way.

Boxed Bet - Wagering with an exacta or trifecta in a multi-horse race.

Breakage - Nickel and dime payouts with left over pennies are given back to the track.

Bridge Jumper - A patron who bets a large amount on a show horse, if they lose it is assumed they will jump off the nearest bridge.

Dailey Double - A bet where you have to win by calling the winner of two races in a row.

Dead Heat - When two horses tie at the finish line, this is normally fixed by a photo finish.

Exacta - A bet in which the first two horses to finish a race must be picked with exact precision.

Field Horse - Two or more horses run as a single bet. This usually occurs if one owner has two horses in a given race the program will read "1 and 1a".

In The Money - Finishing in the top three.

Inquiry - Checking to see if any rules have been broken during a race. This occurs after a race just to make sure the winner did not cheat.

Lock - Synonym for a sure thing.

Minus Pool - When the race association has to cover the payout of the bet because there is not enough money to pay out after the taxes are deducted by the race track.

For fans new to betting online, we have assembled a group of terms used in casino jargon. This list should help you get started when placing a bet the next time you go to the casino.

Bankroll - The amount of money you will be using during a game at the casino.

Bluff - Term used in poker where the player uses a weaker hand to drive out his or her opponents while making it appear they have a stronger hand.

Burn Card - This is the card that is face down before the three card flop.

Card Counting - Term used in blackjack to determine the probability of the cards you want and don't want turning up when you hit.

Comps - Essentially a bonus given to patrons of a casino thanking them for coming or thanking for playing more than one game at the casino.

Even Money - A bet that gives you the same return as what you wagered.

Face Cards - The Jack, Queen, King in a deck of cards.

Flush - Term in poker describes five cards of the same suit in one hand.

Full House - This is when you have a triple of one card and a pair of another in the same hand.

Hit - Term used in blackjack to get another card from the dealer in order to make a winning hand.

Insurance - Term in blackjack where a side bet is made in order for the patron to break even if the dealer wins.

Jackpot - Term in slots describing the largest prize you can win.

Loose - Also a slots term which depicts the act of paying out at higher percentages than at any other slot machine.

Pay Line - In slots this is the board above the slot machine which decides a winner based on the winning combination. Essentially in order to win you have to match the symbols to the pay line.