Glossary of sports betting terms

Glossary of
Sports Betting
Terms

Welcome
OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz
welcomes all new and avid punters who
want to learn a little more about the
terms used in sports betting.
In this glossary you’ll find an A-Z of all
the most commonly used sportsbetting
terms.

A:
 Accumulator: In this bet a punter wagers on the outcome of
several races at once. Winnings from each race are then
used to bet on the following race.
 Action: Any bet is deemed Action if its valid.
 Also ran: Any selection that does not finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd or
4th.
 Any to Come: (ATC) When all or part of returns from a bet
are reinvested automatically on a subsequent wager.
 Arbitrage: A variation in odds allows a punter to back both
sides- guaranteeing a win.

B:
 Blind Bet: A bet made by a bookmaker to draw attention
away from bets on another horse, avoiding a shortening of
odds.
 Bookmaker: A person/company who takes bets. Also known
as a bookie or when online, as a sports book. At
OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz we recommend the best sport books
for NZ punters.
 Bottle: UK slang for Odds of 2:1
 Buy Price: In Index or Spread betting the Buy price is the
higher figure quoted by the Index bookmaker.

C:
 Canadian: Multiple bet that consists of 26 separate bets,
also known as a Double Yankee.
 Canadian Line: Also known as a Puck Line, a Canadian
line combines a Moneyline and Point spread.
 Carpet: UK slang for Odds of 3:1 (also referred to as a
‘gimmel’ or ‘tres’)
 Co-Favourites: When 3 or more competitors are the
favourites.
 Cover: Beating (covering) the spread by the required
number of points to win the bet.

D:
 Dead Heat: A tie between 2 or more competitors that sees
full odds paid at half-stake.
 Double: A bet that can be placed at many of the
OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz recommended sports books, a
Double consists of 2 selections which must both win in order
to payout.
 Doubling up: A betting system whereby after every loss a
player doubles the size of their bet (based on the Martingale
Betting System)
 Drift: If the odds on a competitor lengthen they are said to
drift or be on the drift.

E:
 Each-Way: A 2 way bet that firstly predicts a selection to win
and secondly to place.
 Evens: Odds of 1:1(also known as ‘levels’ or ‘scotch’)
 Exacta: Placing the bet at a OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz sports
book can result in a huge payout. A punter must choose a
winner and 2nd place horse on one pools ticket.
 Exotic Wager: A Parlay, Teaser and Round Robin are
examples of exotic wagers- those bets which are not straight
bets.

F:
 Favourite: A competitor most likely to be the winner. Usually
has the lowest odds due to its immense popularity.
 Fold: A fold indicates the number of selections in an
accumulator bet.
 Figure: The handicappers rating number that indicates
winning potential or the winning chance.
 Forecast: A bet that predicts the 1st and 2nd place for an
event.
 Form: Past results are studied to give an indication of
competitor’s performance. ‘Studying form’ is something avid
punters are said to do when checking stats.

G:
 Goliath: A multiple bet that consists of 247 bets that covers
8 sections in different events. A Goliath bet is so named due
to its giant size.
 Grand: Also known as a big one, this refers to any bet over
NZ$1000. (Or a 1000 in any currency)

H:
 Handicap: A method used to make a very one-sided event
more appealing to punters. Teams are awarded points (also
known as ‘line’ or ‘point spread’) based on their calibre,
making the underdogs a more attractive betting proposition.
 Hedging: Also known as a ‘lay off bet’ hedging bets are
made by bookmakers that have accepted huge bets on a
race to cut their losses if the horse proves to be a winner.
 Heinz: A multiple bet that has 57 bets including 15 doubles,
20 trebles, 15 4 folds, 6 5 folds and 1 6 fold all involving 6
horses in varying races.

I:
 In the Money: Describes horses in a race that
have finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd, or the horses that
placed and will see money paid out to punters for
successful bets.

J:
 Joint-Favourites: When a bookmaker is unable to separate
two competitors due to them both being favourites. At
OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz endorsed sports books, betting on
joint-favourites can bring about a very lucrative win.
 Jolly: Slang term for the favourite horse or competitor.

K:
 Kite: UK slang for a cheque.

L:
 Long Odds: Odds offered that are unlikely to win but if they do,
could pay off well.
 Lines: Pointspreads, handicaps and odds available to punters.
 Longshot: The outsider or the least favourite/ underdog against
whom odds have been made available.
 Lucky 15/31/63: Multiple bets that are placed on outcomes of 4, 5
or 6 different selections.

M:
 Martingale: A betting system that’s principle is based on
doubling up. At OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz we advise punters
who have a bigger bankroll to try this method, whilst those on
a budget to steer clear.
 Morning Line: A forecast of the probable odds.
 Mutuel Pool: The total amount bet to show, place or win in a
race. This term can also refer to the total amount bet on a
quinella, exacta, double daily and other exotic bets.

N:
 Nap: The selection of strongest selections recommended
on any day. Rumoured to be named after Napoleon.
 No Action: A bet that has become invalid due to an
event not taking place or a certain cut off time not yet
being reached.

O:
 Odds: The bookmakers view on a competitor’s chance of
winning. At OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz we only promote sports
books that offer great odds.
 Odds Against: When odds are greater than evens. For
example 5:2
 Odds On: Where odds are shorter than evens, for example
4:7. If the bet wins the amount won is lower than the stake
amount, but you receive your stake back too.
 Off the Top: When the sports book or bookmaker takes a
percentage off the pool before paying out winning tickets.
 Overbroke: When the bookmaker loses money in a bet.
 Overlay: A horse that has high odds in comparison to its

P:
 Pari-Mutuel: Also known as pool betting, all bets are
pooled and winners are paid out according to the size of
the pool.
 Picks: Selections chosen by an expert, also referred to
as ‘tips’. At OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz we tell you where to
find the top picks.
 Place: A word used to describe a second place result.
 Pointspread: The head start given to an underdog or
less favourite competitor. Also refereed to as a handicap
or line.
 Punter: The bettor or someone who has placed a bet.

Q:
 Quinella: A bet placed on which horses will finish
1st and 2nd, regardless of the actual order.

R:
 Ringer: Taken from the term ‘a dead ringer’ a ringer is a
greyhound or horse that is entered under another’s name,
often a good racer replacing a poorer one.
 Roundabout: A bet that has 3 bets with 3 selections in 3
different events.
 Round Robin: A bet that has 10 bets with 3 pairs of single
stakes bets, 3 doubles and a single treble for 3.

S:
 Shortening Odds: When a bookmaker reduces odds due
to the number of bets taken.
 Single: A straight bet on 1 selection to win.
 Stake: The amount a punter bets.
 Spreads: A handicap.
 Spread Betting: A bet is calculated on a correct prediction
and returns or losses are in proportion to how close the bet
outcome is. This can either lead to a big win or a big loss.
 Sure thing: A bet that is almost 100% likely to be
successful

T:
 Tips: Also known as Picks, tips are the experts opinion on
what bets are best. You can find plenty of tips at the sports
books recommended by OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz.
 Tipster: The pro that provides the picks or tips.
 Treble: A bet with 3 selections, all of which must be
successful in order to payout.
 Tricast: A bet where the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place must be
correctly predicted.
 Trifecta: Also known as a Triple, a Trifecta bet sees a
punter pick the first 3 finishers in the correct order.

U:
 Underdog: The team that’s given the head start in a
handicap as it’s considered to have a less likely chance
of winning than the favourite.
 Under: A bet on the combined score of two teams, which
has a total, that’s under a set value.

V:
 Value: Getting the very best odds on any wager.
 Vigorish: US slang for the bookmaker’s commission on a
bet.

W:
 Welsh: To welsh on a bet means to fail to settle a gambling
debt.
 Win: A term that describes a first place finish in any race or
event.
 Winning Margin: A bet that will see the punter predict the
winning margin of one team over another.

X:
 X: Indicates a draw on a soccer betting coupon.

Y:
 Yankee: A multiple bet that has 11 bets consisting of 6
doubles, 4 trebles and 1 fold over 4 different sections in
4 events.

Z:
 Zebras: A slang term for referees, based on their stripy
jerseys.

Now that you have a better understanding
of sports betting terminology, you can
select one of the sports books
recommended by OnlineBettingNZ.co.nz
and start punting!

Glossary of sports betting terms

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Glossary of sports betting terms