In the past few years, several countries and states around the world have legalized online sports betting. So, it’s no wonder that more and more people are turning towards online betting sites to wager on their favourite sports. But as a novice bettor, some elements of sports betting, including betting terms, can be a bit daunting. As such, we’ve prepared a beginner’s guide to common sports betting terms. Read on!

Accumulator – This is a popular sports bet type that combines multiple selections in a single wager. 

Action – In sports betting, action is a way of saying that you’ve placed a wager/bet.

Bad beat – In sports betting, a bad beat is when you’re about to win a wager but lose it at the very last moment.

Bankroll – Bankroll is the amount of money that bettors have set aside to wager on sports.

Book – A book is where bettors can wager on sporting events and tournaments. This is just another word that’s used to refer to UK betting sites.

Buck – Buck is another way of saying that you’ve placed a wager of $100.

Chalk – The term chalk is used to refer to the favourite side.

Consensus – In sports betting, consensus is used to show what percentage of bettors are wagering on each side during a sporting event.

Dime – A $1,000 wager is referred to as dime in sports betting.

Dollar – A sports bet that’s worth $100.

Draw – A draw is when the final outcome of a sporting event is a tie.

Edge – When wagering on sports, the term edge refers to getting an advantage by doing thorough research or having information that’s not known to the masses.

Even money– These are bets that give the exact same amount as your initial wager upon winning.

Exposure – This is the total amount of money that a bettor or sportsbook can lose on any particular bet.

Handle – Sportsbooks use this term to denote the amount of money that bettors have wagered on a sporting event during a specific time period.

Moneyline bet – With the moneyline bet, you wager that your chosen team will win the sporting event.

Nickel – A $500 bet is referred to as nickel in sports betting.

No Action – No action means that a bookmaker has cancelled all bets on a specific line. In case of no action, your wager amount will be refunded in full.

Oddsmaker – Also referred to as a linemaker, an oddsmaker is someone who sets the opening line for a sporting event.

Over – Over means that the combined scores of both sides will be above a pre-defined number set by the sportsbook.

Payout – As the name implies, this is the amount that a bettor receives upon winning a wager. 

Push – Push is when the outcome of a bet is a tie between the bettor and the sports betting site. Again, all bets are refunded here.

Sharp – A professional sports bettor with years of sports betting experience.

Steam – Steam is when the odds for a given betting market change suddenly. This usually happens when sharp bettors wager huge amounts of money on a particular side.  

Under – Under means the combined scores of both sides will be lower than the sportsbook’s pre-defined number.

Tipster – Someone who offers betting advice to both newbies and experienced bettors.

Wager – Wager simply means the act of placing a bet on a sportsbook or racebook.

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