Sports Betting Classroom: Part 4

Dave Carney 4/22/2021      

What’s on the table today?: Sports Betting Classroom: Definitions (Part 4)

Today we’re adding another entry to our Sports Betting Classroom work with a Lesson 4 on “Terms and Definitions” that you’ll need/want to know as you continue on your sports betting path.

In our first three lessons I broke down all of the most common terms and definitions, started to look at some of the more “exotic” terms and set ourselves up for today’s Lesson 4 where we’ll nearly complete what will become our Sports Betting Glossary.

If you have not read my first three columns on Terms and Definitions….STOP….you won’t really follow what we have here if you don’t go back and read over those. All of my articles are easy to find, online at WKTYSports.com.

Thanks again to the fine work by our friends at The Action Network for being such a great resource and a go-to spot for sports betting information.

• Buying Points – Paying an additional fee in order to get a game at a more attractive price. Oftentimes bettors will buy points in football around key numbers such as 3 and 7.

• Dime – A bet of $1,000.

• Added Game – A game that is not part of the regular Las Vegas rotation. Oftentimes this will be a rescheduled game or the second game of a doubleheader.

• Arbitrage – The simultaneous purchase and sale of the same game in different markets to profit from unequal prices.

• Bankroll – The available funds you have to bet with.

• Field – In proposition (prop) bets, bettors are often allowed to bet the field. This refers to an accumulation of all the teams or players that are not specifically listed.

• Future – This refers to bets that come down in advance of an event. For example, one can bet a Super Bowl future prior to the beginning of the season by selecting which team(s) they believe will win the championship. A bettor receives payment at the end of the season if their selection did claim the title.

• Dog – Short for underdog, this is the team which bookmakers assume will lose the game.

• Draw – Also known as a push. If a game falls exactly on the spread, there is no winner and bettors will receive their money back.

• Edge – A bettor’s advantage against the house. This will typically refer to an instance where you have a positive expected value.

• Even Money – A bet where you are not paying any vigorish (i.e. +100).

Hook – In spread based sports, the hook is an extra half-point that bettors can get. Oftentimes in football, bettors will buy the hook around key numbers like 3 to get a line of 3.5.