Glossary of Common Betting Terms

ATS – Acronym for Against The Spread

Bookmaker – A person who accepts bets on sporting events, either legally or illegally (a.k.a. “Your Man” or “Your Bookie”).

Contrarian – A bettor who is always against the public or the masses of amateur bettors.

Cover – To beat the Spread.

Dime – Gambler’s slang for a bet to win $1000, as in “I bet a dime on the Philadelphia Eagles. If they cover the spread, I win $1000”

Favorite – The team that is considered most likely to win by the professional oddsmakers or sportsbooks.

Hook – Gambler’s slang for half a point – As in “I’m betting South Florida minus 5 and a hook”. This means -5.5 points.

Moneyline – A straight money bet on the outcome of the games with no point spread involved.

Parlay – A bet involving two or more events. Every team in the group must win or the bettor loses the entire bet.

Push – A tie. If a game finishes exactly on the points spread (i.e., Dallas -5 wins by exactly 5)

Underdog – The team that is considered least likley to win by the professional oddsmakers or sportsbook.

Vigorish – A charge or commission on each losing bet extracted by the bookmaker. Also called “the juice”.

Wise Guys – Term for smart professional gamblers. Also called “smart money”.

Remember…An educated player is a smart player.

JoVerto