A-Z Sports Glossary and Terms

When an underdog is losing by more than the point spread and scores meaningless points late on to cover the spread. For example, if Orlando are leading Houston 40-26 with two minutes to go and you’ve bet on Houston at +9, a touchdown in the last couple of minutes will put them inside the point spread.

When a player is on the verge of winning a bet, but an event happens in the last few minutes that causes it to lose. Everyone who bets will experience a bad beat or two throughout their career.

The amount of money set aside specifically for betting. Your bankroll will increase as you win and decrease as you lose bets.

The act of managing the money you use for betting. This can include setting betting limits, comparing bookmakers for the best odds, and only betting what you can afford to lose.

A person who makes a bet for a professional bettor to help conceal their identity from betting companies.

Any wager placed at a sportsbook.

A platform that facilitates the betting between two people on a sporting event.

A plan or a method that a bettor uses to try and win their bets. This can include betting certain amounts of money on certain events or thoroughly researching an event before betting on it.

A person making a bet.

A common abbreviation for bookmaker or sportsbook.

A common abbreviation for a bookmaker.

A common abbreviation for arbitrage betting.

A common abbreviation for bankroll.

Stands for both teams to score and is a betting option for games such as soccer and ice hockey. You can either bet “yes,” meaning you think both teams will score in the game, or “no,” meaning you don’t think both teams will score.

An option offered by a sportsbook allows the bettor to increase the point spread for a reduced price. For example, if the point spread is +7.5 at +150, you can buy an extra point to make the point spread +8.5, but the price will decrease to +135.