Spread: In spread bets, a team must cover the listed margin. Negative numbers indicate the favored team. For example, if the Spread is listed as LA Rams -3.5, the Rams must win the game by at least 4 points in order to cover the spread. Conversely, if the line is listed as San Francisco 49ers +3.5, the 49ers must lose by fewer than 4 points, or win the game outright, in order to cover the spread.
Moneyline: When betting the moneyline, you are betting on the side to win the game, regardless of the final score or margin. A negative moneyline denotes the favored side. A positive moneyline denotes the underdog. You may calculate your potential return before placing a moneyline bet by using the following guidelines:
-Favorites: The amount of money you must bet in order to return $100 on a successful bet. Example: LA Rams -120, a $120 bet will return $100 if LA wins
-Underdogs: The amount of money you will win if your $100 bet is successful. Example, San Francisco 49ers +130, a $100 bet will return $130 if San Francisco wins.
Totals: Total bets are won and lost depending on the total number of points scored by the two teams combined. An Under bet is successful when the two teams combine to score fewer than the listed number or points and an Over bet is successful when the two teams combine to score more than the listed number of points.
Example: Rams vs 49ers O/U 54.
-The Under is successful if the two teams score fewer than 54 combined points
-The Over is successful if the two teams score more than 54 combined points
-The bet is a push if the two teams score exactly 54 combined points.
Open/Current: An opening line is the initial line offered at the sportsbook when the game was first added to the betting board. The current line is the line being offered at the present moment. Lines move over time and you can get a good sense of the market by tracking the line’s movement throughout its life cycle.
Line Movement: A graph showing the price history of the line as it moved between Open and Current.
Reverse Line Movement: When a line is moving in the opposite direction of the majority of the betting tickets. For example: 60% of the betting tickets are coming in on the New York Jets, but over that same timeframe, the Jets have moved to +4.0 to +4.5 on the Spread. In this example, the Jets are becoming larger underdogs despite being the more popular side based on ticket count. Reverse line movement generally signals sharp/pro money coming in on the non-public side, and the line is moving in reaction to this.
Against The Spread (ATS): This term is generally used to describe the win-loss record of the team based on the spread in each game.
Unit: A sports bettor’s bankroll consists of 100 units where each unit represents 1% of the bettor’s total bankroll. For example, if a bettor’s bankroll is $1,000, 1 unit is equal to $100.
Juice: Juice is also known as ‘vig’ and it represents the ‘fee’ that is collected by the sportsbook. For example, when a bettor places a $110 bet on a -110 side, the bettor can collect $210 (the $110 bet plus a $100 return) if the bet is successful. $10, or 10%, is the juice, and that goes to the sportsbook
Parlay: Using parlays, you can combine individual bets in order to increase your potential return. In order for a parlay bet to be successful, each individual bet must hit. If any single component is unsuccessful, the entire parlay will be graded as a loss.
Teaser: A teaser is a type of parlay that has a line that is more favorable to the bettor, at the cost of a lower potential payout when the bet is successful.
Push: Bets can either win, lose, or push. ‘Push’ is a synonym for a tie or a ‘no-bet’. When your bet ‘pushes’, you will be credited back your stake from the sportsbook.
Run Line: A Run Line bet in MLB can be thought of as the equivalent to a Spread bet in other sports. Generally, Run Lines are listed as -1.5/+1.5. A -1.5 Run Line favorite must win the game by at least two runs in order for the bet to be successful. A +1.5 Run Line dog must lose the game by fewer than 2 runs or win the game outright in order for the bet to be successful.
1st Half/2nd Half Bet: Single half bets may be offered as Spread or Moneyline bets. Single half bets are identical to their full-game counterparts, with the caveat that single half bets are graded after one half of action.
1st 5 Inning Bet: First 5-Inning bets are the MLB equivalent of single half bets offered in other sports. Most commonly, they are offered as Moneyline bets, though you may also see Run Line First 5-Inning bets as well.