Top Sports Betting Terms To Help Guide Our South African Punters
Don’t let lengthy terms and complex jargon ruins your online playing experience. In order to help you we have compiled an extensive list of the most common sports betting terminology and phrases:
Accumulator – An accumulator is a bet that combines four or more individual bets or selections into a single wager. How this works is that you will only win when all bets win. The advantage of an accumulator is that your winnings will be much higher than normal, of course this comes at an increased risk since only a single selection needs to lose in order for the entire bet to lose.
Against the spread -This phrase is used in sports betting to describe a bet against the betting line. Every game has a betting line which displays the odds for each of the teams within that specific event, normally the odds with be in favour of a specific team. Betting against the spread means the bettor betting on the underdog or the team which has the highest odds and greatest risk.
Ante post – Specifically to horse or greyhound racing, an ante-post bet is a bet placed before the specific events betting market has opened. An ante-post bet is normally made by players who have the expectation that the price of the horse/greyhound they are betting on is more favourable before the market opens. Ante-post betting, unlike starting price betting, carries the additional risk that the original bet will be forfeited, rather than returned.
Arbitrage betting -Arbitrage betting (also known as a “surebet” or “arb”) is a risk-free bet that ultimately guarantees profit on a particular sporting event or betting market. When arbing, you are essentially exploiting differences in odds being offered between a number of bookmakers, typically two. The aim of arb betting is to collate your odds across bookmakers to ensure that your return covers any shortfall through the alternative bookmakers loss.
Bookmaker – Also referred to in short as a “Bookie”, back in the day the bookmaker or bookie was the person whose job it was to take bets, calculate odds and payout any winnings; most of the time this was simply the owner or manager of a betting shop. In today’s digital age the bookmaker role still stays the same, however the spectrum has broadened to now include not just an individual but also a specific company behind the actual betting site or portal that you are playing on or with. An example would be Supabet, we refer to them as the bookie or bookmaker
Betting line – The betting line is essentially the odds that bookmakers put down in an event. Your betting line will always have lower odds on one side for the favourite to win, as well as on the opposing side higher odds for the underdog, or least favourite to win. The odds across the betting line are formulated using sophisticated mathematical models that help the sports books predict the outcome of the game.
Backdoor cover – This phrase is used in sports betting to describe an event or specific moment late in a game which enables the underdog to cover the point spread, such as a late winning drop goal or penalty.
Betcode – A betcode is the unique number assigned by a bookmaker to a specific bet, this specific code was created for players to easily lookup and reference what bets they have made and outcomes of those specific bets
Betslip – A bet slip is essentially your betting ticket, very much like a movie ticket that displays your movies name, the time, seat and cinema number. The Betslip is the equivalent where all your bet’s information – including markets, odds and stakes of the event you’ve betted on. Your betslip can also see your estimated payout as well as the details of your bet before actually placing it.
Clean sheet – A clean sheet is when a team hasn’t conceded any goals or points in a game, that team is considered to have a clean sheet against their opponents
Combined bet – A combined bet or also known as an accumulator bet is a bet where you have to predict more than one outcome simultaneously. If at least one outcome of a combined bet is predicted wrong then the entire bet is lost. Again as with an accumulator bet this does come with increased reward, but of course at a much higher risk seeing as if one of your multiple bets losses, you will lose all together.
Chalk – The term chalk in sports betting simply refers to the side, player, horse etc who is the outright favourite to win – usually a very heavy, or strong, favourite
Circle game – A circle game is a game that is essentially only accepting a limited number of wagers.This is most often due to some uncertainty regarding an important aspect of the competition. Some examples of what may cause a sportsbook to circle a game include: injuries or uncertainty about a key player, rescheduled games, bad weather, or potential stoppages.
Dead heat – Dead heat is a situation when two or more selections/players, horses etc are joint winners in an event. In this instant you will utilise dead heat rules to settle the bets. Dead heat examples can include two horses crossing the finishing line at exactly the same time, or three strikers tying on 20 goals at the top of the “Top Scorer” tables come the end of the season.
Double Bet – A multiple bet is similar to an accumulator bet or combined bet, the only difference is that a double bet will consist of only two selections. Again, as with an accumulator or combined bet both of your selections must win for you to gain a return. If one of your bets losses then no return will be received.
Even’s – Even’s bet are very simple, this is essentially a bet that is placed on odds of 2.00 or (1/1). Even bets is seen as an ideal bet particularly for players who make bets on singles because it doubles your stake if chosen correctly.
Fixed odds betting – Fixed Odds are the current fixed price for an event at any given time. The price you see is the price you’ll be guaranteed no matter what happens to the price after you have placed your bet.
Future bets – A future bet is a wager that is placed on upcoming event that will take place in the coming weeks or months. Online bookmakers will update these odds based on the results of the current matches and results of the sport, so just note that the odds originally bet against are subject to change based on the team or individuals performance
Favourites – The outcome, player, team, horse etc that is most popular or expected to win a specific event
In play betting – Also referred to as Live betting, In play betting happens when you play a wager on an event or outcome after it has started
Live betting – Live betting, also known as in-play or in-running betting, is the process of placing a bet on a sporting event after it has started
Outright bet – This type of bet is placed on the outcome of an entire league or competition rather than on an individual game. An Outright bet is usually placed before the season starts, but they can also be available even during the course of the competition. For example you can bet on Liverpool to win the English Premier League at the end of the season
Odds – Odds is a numerical expression, usually expressed as a pair of numbers. The odds of an event reflect the likelihood that the event will take place, while odds against reflect the likelihood that it will not. To better understand this concept, higher odds mean that an event outcome is less likely to happen, such as a team winning against a strong opponent. The adverse is also true, lower odds means that that outcome is more favoured or most likely possible to happen
Punter – In Sports betting slang ” the punter” is simply a synonym of the word “bettor” or “gambler,” and is used to refer to a person who bets on the outcome of a sporting event.
Stake – In betting, the stake (or ‘wager’) usually means the money that you will put against the outcome of a specific event.
Underdog – The Underdog is essentially the least favourite team or outcome to happen or succeed. A team in poor form is seen as the underdog against the league champions
Void bet – Void bet can occur in a number of situations. With a Void bet you won’t win any money but you also won’t lose any money either.