Betting Glossary

Action - A wager or bet; having action means having a bet.  In baseball, action is a choice in type of bet: it means the bet counts even if there is a change in starting pitchers.  If they change pitchers and the odds change, the bettor still has his bet with the new line and new pitcher.

Ante - A set amount that players at the table are required to pay before each hand in poker games such as 7 card stud, 5 card draw….

Action - The amount of money bet by a player during a complete gambling session.

ATS - "Against the spread," taking points rather than betting with the spread and laying points.

Back Door Cover - meaningless points scored to cover the spread, by a team that is likely to lose.

Bet – gamble or wager, to risk money based on the outcome of an event

Bookmaker – A company, entity or person that accepts wagers and the responsibility of covering those wagers

Buck or One dollar - $100

Bug – The joker in the deck of cards

Call - To call a bet is to bet the equal amount with no raise

Card Counting - In a Blackjack game, it involves memorizing the cards played sometimes with a plus and minus system to know the probability of the cards remaining against the dealer so you can press your bets

Check - In a casino the word ‘check' is another term for a chip. In poker, a player can say 'check', which will allow him to stay in the game without betting.

Chalk - The favorite.

Comps - Complimentary gifts such as free hotel rooms, meals and beverages given by the casino to entice players to gamble.

Cover - To win against the spread (ATS)

Dime - the sum of $1000.00

Dime Line - a line where the juice is 10%, e.g.: if both sides were -105

Encryption - A software security measure taken by online casinos to ensure that online transactions are safe from hackers.

Even Money - Betting a dollar to win a dollar without laying any juice.  Even money is also read as EV or as PK.

Fish - A poor player, also called a mark, monkey, patsy, sucker and pigeon

Flash - A type of no-download casino software that is visually active and you can play instantly.

Futures - a type of wager such as the Super Bowl, NBA Championship or World Series that lines or odds are posted early so people can bet the outcome in the future

Hook - a half point added to football and basketball betting lines.

House - A casino or gambling operation that provides the place or website to gamble and takes the risk/reward along with that

Juice - The bookmaker's commission on a losing bet, also known as “vigorish” or “vig”

Lay the Points: a wager on a favorite giving up points in a point spread event.

Lay the Price: a wager on a favorite in a money line event or laying more money than your opponent

Oddsmaker - same as the linesmaker, i.e., the person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines for an event

Off The Board - a game on which the bookmaker accepts no action (no wagers accepted) or no more action if it is taken down

Over - To bet that the final combined score of both teams in a game will exceed the Over/Under total posted for betting purposes.

Paint – A term used often in blackjack which means a face card ( Jack, Queen or King. Picture card)

Pick ‘em Game - a game where no team is favored. The player takes a pick and lays 11 to 10 usually

Pocket Cards - In poker where some of the player's cards are dealt to them face down. These cards are called pocket cards.

Press a Bet - Adding the winnings over the current bet, to 'let it ride' or increase your bet

Push - a tie between the player and the bookmaker where the final score of a game is exactly the same as the point spread, or the over/under. Usually this means the wager is no action, and your wager amount is returned.

RNG - (Random Number Generator) a computer generated randomness that randomly assigns the outcome of a result such as a roulette spin, a keno game or a cards shuffle.

Sharp or Sharpie - A player who has an edge due to his superior knowledge

Soft Hand - In blackjack, any hand that contains an ace counted as eleven is called a soft hand.

Square: an unsophisticated player.

Wise Guy: a well-informed, knowledgeable, and successful sports handicapper or player.