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Sports Dictionary

ACTION	1) A wager of any kind, a bet. In baseball, placing the bet no matter who pitches. 2) Another term for "betting," that is, to start the action is to start the betting.
AFC	American Football Conference
BEARD	A friend or acquaintance or other contact who is used to placing bets so that the bookmakers will not know the identity of the actual bettor. Many top handicappers and persons occupying sensitive positions use this method for wagering.
BOOK	An establishment that accepts wagers on the outcome of horseracing and sporting events.
BOOKIE	Person who takes the clients' bets.
BUCK	A $100 wager.
BUY	A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a pointspread game.
CANADIAN LINE	A combination point line and moneyline in hockey.
CHALK	A favorite.
CHALK PLAYER	Someone who usually only plays the favored teams, rarely betting on the underdogs.
CIRCLED GAME	A game in which the betting action is severely limited; usually occurs in games that feature key injuries, inclement weather, or unsubstantiated rumors regarding a team; most bookies "circle" all Ivy League Games.
COVER	To bet the spread by the required number of points; if such occurs, you have "covered the spread".
DIME or DIME BET	A $1,000 wager.
DIME LINE	A line where the juice is 5%.
DOG	The underdog in any betting proposition.
DOG PLAYER	One who mostly plays the underdog.
DOLLAR BET or BUCK	A $100 wager.
DOUBLE BET	A wager for twice the size of one's usual wager; also known as "double pop" or "doubling up".
DOUBLE HEADER	Two separate games played by the same teams on the same day.
DUE FOR	A team that is "due for" whether it is a win or a loss; many bettors like to play "due for" situations.
EAST COAST LINE	Mainly used in hockey, which has a split-goal line e.g. - NY Rangers (1 - 1½) favorite over the Vancouver Canucks as opposed to goal spread plus moneyline (-1/2 -180).
EDGE	Advantage.
EVEN MONEY	A wager in which no vigorish or juice is laid.
EXOTIC WAGER	Any bet other than a straight bet, i.e., parlays, teasers, if bets, reverses, round robin, round robin box reverses, etc.
FAVORITE	The entry expected to win an event. The quoted odds reflect the extent to which the choice is favored.
FIFTY CENTS	$50.00
FINAL FOUR	Remaining four college teams from a field of 64. They meet to determine the National Champion.
FIRST HALF BET	(1H) A bet placed only on the first half of the game.
FOUR MAJORS	Golf's most prestigious events: the Masters, the US Open, PGA in the US and the British Open.
FUTURES	Odds posted on the winners of various major sport championships in advance of the event, including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup and the NBA championship.
GETTING DOWN	Making a wager.
GRAND SLAM	The four most important tournaments in tennis: the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon.
GRAND SALAMI	The grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.
HALF A DOLLAR	$50.00
HALF TIME BET	(2H) A bet placed only on the second half of the game (overtime included).
HANDICAPPER	One who studies, rates and wagers on sporting events and/or races.
HANDICAPPING	The attempt to predict the outcome of sporting events.
HANDLE	Total amounts of bets taken.
HEDGING	Placing bets on the opposite side in order to cut losses or guarantee winning a minimal amount of money.
HOLDING YOUR OWN	Neither winning nor losing, just breaking even.
HOME TEAM	The team playing in its own town.
HOOK	A half point added to football and basketball betting lines.
HOT GAME	A game which is drawing a lot of action on one side by knowledgeable handicappers.
IBF	International Boxing Federation
JUICE	The bookmaker's commission; also known as the vigorish.
LAYING THE POINTS	Betting on the favorite.
LAYING THE PRICE	Betting the favorite by laying money odds.
LIMIT	The maximum amount a bookmaker will allow you to bet before he changes odds and/or the points; also the "cap" on what you can personally wager.
LINE	The current odds or pointspread on a particular event.
LINEMAKER	The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines.
LINE QUALITY	A line may be normal, circled or sharp. A line would be circled due to injuries, weather or any other factor that causes the bookmaker to think the line may move drastically. Circled lines or circled games have restrictions on the maximum bet that will be accepted. A line would be sharp if the bookmaker expects the line to remain unchanged and there to be lots of wagering on that event. Sharp lines or sharp games have higher betting limits.
LISTED PITCHERS	Stating that you will place bet only if one or both of the pitchers scheduled to start a baseball game actually start. If they don't, the bet is cancelled.
LOCK	Easy winner.
LONGSHOT	A team or horse that is unlikely to win.
MLB	Major Baseball League (divided into two leagues: the National and the American).
MONEYLINE	Odds expressed in terms of money. For example, with money odds, whenever there is a minus (-), you must lay that amount to win say a hundred dollars, where there is a plus (+), you get that amount for every hundred dollars wagered.
MOVE THE LINE	A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a point spread game. See "buy".
MIDDLE(S)	To win both sides of the same betting proposition; betting the favorite team at -1.5 with one bookmaker and then taking +3.5 with another bookmaker; the game ends up with the favorite winning by exactly 3 points, you have then "middled the game"; a favorite betting method of "Wise Guys".
NBA	National Basketball Association
NCAA	National Collegiate Athletic Association
NEWSPAPER LINE	The betting line which quite often appears in the daily newspapers; the lines are only approximate and quite often totally inaccurate and misleading.
NFC	National Football Conference
NFL	National Football League (divided into American Football Conference and National Football Conference).
NHL	National Hockey League (teams divided into Eastern Conference and Western Conference).
NICKEL	A $500.00 wager.
NIT	National Invitational Tournament
NO ACTION	A bet in which no money is lost nor won. See "push".
ODDSMAKER	Same as a linemaker.
OFF THE BOARD	A game on which the bookmaker will not accept action.
ONE	$100.00
OVER	A sports bet in which the bettor guesses that the combined point total of two teams will be above a specified total.
OVERTIME	Extension to a tied contest at the end of regulation play that lasts until a winner is determined or maximum overtime periods expire.
OUTLAW LINE	An overnight line not used by casinos or offshore establishments.
PARLAY	(1) a sport bet with two or more teams in which all teams must win or cover for the bettor to be successful and receive higher payouts; (2) a wager on two or more horseraces in which the winnings are carried over to the next race.
PARLAY CARDS	Wagers on a minimum of 3 and up to 15 propositions; the more you pick, the higher the payoff.
PAST PERFORMANCE	What has occurred previously to the forthcoming games.
PGA	Professional Golfers Association.
PICK 'EM GAME	Neither team is favored; take your pick and lay 11 to 10.
POINTSPREAD	The "line"; the handicap, or head start that the favorite gives to the underdog for betting purposes.
POSTPONED	A contest cancelled for any reason and rescheduled at a later date.
PRESS	To bet a larger amount than usual.
PRICE	The odds or pointspread.
PUCKLINE	Mainly used on East Coast with hockey, giving odds of a goal spread instead of Canadian Line where both a goal spread and moneyline is played.
PUSH	Tie; neither side wins and all money is returned to the bettors.
RAINED OUT	A game cancelled because of weather.
REVERSE	In horse racing, to ask for a second exacta wager which specifies two horses in reverse order of the first exacta wager.
ROUND ROBIN	A series of three or more teams into 2-team wagers.
RUN DOWN	All the lines for an specific date, sport, time, etc.
RUN LINE	A line used when wagering on baseball.
RYDER CUP	A golf tournament in which every two years the top American and European golfers meet at venues alternating between the two continents.
SHARP LINE	A game in which the maximum bet is raised. This is usually done only for games involving the most popular teams and that are televised. Monday Night Football games and Final Four basketball games would be good examples.
SHOW	A horse racing bet in which you collect if the horse finishes first, second or third.
SIDES	The names of the two teams playing: the underdog and the favorite.
SINGLE ACTION	An "if bet" that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.
SCOUTS	Person(s) who study team plays and/or practise and report findings to handicappers.
SMART MONEY	Sides that are bet on by the more knowledgeable handicappers.
SPORT PLAYER	A person who waits for what he thinks is an unusually strong wager.
SPREAD	The predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a sports book. See "pointspread".
STANLEY CUP	Best-of-seven series between the Eastern and Western conference champions in the NHL to determine the World Champion.
STEAM	When a betting line starts to move quite rapidly; most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect the "right side", but are games that the mass of bettors somehow decide to key on.
STORE	A Bookie.
STRAIGHT BET	A bet on just one team or horse.
SUPER BOWL	Winners of the AFC and NFC meet to determine the NFL Champion.
TAKING	Wagering on the underdog; taking the odds.
TEASER	A wager combining two or more games together and giving the player a fixed number of additional points in his favor.
TICKET	A wager.
TIE	A bet in which no money is lost nor won because the teams' scores were equal to the number of points in the given line.
TOTALS	Total combined point/runs/goals scored in a game. In baseball, if either of the two listed starting pitchers don't go, the bet is automatically cancelled.
TOUT	Someone who sells his expertise on sports or horse wagers.
UNDER	A sports bet in which the bettor guesses that the total points scored by two teams will be under a certain figure.
UNDERDOG	The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Also known as the "dog".
VALUE	Getting the best odds on a betting proposition; the highest possible edge.
VIGORISH	The commission paid to the bookmaker.
WBA	World Boxing Association.
WBC	World Boxing Council.
WISE GUY	A well-informed or knowledgeable handicapper or bettor.
WOOD	Laying points.
WINDOW	What some players say after winning a bet.