Other Horse Racing Betting Terminology to Know A Win Bet – Exactly what it sounds like: A bet to select the winner of the race. 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 team winning by exactly 3 points, you have ‘middled the game’; a favorite betting method of ‘Wise Guys’ Moneyline Odds expressed in terms of money.

This glossary of betting terms provides a handy reference because there’s a fair amount of slang and jargon used in sports betting. It is really useful to understand what these words and phrases mean, so we have compiled this sports betting glossary to help. You don’t necessarily need to learn all these terms, but you may like to use this glossary as a reference tool for when you encounter something you don’t understand.

Accumulator

An accumulator bet involves a combination of four or more single bets that combine to offer longer odds and potentially bigger winnings. The key distinguishing element of an accumulator bet is that if any leg of your bet doesn’t come true, the bet will not pay out. Technically, a double or a triple bet could be considered an accumulator, but most sites refer to a combination of four or more combined markets when using the term.

Against the spread

Any bet in which, rather than backing a winner, you back a selection to cover the spread.

Ante post

In order to obtain longer odds on certain markets, you can place a bet long in advance of an event actually taking place. This is referred to as an ante post bet, and can be placed sometimes years in advance.

Arbitrage betting

Arbitrage betting or ‘arbing’ is a process through which gamblers aim to make a profit by betting on all possible outcomes of an event, at different odds. Arbitrage betting involves taking advantage of the variation in odds offered by different bookmakers, and calculating an appropriate stake level that will ensure any losses are covered by winnings in all potential outcomes.

Asian handicap

Asian handicap betting offers the possibility of split handicaps, allowing you to bet on selections that are handicapped (in order to even the field) by both whole numbers and half numbers.

Bar

In a horse racing betting forecast, certain horses are considered such distant outsiders that their odds are not quoted. The odds beyond which runners are not included are referred to as ‘bar’, so you might see a forecast that includes ’50-1 bar’.

Banker

Across all sports, a selection that is h3ly fancied to win is often referred to as a ‘banker’.

Bet

Laying money on the successful prediction of the outcome of an event

Betting Exchange

A forum through which gamblers can bet directly against each other, rather than a bookmaker. Betting exchanges like the Betfair Betting Exchange allow lay bets to be made, as well as win and place bets, meaning that gamblers can bet on selections to lose.

Bookmaker

A bookmaker is the organisation that provides odds on the outcome of events in order to accept bets based on predictions by customers.

Closing line

The point after which odds on a particular market are set is known as the closing line. Before this point, odds may be adjusted according to the number of wagers being received on either side of a market.

Double bet

Two single selections placed as one bet, with the odds being combined to give the bettor potentially higher winnings. However, both selections in the bet need to come true for a payout to occur.

Dutching

The process of backing a number of contenders for a particular event, in order to ensure the same amount of profit if any of your selections win.

Each-way bet

An each-way bet is available in events that feature a winner and a number of other competitors finishing in a sequence of places.

The bet involves a single selection but is comprised of two bets: a ‘win bet’ and a ‘place bet’. The same selection is thereby backed to win the event at set odds, and backed to finish within a range of places at different odds. The each-way bet will provide a payout if either part of the bet proves successful.

Evens bet

Also known as a ‘scotch’ or ‘levels’, a successful evens bet will return double the stake placed on the bet. Odds will be displayed as 1/1 (fractional) or 2.00 (decimal).

Fixed-odds betting

By securing a bet at fixed odds, you guarantee that your potential returns from that bet will not change, regardless of whether or not the odds on that market fluctuate after your bet is placed.

In-play betting

In-play betting is a form of betting that has become hugely popular through online betting sites, which involves placing a bet on a particular outcome after the event has started. Betfair offers in-play betting for several sports including in-play football betting and in-play Horse Racing betting.

Martingale

With origins in 18th century France, a martingale is a betting system in which the gambler doubles the stake placed on a new bet after each bet that is lost. By doubling the stake each time, the gambler aims to recoup all prior losses when a win is achieved.

Outright bet

Outright bets are wagers placed on whole competitions rather than single matches. For example, bets placed on the winners of the Premier League in a given season, or the outright winner of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. These bets can be placed before an event begins, but some bookmakers offer outright bets part-way through certain events or competitions.

Place bet

A place bet involves backing a selection to finish in a particular place, or within a range of places, in an event.

Spread betting

A bet placed on the predicted movement of a market, rather than the outcome of an event. Spread betting is takes place in financial markets as well as sports and politics.

Square

A betting novice or amateur.

Stake

The amount of money a punter risks on a specific bet.

Straight bet

A bet on the outcome of one of the three basic bet types.

Tip

A betting prediction provided by someone with perceived knowledge of

the event/competitors.

Tipster

Someone who provides tips.

Treble bets

A treble bet is any combination of three selections that a bookmaker offers combined odds on. A treble is a form of accumulator bet, although it is typically only bets involving four legs or more that are dubbed accumulators.

Underdog

Football Betting Terminology Explained

The underdog is typically the less-favoured team or competitor in an event in the eyes of a bookmaker, offering longer odds and potentially higher returns to gamblers.

Value

Betting at odds that represent a lower chance than the underlying probability and therefore offer ‘value’ to the bettor in terms of increased potential profit.

Void bet

Void bets lead to stakes being returned by the bookmaker, and can occur in a number of situations. For example, if you placed a bet on the first goalscorer in a football match before the team selections were announced, and that player is not named in the squad for the game, your bet will be void and your stake returned.

Most bookmakers include in their conditions the terms under which bets will be void, and these typically include any circumstance whereby a bookmaker has made an error in quoting odds.

Football betting is one of the most exciting sports to place your bets on and there are millions of fans around the world that enjoy doing so regularly.

However, those new to the betting scene are sometimes unsure about different football betting terms, how betting on football works and most importantly how to place winning bets.

That’s why we wrote this football betting guide which will explain the key strategies, betting terms and other important information you need to know so you can make more profit from your football bets in 2019.

Ready? Let’s jump right in.

Football betting explained

One of the most common questions we get asked is whether you should place your football bets at a bookmaker or a betting exchange.

So to kick off our football betting guide, we’re going to look at the difference between a bookmaker and a betting exchange plus the benefits of each platform when betting on football.

Bookmaker or exchange for football betting?

So what’s the difference between a bookmaker and betting exchange?

Bookmaker

A bookmaker or bookie as it’s often referred to is your traditional betting platform. This is the most common and popular type of betting company and one that you’ll probably use regularly.

Examples of a bookmaker include Ladbrokes and Coral. At a bookmaker, you effectively bet against the company when you place a wager.

If you win your bet, the bookie loses and vice versa.

Bookmakers offer a range of features that still makes them the most popular betting platforms in 2019.

Some of their benefits include:

• Great promotions and bonuses
• Boosted odds

Great promotions and bonuses

Bookmakers typically offer a great range of promotions to their new and existing customers. They use them to incentivise punters to place more bets. However, you should use them to increase your football betting winnings.

Here’s a great example of a football betting offer you should consider using.

Boosted odds

One of the benefits of using a bookmaker, is you have access to features such as boosted odds whereas using a betting exchange you don’t, as we’ll look at below.

Much like the promotions and offers mentioned above, odds boosts will only help increase your football winnings if you pick wisely and land your bet.

So what about betting exchanges for your football betting?

Betting exchanges

A betting exchange is another common betting term you’ll come across.

An exchange is an online marketplace which matches gamblers together. A betting exchange doesn’t take on any bets like a bookmaker does meaning you don’t bet against the company. You’re betting against other punters. It’s a peer to peer platform.

The betting exchange makes money by charging a commission on players’ net winnings rather than building a profit margin into the odds. This means you’ll generally get better value odds at an exchange like Smarkets as well as other benefits which we’ll look at below:

• Both back and lay bets available
• Bet against other punters
• Better value odds

Back and lay bets

Both back and lay bets are available at betting exchanges which is something not available at a bookmaker. For the majority of football punters, they’re only interested in placing back bets.

However, for the serious bettors who win football bets regularly, they also place lay bets.

Bet against other punters

As a betting exchange is a peer to peer platform, you’re betting against other punters rather than against a bookmaker. This adds another layer of excitement as you always want to beat your ‘opponent’ and win your football bet.

Better value odds

Due to how betting exchanges work, you’re going to get more valuable odds compared to a bookmaker who has to build their profit margin into the odds.

This is great for football bettors as it means you’ll have more winnings when you land a bet.

So, overall what betting platform should you use to place your football bets in 2019? As I said at the start, it’s really up to you and depends on your needs. The right choice for me may not be the same for you.

A mixture of both is generally a solid approach.

When it comes to opening a new bookmaker or betting exchange account, check out this guide.

Awesome, now you’ve got a better idea of the different types of betting platform, let’s look at some football betting types.

Football betting terms – Different bet types

Next up in our football betting guide, we’re going to explain the different kinds of bet you can place on football.

Single bets

Single bets are the most common and popular football bet type in 2019. A single bet simply means you place one bet at a bookmaker or betting exchange.

You’ll probably start off using these bets as they’re the most simple to understand and place.

However, you can’t write a football betting guide without mentioning the incredibly popular football accumulator.

Football accumulators explained

An accumulator is a bet that contains more than four selections. For you to win the overall accumulator, each selection in the bet must win.

Accumulators have become very popular over the last few years, especially when betting on football.

As you can imagine, the winnings can be quite profitable as the probability of all outcomes occurring is quite low.

The bookmakers usually add promotions and special offers to accumulator bets, meaning the potential winnings can be even greater.

On the other hand, accumulator bets have to be placed at one bookmaker meaning you may not always get the best odds on each selection.

For more information and how to win more football accumulators in 2019, check out this article.

Football betting explained – key markets

Next up in our football betting guide, let’s look at some common football markets you should consider betting on.

Win/Draw/Win

The most basic of football betting markets, you may also see Win/Draw/Win written as 1X2 or match betting. Don’t let this confuse you, it means the same thing.

In this market, you’re betting on the outcome of a football fixture. The first part of the market represents a home team win, the second a draw and the third an away victory.

If you’re just getting started with football betting, I recommend you stick to this market as it’s the easiest to understand and bet on. Once you’ve got this nailed, you can move on to football markets mentioned below.

Both teams to score

This football betting term is pretty self-explanatory. You’re simply betting on both teams to score at least one goal in a fixture.

You should generally expect the odds for this market to be quite low unless a fixture is likely to be incredibly one-sided.

Both teams to score + win

This football betting market is the same as the one above apart from you’re also selecting a certain team to win the fixture. You’ll get better odds than the market above as the outcome is slightly less likely.

Correct score

Another self-explanatory market, in this scenario you’re simply selecting what you think the final score of a football match will be. Guessing the correct score can be quite difficult so you can expect large returns if your bet wins.

Draw no bet

A draw no bet is a football betting market that is voided if the fixture ends in a draw. In other words, your wager is returned if the game finishes level.

However, if your selected team wins or loses, the bet still stands. These markets are great for bettors who think a team may win but there’s also a chance of a draw.

Double chance

A double chance bet allows you to bet on a team winning or drawing a fixture. It essentially has two parts to the bet meaning you have two chances at winning. However, you should expect much lower odds than in the Win/Draw/Win market.

Half time/full time

A betting market where you bet on the outcome at half time as well as the outcome at full time in the game.

Football betting explained – goal markets

Next up in our football betting guide, we’ll look at some common goal markets you can expect to find at different bookmakers and betting exchanges.

First goalscorer

In this market, you’re betting on who you think will score the first goal of a game. You may find several promotions available on these markets, especially if leading goal scorers are in action.

Anytime goalscorer

Similar to the previous betting market, except you’re selection can score at any time during the fixture. The odds will be lower than in the previous goal market.

Handicap

A betting market that levels the playing field between strong and weaker opponents. The underdog is usually given a head start in terms of goals.

Team to score Yes/No

In this scenario, you’re betting on a certain team to score a goal at any point during the game. If you wish, you also usually have the option to select which half you think the outcome will occur in.

Scorecast/wincast

In this football betting market, you’re staking money on who will be the first goalscorer as well as the outcome of the fixture. As you can imagine, winning outcomes are quite unlikely meaning large returns if you land your bet.

Over/Under

Another popular betting market in the online football betting world. There are many different markets that the Over/Under category can be added to. However, here are some of the most common ones you’ll come across.

Over/under Goals

In this football betting market, you’re betting whether you think the actual number of goals will be over or under a certain number.

Over/Under Corners

Similar to the market above, you’re betting on the total number of corners during a fixture. You can select whether you think the number will be higher or lower than a certain figure.

As I mentioned earlier, the Over/Under market can be added to a huge range of categories meaning the potential options are endless.

You can also bet on other types of football market including outrights and specials. However, these markets are pretty self-explanatory.

Football betting terms

Here are a few more key football betting terms you may come across once you begin your betting journey.

Back bets

Horse Betting Terminology

When you stake money on a certain outcome happening.

Bankroll

The amount of money you have in your theoretical betting balance.

Cash-out

A popular betting feature which enables punters to close and settle their bets before an event has finished.

Football betting explained – overview

That’s it for our football betting explained article.

Betting on football is one of the most exciting sports to place your wagers on. I hope this guide has helped explain the main key terms and information you’ll need to place winning bets in 2019.

Sports Betting Terminology Explained

Are we missing some key football betting information? Leave a comment below and we’ll update the article.