Sports Betting Glossary

betting glossary

Here at Odds1x2.com, we want out readers to get the most from their online betting and it therefore helps to understand different betting markets and bet types. There is also plenty of gambling terminology used by bookmakers and punters, with our comprehensive betting glossary aiming to cover everything.

Take a look at our A-Z of online sports betting and hopefully you can educate yourself when it comes to the key components of an online bookmaker. Whether you’re struggling to understand Asian Handicap markets or you’re unsure how to place a Lucky 15 bet, hopefully we can provide the right answers.

1x2

Our website is called Odds1x2.com and 1x2 refers to the main football betting market. The 1 indicates the home team, the 2 indicates the away team and the X represents the draw. The 1x2 market can also be described as the Match Winner or the WDW market, with punters seeing these prices on a match coupon as the first port of call.

Acca Insurance

Several bookmakers now offer Acca Insurance promotions. It usually involves them refunding losing accumulator bets if one particular team lets down a customer’s bet. The requirement is generally that you select at least five teams for your accumulator in order to benefit.

Accumulator

This is sometimes called an Acca, with customers putting a number of selections together before placing a bet. For example, you might want to back five football teams to win their respective matches on a Saturday and you would add them all to a bet slip before nominating your accumulator stake.

Antepost Betting

When you bet Antepost, you are betting on a market that won’t be settled until days, weeks, months or even years into the future. For example, you might bet on the Premier League winner a month before the football season begins. You might also bet on the Cheltenham Gold Cup six months before the race. These are examples of antepost bets.

Anytime Goalscorer

In addition to First Goalscorer and Last Goalscorer, you can also bet on Anytime Goalscorer. This involves betting on a player who you think will find the net during a particular football match.

Arbitrage Betting

This is similar to the Sure Bets you can find on Odds1x2.com, with customers sometimes able to successfully bet on both sides of a market and make a profit whatever happens. This situation occurs when bookmakers differ with their prices about a particular sporting event, although it often requires a punter to bet with large stakes in order to take advantage.

Asian Handicap

These type of betting markets are often available for football and tennis, with bookmakers offering tight margins to customers. They’re often two-way markets where the draw in a football match is eliminated and you can back a team with a particular handicap that needs to be overcome or maintained.

Banker

A banker is a betting selection which is regarded as very likely to win. Sometimes customers will put perceived “bankers” in a multiple bet although there is no such thing as a dead cert.

Bet Builder

Many online bookmakers now allow customers to build their own bet. This generally involves selecting a football match and selecting different bet options that are then combined together for a generated price. It’s customised betting and a popular order with a growing number of punters.

Betting Exchange

A betting exchange is similar to a bookmaker in that you can bet on horse racing, football, tennis and other sports in a similar way. However, rather than betting against the house, you are instead betting against other customers. That also means that you can play the role of bookie by laying particular selections and accepting bets from punters.

BTTS

This is simply an abbreviation of Both Teams to Score, a football betting market where you can bet whether both teams will both score during the game or whether at least one will fail to find the net. BTTS accumulators are also popular among customers.

Canadian

A Canadian is a type of multiple bet which involves picking five different selections and combining them in doubles, trebles, four-folds and an accumulator. This is 26 bets in total and you get a bigger return for the largest number of winning selections.

Cash Out

It’s now possible to cash out early winnings or losses with a bookmaker. If you place a bet, you are often given a Cash Out value on that wager and the value will change in accordance with how your bet is faring. It’s a flexible way to often take a profit or a loss with a particular selection if you don’t want to wait for it to be settled.

Correct Score

This is one of the most popular football betting markets and is called Final Score when you bet In-Play on it. It involves predicting what the score will be in a particular football match when the final whistle blows.

Decimal Odds

You can choose between viewing decimal odds or fractional odds. A decimal price would be 11.00 and its fractional equivalent would be 10/1.

Double

A double involves a customer making two selections and then combining them together in one bet. You then need both selections to win in order to land a return on that wager.

Double Chance

This is where you take two selections in a three-way market. You might back Tottenham and the Draw against Arsenal, although the odds are shorter than if you back only one selection.

Draw No Bet

This is similar to an Asian Handicap market. As the name suggests, it means you can bet on either team to win a football match and if the game ends in a draw, then you simply get your money back.

Each-Way

Many betting customers enjoy placing each-way bets, especially on bigger-priced selections. It means you are splitting your stake equally between a selection to win and a selection to place. Typical place terms are ¼ odds for the first three places.

Evens

Evens is often known as even money and can be regarded as 2.00 in decimal format. It’s an opportunity to double your money if you think a selection is going to win at these odds.

Forecast Betting

A forecast is where you aim to predict a selection to finish first and a selection to finish second. It’s commonly used for horse racing and there’s also the opportunity to place a reverse forecast when you predict the first and second in any order.

Favourite

A favourite is the selection at the shortest price in a particular betting market. Many customers like to bet on favourites but they don’t always offer value. Sometimes there can be joint-favourites where two selections trade at the same price.

First Goalscorer

This is simply a football bet where you aim to predict the player who will score the first goal.

Fractional Odds

You can choose between viewing decimal odds or fractional odds. A decimal price would be 11.00 and its fractional equivalent would be 10/1.

Free Bet

When you open a new betting account, it’s likely that you can qualify for a new customer free bet. This is usually available in the form of a deposit bonus but customers can sometimes qualify by placing a first bet at minimum odds of 1/2 or similar.

Handicap Betting

Many customers place handicap bets on sports such as football, tennis, American Football, rugby union and Rugby League. These markets can often level the field and allow customers to back the favourites to overcome a points total or an outsider to thrive with a points start.

Heinz

A Heinz is a multiple bet which sees a customer make six different selections. These are then combined in doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds and an accumulator. In total, this makes 57 bets and is more suitable for an experienced online punter.

In-Play Betting

Many customers enjoy the chance to bet on live In-Play betting markets, waiting for a sporting event to start before striking their wagers. The odds are constantly changing but you can assess what’s happening in a match before placing a bet.

Last Goalscorer

You can bet on which player will score the last goal in a football match.

Live Streaming

Many bookmakers offer customers the chance to enjoy live streaming across several sports including football, tennis and horse racing. You simply need to have a funded betting account to get automatic access to the live-streamed events you want to watch.

Lucky 15/31/63

A Lucky 15 bet is the same as Yankee but also includes single bets in addition to doubles, trebles and an accumulator, making 15 bets in total. A Lucky 31 bet is a Canadian with single bets, while a Lucky 63 bet is a Heinz with single bets. Some bookmakers often add a bonus with these type of bets.

Money Back Specials

Many bookmakers run promotions where you can enjoy money back on losing bets. Whether you get money back depends on something in particular happening such as a team to win or a player to score a goal.

Multiple

A multiple bet is simply any wager that has two or more selections.

Odds-Against

If a selection is odds-against, it means that the price is bigger than evens (2.00). It means you are risking a smaller stake than your potential profit.

Odds-On

Betting odds-on means taking a selection that is smaller than evens (2.00). It means you are risking a bigger stake than your potential profit.

Outsider

An outsider is usually the selection that is trading at the biggest price in a betting market. It might refer to a number of selections and will provide the biggest returns if it wins.

Partial Cash Out

In addition to Cash Out, some bookmakers offer customers the chance to enjoy Partial Cash Out where you can use a slider to take some money from your original bet, while letting the remainder ride. It’s a way of enjoying the best of both worlds if you want to close out some of your bet.

Patent

A Patent is a multiple bet that involves picking three selections. They are then combined as doubles and a treble as well as three singles which means seven bets in total.

Place Only Bet

This is commonly available on horse racing and allows customers to bet on a horse to place rather than win. Place usually means finishing in the top two, three or four places depending on how many runners in the race.

Scorecast

This is a football betting market which involves picking a player to score first combined with a correct score. It’s a risky bet but the rewards can be great for a small stake.

Single

A single bet is simply placing a bet on one selection. It can also be called a straight bet and is the most common type of wager.

Sure Bet

Sure Bets are advertised on Odds1x2.com and they’re betting selections where you can bet on both sides of the market and make a profit. They often involve betting large amounts in order to make a profit.

Tricast Betting

A Tricast involves picking three horses in a race and predicting the first, second and third in a particular order. You can also do a Combination Tricast where you can pick three horses and back them to be the first three home in any order.

Treble

A treble involves betting on three selections combined. It might be three horses running in different races or three Premier League teams. You need three winners in order to land a return.

Trixie

A Trixie is a straightforward multiple bet that involves picking three teams and combining them in doubles and trebles. This is four bets in total and you need at least two selections to win in order to land a return.

Value Bet

Getting value effectively means backing a selection when you think that the odds are too big. You might have calculated a team’s probability of winning a football match and decided that a bookmaker is offering a value price, even if the percentage chance of winning is still low.

Welcome Bonus

A welcome bonus is something that bookmakers will offer new customers when they open an account. It usually becomes available once you have made a first deposit or had your first bet settled. The value of the welcome bonus can differ between operators and also depends on your first deposit.

Wincast

Similar to the Scorecast but a Wincast simply requires you to combine First Goalscorer with a team who will win the match. Therefore, it makes it an easier bet to win with.

Yankee

A Yankee is a type of multiple bet that involves making four selections. Those selections are then combined as doubles, trebles and a four-fold making it eleven bets in total. You need at least two selections to win in order to get a return.

BEST BONUS OFFER

bet365
Bet £10 & Get £30
in Free Bets
Bet Now
18+. New Customers only. Bet £10* & Get £30* in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5* and £10* to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
bzeebet
Bet £10
Get £10
Bet Now
18+. New Customers Only. Max Win £10 Free Bet. Qualifying bets at Odds of 1/1 or greater. Paid as Bonus Toker Min 4/5 Odds Req. Skrill, Neteller, Paypal not eligible. T&Cs Apply
unibet
100%
Up to €50
Bet Now
New customers only. 18+. First deposit of €10 minimum.The 100 per cent Sports Deposit Bonus will be credited instantly after 1st deposit, up to a maximum of €50. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. begambleaware.org
mr-play
Bet €10
Get €15
Bet Now
18+, Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st Deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £10 free bet valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets no eligible.T&Cs apply. begambleaware.org