Below is an Appendix for betting. Every single day on X I watch people just butcher and teach betting terms incorrectly. I will through out the season do a deeper dive on each one of these like I did with the round robins. Jon I am sure will add this to the warehouse.
1. The Basic Bet Types
Moneyline
A bet on who wins, straight up. No spread, no margin, just pick the winner. Priced with American odds (see below). The favorite pays less than you risk; the underdog pays more than you risk. How to use it: Best on heavy underdogs you think have a real shot, on small favorites where you don’t want to deal with a spread, or in sports like baseball and hockey where one run or one goal is the norm and spreads get weird.Point Spread (the Spread, the Line)
A handicap on the favorite. If a team is favored by 6.5, they have to win by 7 or more to “cover.” The dog can lose by 6 or less (or win outright) and still cash. How to use it: This is the workhorse of football and basketball betting. Half points (the .5) matter a lot in football because of key numbers like 3 and 7.Total (Over/Under)
A bet on whether the combined score finishes over or under a posted number. Doesn’t matter who wins. How to use it: Useful when you have a read on pace, weather, or matchup style but no strong opinion on which team wins. Wind in football, umpire in baseball, and pace in basketball all move totals.Parlay
Two or more bets tied together. They all have to win or you lose the whole thing. The payout is multiplied, so a 3-leg parlay pays much more than a single bet. How to use it: Sportsbooks love parlays because the hold is way higher than on straight bets. They’re entertainment more than profit, but if you find genuinely correlated legs (same-game parlays where outcomes connect), the math can work in your favor.Teaser
A parlay where you get to move each line in your favor by a set number of points (usually 6 in football, 4 in basketball). In exchange, you accept worse odds and still need every leg to hit. How to use it: The classic “Wong teaser” moves NFL favorites of -7.5 to -8.5 down through 7 and 3, or underdogs of +1.5 to +2.5 up through 3 and 7. Crossing key numbers is where teasers earn their keep.Pleaser
The opposite of a teaser. You move the line against yourself for a much bigger payout. Almost always a sucker bet unless you have a very specific edge.Round Robin
A way to break a list of teams into a bunch of smaller parlays automatically. If you pick 4 teams and choose 3-team round robins, the book makes every possible 3-team combo (4 of them) and bets each one. How to use it: Lets one bad leg ruin only some of your tickets instead of all of them. Lower variance than a single big parlay, but you risk more total money.If Bet
A bet where the second wager only triggers if the first one wins (or pushes). Lets you keep action going without risking the whole bankroll up front.Reverse Bet
A more flexible version of the if bet that runs both directions. More forgiving but also more complex.
2. Odds and Pricing
American Odds
The plus-minus format you see in U.S. books. A minus number is what you risk to win 100. So -150 means risk 150 to win 100. A plus number is what you win on a 100 risk. So +130 means risk 100 to win 130.Decimal Odds
Used in Europe and most international books. The number is your total return per 1 unit, including your stake. So 2.50 means a 1-unit bet returns 2.50 (1.50 profit plus your dollar back).Fractional Odds
Old-school British format. 5/2 means risk 2 to win 5. Mostly seen in horse racing now.Implied Probability
The win rate baked into the odds. A -150 favorite is implying about 60% to win. A +200 dog is implying about 33%. If you think the real probability is higher than what’s implied, you have an edge. Quick formulas: For negative odds, |odds| / (|odds| + 100). So -150 = 150/250 = 60%. For positive odds, 100 / (odds + 100). So +200 = 100/300 = 33.3%.Juice (Vig, Vigorish)
The cut the sportsbook takes. On a standard -110/-110 spread, the juice is what makes it -110 instead of even money. About 4.5% of every dollar bet on a balanced two-way market goes to the house. How to use it: Always check the price. -105 is meaningfully better than -110 over time. This is where line shopping pays the rent.Hold
The book’s expected profit margin on a market. A two-way market at -110/-110 has about a 4.5% hold. Player props can have 8% to 15% hold, which is why they’re tougher to beat.Reduced Juice
Some books offer -105 or -107 instead of -110. Big edge over time if you bet volume.No Juice / Pick’em
A market where neither side is favored. Often shown as -100 or +100 on both sides, or “PK” (pick).
3. Lines and Markets
Opening Line
The first number a sportsbook posts for a game. Smaller, sharper books like Pinnacle or Circa often open first, and other books follow.Closing Line
The final line right before kickoff or first pitch. The closing line is generally considered the most efficient market price.Closing Line Value (CLV)
If you bet a team at -3 and the line closes at -4, you got CLV. You “beat the close” by a point. Long-term CLV is one of the best indicators that you’re a winning bettor, even if individual results bounce around. How to use it: Track your CLV. If you’re consistently beating the close by half a point or more, you’re probably a winner over a big enough sample even when short-term variance says otherwise.Line Movement
The change in a line from open to close. Driven by money coming in, news (injuries, weather), and sharp action.Steam (Steam Move)
A sudden, sharp move across multiple books at once. Usually means a respected group fired into the market and the books are reacting fast.Sharp Money
Bets from professional or respected sources. Books tend to move lines on sharp money even if it’s not a huge volume.Square Money
The general public. Moves lines because of volume, not because the bets are smart.Public Side
The side most casual bettors are on. Usually the favorite, the over, and the popular team (Cowboys, Lakers, Yankees).Reverse Line Movement (RLM)
When the line moves against the public betting percentage. If 75% of bets are on Team A but the line moves toward Team B, that’s RLM. It usually means sharp money is on the unpopular side and the book is moving the line to balance bigger sharp dollars against many small public bets. How to use it: Don’t blindly chase RLM, but it’s a useful signal when paired with other research.Limits
The maximum amount a sportsbook will accept on a given bet. Sharp books like Circa and Pinnacle have higher limits. Recreational books have low limits and will cut you down fast if you win.Off the Board (OTB)
A game with no posted line, usually because of an injury question or other uncertainty.Circle Game / Circled Game
A game with reduced limits, often because of an injury, weather, or some other variable the book doesn’t trust yet.Look-Ahead Line
Lines posted for next week or next series before the current week’s games are done. Sharp bettors love these because they’re often less efficient.Key Numbers
The most common margins of victory. In NFL, the big ones are 3 and 7, with 6, 10, and 14 also mattering. Crossing a key number with a half point is worth a lot, sometimes more than a full point through a non-key number.Hook
The half point on a line. -3.5 has “the hook” compared to -3.Push
A tie. If you bet a team -7 and they win by exactly 7, your bet pushes and you get your money back. No win, no loss.
4. Specialized Wagers
Prop Bet (Proposition Bet)
A wager on something other than the final score. Player props (Mahomes over 285.5 passing yards) and game props (will there be a safety) are the two main types. How to use it: Player props are where many sharp bettors find edges because the markets aren’t as efficient as sides and totals. They also have higher juice, so you need to be more selective.Futures
A bet on something that resolves later in the season or year. Super Bowl winner, MVP, division winner, season win totals. How to use it: Your money is tied up for months, so factor in opportunity cost. Best when you can grab a price before the market sharpens up, like preseason division winners.Live Bet (In-Play)
A bet placed during the game. Lines update constantly based on score, time, and game state. How to use it: Live betting can give you better numbers than pre-game if you’re patient and watching the action. Books also miss things in fast-moving spots, especially right after a big play.Cash Out
The book’s offer to settle your live bet early at a reduced amount. Almost always a bad deal mathematically. The book is offering you less than your bet’s true value.Same-Game Parlay (SGP)
A parlay where all the legs are from the same game. The book accounts for correlation, but often imperfectly, which is where edges show up. How to use it: Look for genuinely correlated legs the book may have priced too generously. A QB going over passing yards plus his top WR going over receiving yards is a natural correlation.Alternate Lines
Spread or total lines other than the main one, with adjusted prices. You can buy a team from -3 down to -1.5 by paying more juice, or sell points to +5 for less risk.First Half / Second Half / Quarter Bets
Wagers on a specific portion of the game. First-half lines are usually about 55% of the full-game spread.Run Line
The baseball equivalent of a spread, almost always set at 1.5 runs.Puck Line
Same idea in hockey, set at 1.5 goals.
5. Strategy Terms
Expected Value (EV)
The math telling you whether a bet is a long-term winner. Calculated by multiplying your true win probability by what you’d win, then subtracting your loss probability times what you’d lose. If you think a coin flip has a 55% chance of landing heads and the book is paying you +100 (even money), your EV is positive. You’d win on average regardless of any single result.Positive EV (+EV)
A bet that makes money over the long run. The whole point of betting seriously.Negative EV (-EV)
A bet that loses money over the long run. Most bets are -EV. The juice alone makes a coin-flip market -EV.Edge
Your advantage over the market, usually expressed as a percentage. A 3% edge is solid. A 5% edge is great. A 10% edge is unicorn territory and probably means you’re missing something.Kelly Criterion
A formula for figuring out how much of your bankroll to bet given your edge. The full formula is (bp - q) / b, where b is your odds (decimal minus 1), p is your win probability, and q is your loss probability.Fractional Kelly
Most pros use half Kelly or quarter Kelly. Full Kelly is mathematically optimal in theory but assumes perfect knowledge of your edge, which nobody has. Fractional Kelly reduces variance and is more forgiving when your estimates are off.Arbitrage (Arb)
Betting both sides of a market across different books to lock in a guaranteed profit. Possible when one book has Team A at +110 and another has Team B at +110 in the same matchup. How to use it: Real but but harder on major U.S. markets. You also need accounts at multiple books, and books will limit you fast if they catch on.Middle (Middling)
Betting both sides of a game at different lines, hoping the result lands in between. If you have Team A +6.5 and Team B -3.5, and the game lands on 4 or 5, both bets win. How to use it: A clean middle is rare but worth chasing when you can lock the worst case at a small loss and the middle at a big profit.Hedge (Hedging)
Betting the other side of an existing bet to lock in a smaller profit or reduce a loss. Common with futures that get close to cashing. How to use it: Hedging is often -EV but lets you sleep at night. If you’re up huge on a futures ticket, locking in a guaranteed win can be the right call even if pure math says let it ride.Buying Points
Paying extra juice to move a line in your favor. Going from -3 to -2.5 typically costs 25 cents (so -110 becomes -135). How to use it: Almost always a bad idea except when crossing a key number, especially the 3 in NFL.Selling Points
Taking a worse line for a better price. The opposite of buying points.Dutching
Betting multiple outcomes in a market so you profit no matter which one hits. Common in horse racing and futures with several plausible winners.
6. Contest and Pool Terms
Survivor Pool (Suicide Pool)
Pick one NFL team to win each week. If they win, you survive to next week. You can only use each team once. Last person standing wins. How to use it: Circa Survivor and other big contests reward strategy beyond just picking the best team each week. Saving good teams for tough weeks (bye-week scarcity), avoiding the public chalk to differentiate, and tracking which teams others have already used all matter.Pick’em Pool
Pick winners straight up against the spread or moneyline each week. Most points wins.Confidence Pool
Pick winners and assign a confidence value to each. If there are 16 games, you assign 16 to your most confident pick down to 1 to your least. Highest total wins.Best Ball
A fantasy format (popular in baseball and football) where you draft a team and the lineup is set automatically each week using your top performers. No in-season management. How to use it: Roster construction matters more than in managed leagues because there’s no waiver wire to fix mistakes. Stacking, position scarcity, and ceiling-driven picks are key.Equity
Your share of the prize pool given the current state of a contest. If you have one of three remaining survivor entries with a $100K pool, your raw equity is $33K, but adjustments for relative team strength and remaining picks change that.ROI (Return on Investment)
Profit divided by total wagered, expressed as a percentage. A +5% ROI over a meaningful sample is a solid winning bettor.Top-Heavy
A contest payout structure where the top spots take a huge chunk of the pool. GPPs are top-heavy. Strategy in top-heavy contests is different from cash games because you need to maximize ceiling, not floor.Flat-Pay
A payout structure where everyone in the money gets close to the same amount. Cash games and 50/50s are flat-pay.GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool)
A DFS tournament with a fixed prize pool the operator pays out regardless of how many entries fill. Top-heavy by nature.Cash Game
A DFS contest with flat payouts (50/50, Double-Up, head-to-head). Strategy is about consistency and floor, not ceiling.
7. DFS Specific
Salary Cap
Most DFS sites give you a fixed budget (DraftKings is $50K, FanDuel is $60K) and you fill a roster of players each with a price tag.Stacking
Building lineups where multiple players from the same team or game are correlated. A QB plus his WR is the classic football stack. In baseball, stacking three or four hitters from the same lineup is standard practice in GPPs.Late Swap
Swapping out a player whose game hasn’t started for a different player after lock. Available on most sites for later games.Ownership (Chalk)
The percentage of lineups that include a given player. High-owned players are “chalk.” Going against chalk is “fading” and it’s how you differentiate in big tournaments.Leverage
Picking spots where being different from the field has the biggest payoff. If a chalky play busts, you get massive leverage by being on a contrarian alternative at the same position.Fade
Skipping a popular player on purpose. Usually based on a leverage spot or a perceived flaw the field is missing.
8. Bankroll and Variance
Unit
A standardized bet size. One unit is usually 1% to 5% of your bankroll. Pros use units to talk about volume without revealing actual dollar amounts.Bankroll
The total amount of money you’ve set aside for betting. Should be money you can lose without it affecting your life.Bankroll Management
The discipline of sizing your bets so you don’t go broke from variance. The most overlooked skill in betting and the difference between long-term winners and washouts.Flat Betting
Betting the same amount every time, regardless of confidence. Reduces variance but caps upside.Percentage Betting
Sizing bets as a percentage of your current bankroll. Bets get bigger when you win and smaller when you lose, which protects you in cold streaks.Variance
The natural up-and-down swings of results. Even +EV bettors go through losing months. Variance is why you need a sample of hundreds or thousands of bets to know if you’re actually a winner.Standard Deviation
A statistical measure of how much your results bounce around the average. Higher variance bets (futures, big parlays) have a higher standard deviation than flat spread betting.Bad Beat
A loss that felt like it shouldn’t have happened. A backdoor cover, a meaningless late score, a freak injury. Part of the game, but they sting.
9. Sportsbook Mechanics
Limits
The maximum bet a book will take on a given market. Pinnacle and Circa famously take big action. Recreational books like DraftKings and FanDuel have low limits, especially on player props.Limited Account
When a book decides you’re winning too much and caps your bet size at $5 or $10. Happens to almost every winning bettor at recreational books.Promo / Boost
Enhanced odds offers from sportsbooks. Sometimes +EV, especially the “boost token” deals where the book gives you a percentage bump on a single bet.Free Bet / Bonus Bet
A credit you can use on a bet, but you only win the profit (not the stake). A $50 free bet at +100 returns $50, not $100. How to use it: Bet long shots with free bets. The expected value is higher because you keep more of the profit relative to the stake.Risk-Free Bet
Marketing-speak for “you get your money back as a free bet if you lose.” Not actually risk-free since the rebate is in bonus credit, not cash.Wagering Requirements (Rollover)
The amount you have to bet through before a bonus converts to withdrawable cash. Often 10x or 20x the bonus amount.Geofence
The location restriction that prevents you from betting in states where the book isn’t licensed.Line Shopping
Comparing prices across multiple books and betting wherever the number is best. The single biggest practical edge available to recreational bettors. How to use it: If you want a team at -3, check 5 books. The difference between -110 and -105 (or +100) compounds fast.Offshore Book
Sportsbooks based outside the U.S. that take American customers. Used to be the only option for many states. Now mostly used by sharps for higher limits or specific markets.Local / Bookie
A person who takes bets, traditionally in person or by phone. Has gone mostly digital but still exists. Credit and trust based.
10. Slang and Culture
Beard
Someone who places bets for another person to hide their identity from the books. Used by sharps who’ve been limited.Whale
A high-roller who bets big amounts. Sometimes a sharp, often a square.Sharp
A professional or otherwise skilled bettor. Books fear sharp action and adjust lines accordingly.Square
A casual bettor who bets recreationally. The lifeblood of the sportsbook business.Wiseguy
Old-school term for a sharp.Degenerate (Degen)
Self-deprecating term for someone who bets a lot, often more than they should. Worn as a badge of honor in sports betting culture.Lock
A bet someone is presenting as a guaranteed winner. There are no locks. Anyone selling you a lock is selling you something else.Chalk
The favorite. Public side. Also the popular DFS play.Dog (Underdog)
The team expected to lose. Plus money on the moneyline.Cover
What a favorite has to do to win against the spread. Or what a dog has to do by losing by less than the spread.ATS (Against the Spread)
A team’s record measured by spread results, not straight-up wins.Pick (Pick’em)
A game with no favorite. Both sides priced near even.Hammer (Pound)
To bet a lot on something. “I’m hammering the under tonight.”Fade
To bet against. Often used about a popular pick or a touted play.Tail
To follow someone else’s pick.Action
A bet, generally. “I’ve got action on three games tonight.” Also used as a verb (”you got action?”).No Action
A bet that gets voided and refunded. Often happens when a starting pitcher gets scratched in baseball or a key player is a late scratch in props.Cooler
Someone whose presence seems to make their picks lose.Bad Beat
See above. A heart-crushing loss.Backdoor Cover
A meaningless late score that flips a spread result. Dog is down 14 with 30 seconds left, scores a TD for a 7-point loss, and the +9.5 hits. The favorite “loses” the cover even though the game was decided.Sweat (Sweating)
The agony or joy of watching a bet play out in real time.Bink
To win, especially a long shot or tournament. “I just binked a $5K parlay.”
Quick Reference Cheat Sheet
A handful of habits that show up everywhere in this document and matter more than any single concept:
Always shop lines. The 5 cents you save on juice is the difference between break-even and profit over time.
Track your CLV. If you’re not beating the close, you’re probably not a winning bettor regardless of recent results.
Bet in units, not dollars. Discipline keeps you alive through cold stretches.
Recreational books will limit you. Sharp books like Circa and Pinnacle won’t, but they expect tougher pricing.
Most parlays, teasers, and cash-out offers are -EV. The exceptions (like Wong teasers crossing key numbers) are the ones to learn cold.
Player props have higher juice but softer markets. That’s where many sharps grind out their edge.
Variance is real. A losing month doesn’t mean you’re broken; a winning month doesn’t mean you’re a god. Sample size is everything.