Glossary of betting terms
Sports betting terms explained
betting 101
Getting started as a professional punter
If you click on any of the links below you will be taken to the article we published on the subject in our Sports Bookie Blog column.
Many bettors fail to understand the importance of Home Field Advantage (HFA). Ever since the English Football Association formed the first ever football league in 1888, home teams scored more goals than visiting teams. Astute punters stay one step ahead of the bookmaker to reap maximum returns. Additional known influences to consider include...
>>READ MORE ON ANALYSING HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Spread Betting is a betting style popular with UK punters and is offered by a limited number of specialist betting firms. Spread margins are fairly tight and in general punters can make a lot more money long term on fixed odds and/or Asian Handicap betting than on Spread bets.
>>READ MORE ON SPREAD BETS
How can you tell what the overround is in a market? Call it Vig, Vigorish, Juice or Overround it's all talking about the same thing – the bookies “built-in” margin on the bets. Therefore it’s obvious that the lower the overround, the better the value in the market.
>>READ MORE ON OVERROUND
I personally like Asian Handicaps because they remove the draw from the equation. This is an important consideration as a quarter of all football games end in draws. Not all bookies offer Asian Handicaps, and as with all odds, it is well worth shopping around to get the best for Asian Handicaps
>>READ MORE ON ASIAN HANDICAP BETTING
Fixed-odds betting is the easiest to understand and by far the most popular form of betting. Its popularity stems from the fact that you know how much you can win, or indeed lose, when you place your bet.
>>READ MORE ON FIXED ODDS BETTING
Arbitrage is also referred to as sure bets, scalps, no-risk and risk-free bets. In theory, in an arbitrage situation, you can guarantee a profit regardless of the game outcome.
>>READ MORE ON ARBITRAGE BETTING
Touted as the best thing for bettors since the advent of online betting, Betting Exchanges can be hazardous to your bank balance if you don't do the hard yards to properly understand the value in a market.
>>READ BETTING EXCHANGES EXPLAINED
A quick run down of some of the common - and more obscure - multi-bets that punters can place. Are Accumulators a ‘mugs bet’? Unless every leg of a bet is a value bet you can be handing the bookie money on a plate...
>>READ UP ON MULTI-BETS
So what is a Betting System? We explain this and investigate the Martingale system, probably the best known betting system that focuses on losing streaks, The Grand Martingale and the Anti-Martingale or Paroli Betting Systems...
>>READ AN EXPLANATION OF THESE SYSTEMS AND WHY WE DON'T RATE THEM
Wanting the best bets when you know a game will not be a goal-fest? Growing rapidly in popularity under/over goal betting markets add another dimension to football betting. You need to do some homework in order to bet successfully but there is value to be found.
>>READ MORE ON UNDER/OVER GOALS BETS
Do Special Bets offer Special Value? First/Last Goal Scorer, Anytime Scorer, Half time / Full time, Final Score, Scorecast betting... This type of betting can be a lot of fun - and potentially lucrative but generally this type of betting is considered less often by punters.
>>READ MORE ON SPECIAL BETS - COMING SOON
One simple tactic can improve the results of the majority of bettors but amazingly, only a small portion of players take advantage of it! That betting strategy is to bet early. Overnight lines are the betting world’s gift to players, allowing them to get good numbers across the board. It even helps you pick better sides!
>>READ MORE ON OVERNIGHT LINES
Last Page Update: 23 April 2016
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Betting Exchanges - Best Odds? Not Always!
Sports Arbitrage - Fact or Fiction?
Fixed Odds Betting - The Simplest Punt
Asian Handicap - Why many football bettors are changing to it
Overround, the Lower the Better!
Spread Betting - High Risk Returns!
Our Latest Articles on Sports Betting Terms:
Place Your Bets! Common & not so common Multiple Bets
Martingale: Betting Secret or recipe for Disaster?
Under/Over 2.5 Goals Explained
Key
Betting Terms
Explained
Best bookie for Asian Handicap Odds >>
Best bookie for Fixed Odds Betting >>
We've compiled a special section with some of our more recent responses to questions in case you're interested. This is not really a Glossary of Betting Terms as we've included personal opinions, worked examples and even recommendations that we think might help.
Feel free to contact us via the email address below if you have specific sports betting terminology you would like covered in this section.
Just How Special are Special Bets?
Best Bookie for Special Bets >>
Key Betting Terms Explained
Overnight Lines
Members of the BookieLabRat.com team are regularly asked to explain or define a key betting term or some gambling industry jargon. Profitable sports betting, or becoming a professional punter does require a certain amount of base knowledge.
Analysing Home Field Advantage in EPL
Selected sports betting terms and gambling industry jargon explained.