When it comes to sports betting, there are a lot of terms and phrases that you might hear, and a lot that you might see on a betting slip. If you’re new to this world of sports betting, you might not know what some of these terms mean, or you might not know how they translate into numbers on a betting slip. What do all these terms mean?
To help you become more familiar with terms and phrases in betting, and to give you some extra guidance on how to make better bets, this article will define and explain several terms and phrases you’ll see on a sports betting slip, along with defining the betting terms behind them.
Raw Betting
If you’ve ever watched a game and seen a point-spread pop up on your screen, you might have noticed that the game isn’t over yet. That’s because there’s still time for the lines to change due to the outcome of the game. When that happens, the line that previously was in favor of the home team will turn into an underdog, while the opposite will happen for the favorite. When you make a bet on a sporting event, you’re making a raw bet as there’s still the possibility for the lines to change and for the outcome of the game to vary from the one that was originally posted. For instance, if a team that you’ve bet on scores a touchdown in the second half of the game, your original bet will be canceled because there’s no longer a possibility for it to win. However, if the home team scores another touchdown in the fourth quarter, your original bet will be paid off because the line shifted in your favor due to the new score.
Exacta Betting
If you’ve ever placed a bet on a horse and gotten the result that you were hoping for, you might have noticed that the bookmaker gave you the option to choose between an “exacta” or a “prediction” bet. An exacta bet is one in which you’re agreeing to pay off exactly what you’ve laid out, whereas a prediction bet is one in which you’re agreeing to pay off either way, but you don’t know which way the outcome will go. For instance, if you bet $1 on a horse that you deem to be a front-runner in the horse-racing event, and that horse wins, you’ll be paid $1, but if it loses, you’ll lose $1 as well. In an exacta bet, you’re not given the option to choose whether or not to risk your money on the bet; you’ll either have to take the risk and hope for the best or lay down your bet beforehand, knowing that you’ll either win or lose what you’ve bet. Exactas are usually only offered on select events, such as horse-racing or greyhound-racing, as the odds are usually much better for these types of events than they are for other types of sports events. They also offer some degree of protection to the bettor in case the horse you’ve chosen to bet on loses, in which case you’ll only lose what you’ve bet, rather than risk a bank account or credit card on a long shot.
Lay Betting
In lay betting, you’re not necessarily betting on the final outcome of an event; you’re simply placing a bet on the actions of the players. For example, if you think that a certain player will catch a touchdown pass, you might lay a bet on that player’s team to score a touchdown. If the player you’ve bet on does indeed catch the touchdown pass, you’ll win the amount you’ve laid down, but if he doesn’t, you’ll lose what you’ve bet. Sometimes, you might even get the option to choose which team you want to lay your bet on, if there’s more than one option. You can also choose to lay your bet on the player you think will win the big game, or on the player you think will score the most points in the next NFL game, or even a game that hasn’t been played yet. The key thing to keep in mind with lay betting is that you’re not necessarily picking which team will win, but you’re simply placing a bet on which player will do the best. Sometimes, this can be a difficult choice when there’s more than one option, but in most cases, it’s easier to choose one player than to decide which team you think will win. Lay betting is usually done on a smaller scale than other types of betting, and the odds are usually much better because there are fewer options to choose from. In most places, you can’t lay more than $2 on any given event, and most casinos will even prevent you from laying larger bets, since they don’t want you to lose your entire bankroll. The good thing about lay betting is that it’s much easier to profit from; you don’t necessarily need to have a large bankroll to make money from lay betting, as long as you know which players to bet on and which events to avoid, like the Olympics or World Cup, where the betting odds are usually absurdly high.
Corner Betting
A corner bet is where you’re placing your bet on the outcome of an event that has been determined by one of the corners of the playing field. For example, if you think that one of the cornerbacks for the home team will cause an interception, you can lay a bet on that player’s team to score a touchdown or you can lay a bet on the away team to win the game. If they do indeed cause an interception, your original bet will be paid off. However, if the home team doesn’t score a touchdown or the away team scores a touchdown, your original bet will be canceled. Corner betting is usually done on a smaller scale than other types of betting, with the exception of college basketball, where it’s usually not allowed, and in the National Football League, where it’s mostly done on the Patriots), but it is still prevalent in the college ranks. As with lay betting, you can’t place a corner bet unless you’re at a casino or a sportsbook that allows it, and then you usually have to place your bet before the start of the game.
Over Under (Under/Over) Betting
An over under bet is where you think the total amount of points that will be scored by both teams in an upcoming game will be lower than the bookmaker assumes. For example, if you think that the total points scored in an upcoming National Football League game will be between 27 and 31, you can lay a bet that the under will win. The opposite will happen if you think that the total points scored will be 32 or more.
On the other hand, if you think that the total points scored in the next game of the National Basketball Association will be between 20 and 24, you can bet the over. If you think that the total points scored in the next game of the National Hockey League will be between 12 and 16, you can bet the over or under, depending on if you think that the home team or away team will win. If you think that the total amount of runs that will be scored in the next game of the American League will be over 10, you can lay bets on both the over and under. If you think that the total amount of runs that will be scored in the next game of the National League will be under 10, you can bet against the under or you can lay a bet on both options.
Prediction Betting
A prediction bet is where you’re agreeing to pay off either way, but you don’t know which way the outcome will go. For example, if you think that the next game of the National Football League will be close, but you don’t know which team will win, you can place a prediction bet. You’ll either win or you’ll lose what you’ve bet. Sometimes, you might even get the option to choose whether or not to risk your money on the bet, if there’s more than one option; for example, if you think that the next game of the National Football League will be close and you don’t know which team will win. In these cases, it’s usually more convenient to choose one team than to decide which one will win. Prediction betting is usually done on a smaller scale than other types of betting, and it’s also very common among high school and college teams. Just remember that, as with other types of betting, once the game starts, the options disappear and you have to choose whether or not to risk your money on the bet. If you’re not at a sportsbook or a casino, you can’t lay a prediction bet, and if you do try to lay one, you’ll usually have to choose one team or player to back because there’s no way for you to win if you bet on both.