If you follow sport betting, you will see many phrases used which can be quite confusing. In this article, we will explain what these phrases mean and what is required of you as a betting consumer.
The Moneyline
“The moneyline”, or simply “line”, is the phrase used when referring to the betting decision between the two teams or events that are being bet on. An example would be a tennis match where you are asked to choose between the two players. In most instances, the moneyline will be presented in the form of a + sign for the home team and a – sign for the away team. The amount that you bet on the moneyline will be taken as a stake and you will win or lose that amount. If the score is tied at the end of the match, your stake will be refunded to you. In case of a loss, you will lose the amount you staked. In case of a win, the amount that you staked plus the winnings from the adjacent games will be added to your stake. If the score is still tied at the end of the game, the stakeholder will have to make a decision as to which game will be settled mathematically to determine the outcome of the match. This is known as a “push” or a “pushw” game and can be quite complicated. If the score is still tied after the push game, the organizers of the match might also decide to go to a sudden-death playoff, where the first team to score wins. This is usually the case when the score is very close or one team is up by several goals.
Down
When a match or event is described as being “down”, this usually means that the betting odds on the event have gone down. This can be either for the whole match, for the entire season, or for an entire pool of games. In case of a tennis match, if you are looking at the odds for the U.S. Open, you will see that they have gone down since the start of the season. In case of an NFL game, the betting odds will go down as soon as the money has been collected for that game.
Odds
Betting odds are the terms used when referring to the amount of money that you have to stake for a given outcome. They can be expressed as two decimal places, such as 12.3, which means that you need to stake $12.30 to win $1 at a given odds. The whole point of betting odds is to make the mathematics easy for you as a consumer and to give you an idea of how much you are risking. It is not uncommon for there to be multiple odds or offers available for a single event or match.
Rover
When a bookmaker or odds maker refers to an event or match as being “rover”, they generally mean that the odds for that event or match are very good or very bad. In case of an NFL game, you might see “rover” when describing the odds for the San Francisco 49ers and the Chicago Bears. The “rover” in this case represents the fact that the betting odds are so skewed in favor of either team that, regardless of which team you choose, you are virtually guaranteed to win or lose your money. If you are not familiar with football (American football), a roving tackle is a play where one of the defensive players tries to tackle the quarterback while he is in the process of throwing the ball. The quarterback cannot feel safe making any kind of accurate throw, so long as he is being tackled by a defensive player. This is mostly a tactic employed by the defense to disrupt the timing of the offense and keep them off-balance. When the odds are skewed in favor of one team or group of players like this, it is said that they have a “mania” for that team or game.
Straight Up
When betting on horse races, you will always find the phrase “straight up” when describing whether or not a given horse will win a particular race. Most often, “straight up” is used to indicate that the wager will be settled according to the actual results of the race. If you bet on a horse that you think is going to win, you will have to pay the winnings right away. In case of a loss, you will have to pay the winnings regardless of whether or not the horse actually wins the race.
In The Money
If you place a bet on a team or player and they end up winning the game, you will hear the expressions “you are in the money” or “you won an even larger pot”. In case of a tennis match, if you bet on the German Open and they win, you will be in the money. If you bet on the French Open and they win, you will be in the money. “In the money” means that your original stake was returned to you plus the winnings from the adjacent games. In case of a loss, if the moneyline was against you, your stake will be returned to you plus the winnings from the adjacent games. In case of a win, your original stake and the winnings from the adjacent games will be added to your stake.
Lay
When a bookmaker or odds maker refers to betting or wagering as “ laying”, this usually means that there is some level of aggression involved. “Laying” bets indicates that you are not only risking what you are betting on, but you are also willing to risk additional amounts as a bonus bet. For example, if you place a $10 wager on a horse that you think is going to win, you might state that you have a lay bet on the Boston Red Sox. The truth is that you are just as likely to lose as you are to win, but you are willing to risk $10 as a bonus bet. You can also use the lay concept when describing a situation where you are virtually certain of winning or losing. For example, let’s say that you have a $10 bonus on a horse that you think is going to win. Even though your horse is virtually assured of winning, you still might say that you have a lay bet on it because you are also willing to risk an additional $10. The horse ends up losing, and you don’t risk a thing because it was a lay bet.
Over/Under
When a bookmaker or odds maker refers to betting or wagering as “over/under”, this usually means that the amount of money that you have to risk is quite high or quite low. For example, if you bet on a horse that you think is going to win and it ends up losing, you will have to pay the winnings whether or not they exceed your original stake. Let’s say that you bet $10 on a horse that you think is going to win. If that horse ends up losing, you will have to pay $20 since your original stake was $10. However, if the horse wins and the winnings come in at $15, you will be ahead $5 on your original stake. This is typically the case when you have to risk quite a bit of money for a relatively small payoff. If you are on the other side of the coin and you think that an under dog is going to win, you will have to stake quite a bit of money to make that wager. For example, if you bet $10 on an under dog team and it ends up winning, you will be way ahead because you started out with a very small stake and the winnings will be quite high.
Often times, you will see the term “line” followed by a number. This number usually indicates how many goals or points the team or player is behind. A soccer (football) score of 4-3 would be described as being “moneyline +2.5” which means that, for that game, you would need to stake $2.50 on the money line, plus $2.50 for each additional goal. In case of a tie, the additional goals would not be counted.