Sportsbook Terms

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Betting Terms Explained:

Action - A wager of any kind, a bet. In baseball, placing the bet no matter who pitches.

Added Game - A game not part of Las Vegas regular rotation posted as an accommodation to customers.

AFC - American Football Conference

ATS - "Against the spread," taking points rather than betting with the spread and laying points.

Bet - Any wager.

Beard - A friend or acquaintance who is used to place bets as to conceal the true identity of the real bettor.

Book - An establishment that accepts wagers on the outcome of horse racing and sporting events.

Bookie - A person who accepts sports wagers.

Buck - A $100 wager.

Buy - Equivalent of Buying Points.

Buying Points - A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a point spread game. See more of Buying Points

Canadian Line - A combination point spread and money line in hockey.

Chalk - A favorite.

Chalk Player - Someone who usually only plays the favored teams, rarely betting on the underdogs.

Circled game - A game in which the betting action is reduced; usually occurs in added games, games with injuries, bad weather, propositions, or halves of games. These games cannot be included in parlays or teasers.

Colt - An ungelded male horse whose age is 4 or under.

Cover - When a favorite wins by more than the required number of points.

Daily Double - A horse racing bet in which a player must pick the horses to win each of two designated races.

Dime - $1000.00

Dime Line - A line where the juice is 10%.

Dog - The team perceived to be most likely to lose. See underdog.

Dog Player - One who mostly plays the underdog.

Dollar - $100

Double action - An "if bet" that is processed if the precedent bet wins, ties or cancels.

Double Bet - A wager for twice the size of one's usual wager; also known as "double pop" or "doubling up"

Double header - Two separate games played by the same teams on the same day.

Edge - Advantage.

Even Money - A bet whose odds are 1/1; a wager in which no vigorish or juice is laid.

Exacta - A player must select the two first horses on a race to come in 1st and 2nd places in exact order.

Exotic Wager - A bet posted for customer accommodation such as first half, second half, futures, run lines or money line wagers.

Favorite - The entry expected to win an event. The quoted odds reflect the extent to which the choice is favored.

Filly - A female horse whose age is 4 or under.

Fifty cents - $50.00

Final Four - Remaining four college teams from a field of 64. They meet to determine the National Champion.

First half bet - A bet placed only on the first half of the game.

Four majors - Golf's most prestigious events: the Masters, the US Open, PGA in the US and the British Open

Furlong - A unit of distance used in horse racing equal to 1/8 or a mile or 220 yards.

Future - Odds posted in advance on the winners of various major events including the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, and the NBA Championship.

Getting Down - Making a wager.

Grand Slam - The four most important tournaments in tennis: the Australian Open, the French Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon.

Grand Salami - The grand total of goals scored in all the hockey games of the day. It can be wagered to go Over/Under.

Half a dollar - $50.00

Half time bet - A bet placed only on the second half of the game (overtime included).

Handicapper - One who studies, rates and wagers on sporting events and/or races.

Handicapping - The attempt to predict the outcome of sporting events.

Handle - Total amount of bets taken.

Hedging - Placing bets on the opposite side in order to cut losses or guarantee a minimum amount of winnings.

Home team - The team playing in its own town.

Hook - A half point added to football and basketball betting lines. Also see "buy."

Hot game - A game which is drawing a lot of action on one side by knowledgeable handicappers.

IBF - International Boxing Federation

In the money - In horse racing, a horse that finishes first, second or third.

Juice - The bookmaker's commission on a losing bet, also known as "vigorish."

Laying the points - Betting the favorite by giving up points.

Laying the price - Betting the favorite by laying money odds.

Limit - The maximum amount a bookmaker will allow you to bet before he changes the odds and/or the points. Line The current odds or point spread on a particular event.

Line - The current odds or point spread on a contest.

Linemaker - The person who establishes the original and subsequent betting lines.

Listed Pitchers - In Basketball wagering, a bet which will be placed only if both of the pitchers scheduled to start a game actually start. If they don't, the bet is cancelled.

Lock - A supposedly "can't lose" wager.

Longshot - A team or horse perceived to be unlikely to win.

Mare - A female horse whose age is 5 or more.

Middle - To win both sides of the same contest. Betting the underdog at one point spread and the favorite at a different point spread and winning both sides.

MLB - Major Basketball League (divided into two leagues: the National and the American)

Money line - Odds expressed in terms of money. With money odds, whenever there is a minus (-) you lay that amount to win a hundred dollars, where there is a plus (+) you get that amount for every hundred dollars wagered.

Move the line - A player pays an additional price to receive half a point or more in his favor on a point spread game. See "buy."

MVP - Most Valuable Player. An award given to the best regular-season players and to the outstanding player in championship games or series.

NBA - National Basketball Association

NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association

Newspaper line - The betting line which quite often appears in the daily newspapers. The lines are only approximate and quite often completely inaccurate and misleading.

NFC - National Football Conference

NFL - National Football League (divided into American Football Conference and National Football Conference).

NHL - National Hockey League (teams divided into Eastern Conference and Western Conference).

Nickel - $500.00

Nickel line - A line where the juice is 5%.

NIT - National Invitational Tournament

No action - A bet in which no money is lost nor won. See "push."

Off the board - A game on which the bookmaker will not accept action.

One - $100.00

Outlaw Line - An overnight line not used by casinos or offshore establishments.

Over - A sports bet in which the bettor guesses that the combined point total of two teams will be above a specified total.

Overtime - Extension to a tied contest at the end of regulation play that lasts until a winner is determined or maximum overtime periods expire.

Parlay - A sport bet with two or more teams in which all teams must win or cover for the bettor to win and receive higher payouts. See more of Parlay

Perfecta - In horse racing, a wager in which the player selects the two horses in a race to finish in 1st and 2nd places in exact order. See "Exacta."

PGA - Professional Golfers Association.

Pick 'em - When neither team is favored. Also called a "pick."

Place - A horse racing wager in which you collect if your horse finishes first or second.

Point spread - The predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a sports book.

Postponed - A contest cancelled for any reason and rescheduled at a later date.

Press - To bet a larger amount than usual.

Price - The odds or point spread. See "money line."

Prop - Equivalent of Proposition Bet.

Proposition Bet - A special wager offered by the sports book on unique and various topics. These wagers can be on sporting events, politics, and even trial outcomes. The wagers use the money line format of pay off odds and might included who scores the first touchdown in the super bowl, who will win the next presidential election, or whether or not O. J. will be found guilty. See more of Propositions

Puckline - Giving odds of a goal spread instead of using a Canadian Line, where both a goal spread and money line are played.

Push - When the contest ends with no winner or loser for wagering purposes.

Quinella - In horse racing, a wager in which the player selects the two horses in a race to finish in 1st and 2nd places in either order.

Rained out - A game cancelled because of weather.

Reverse - In horse racing, to ask for a second exacta wager which specifies two horses in reverse order of the first exacta wager.

Round Robin - A series of three or more teams in 2-team parlays.

Run down - All the lines for an specific date, sport, time, etc.

Run line - In baseball, a spread used instead of the money line.

Ryder Cup - A golf tournament in which every two years the top American and European golfers meet at venues alternating between the two continents.

Scratch - In horse racing, a horse that has been withdrawn from a race before the start. Wagers on this horse are refunded.

Scouts - Person(s) who waits for what he thinks is an unusually strong wager. AKA. Sports Player.

Show - A horse racing bet in which you collect if the horse finishes first, second or third.

- The names of the two teams playing: the underdog and the favorite.

- An "if bet" that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.

- The predicted scoring differential between two opponents as quoted by a sports book. See "point spread."

- Best-of-seven series between the Eastern and Western conference champions in the NHL to determine the World Champion.

- When a betting line starts to move rapidly. Most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect objective circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors are drawn to for some reason.

Straight bet - A bet on just one team or horse. More of Straight Wagers

Store - A bookie or sports wagering establishment.

Superbowl - Winners of the AFC and NFC meet to determine the NFL Champion.

Taking the points - Betting the underdog and its advantage in the point spread.

Taking the price - Betting the underdog and accepting money odds.

Teaser - A teaser is a special type of parlay in which you adjust the point spread or total of each individual play. The price of moving the point spread (teasing) is lower pay off odds winning wagers. See more of Teasers

Ticket - A wager.

Tie - A bet in which no money is lost nor won because the teams' scores were equal to the number of points in the given line.

Total - The combined amount of runs, points or goals scored by both teams during the game, including the overtime.

Totals Bet - A proposition bet in which the bettor speculates that the total score by both teams in a game will be more or less than the line posted by the sports book.

Tout - Someone who sells their expertise on sports wagering.

Trifecta - A horse racing bet in which a player selects three horses in one race to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in exact order

Under - A sports bet in which the bettor guesses that the total points scored by two teams will be under a certain figure.

Underdog - The team perceived to be most likely to lose. Also known as the "dog."

Value - Getting the best odds on a betting proposition; the highest possible edge.

Vigorish - The bookmaker's commission on a losing bet; also known as juice.

WBA - World Boxing Association

WBC - World Boxing Council.

Win - A horse racing wager in which you collect if your horse finishes first.

Wise guy - A well-informed or knowledgeable handicapper or bettor.

If you have further questions to our betting offer, we will be glad to answer them personally from 0800h to Half Time of last Game EST (GMT-4): 1-800-238-2768 - either by e-mail: info@apexsportsbook.com

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