The world of betting can be a scary place for people who are new to it. Not only are you wary of losing your money on bad betting decisions, you’ve also been warned of the sharks and shysters and snake-oil salesmen and then on top of that there’s all the jargon that goes along with it. Isn’t dutching something lads do on stag parties in Amsterdam? What’s a banker bet? Arbing?

Let’s have a look at some of the jargon terms you regularly see on betting websites:

Accumulator (Acca Bet)

An accumulator bet is when you combine more than two bets into one. Some bookies will call these doubles, when it’s three bets, they’ll call them trebles but basically an accumulator is when you have more than one bet in the same bet. For the most part bookies call bets of four or more Accumulators, the Americans call them ‘parlay bets’. Nobody knows why they came up with a strange name like that. If you have four matches in your acca you need all of them to win, even if only one loses your money is gone.

Against the Spread

In American sports you hear this a lot. It’s a bit like Asian Handicap betting. Team A are stronger than Team B. Team A are odds on at 1.70, team B are 2.50. To even things up bookies give Team A a disadvantages and Team B an advantage, let’s say 5.5 points, so this is our spread. Now the odds are more even at 1.95 each. If we beat on Team B now, they must not lose by more than 5.5 points. Going with the undergod here is betting against the spreads.

Ante Post Betting

The 2020 Grand National is set for April 4th. If you want to get better odds on an event you can bet much earlier than most punters. This is called ante post betting.

Arbitrage Betting

Arbitrage betting or ‘arbing’ is a where bettors aim to make a profit by betting on all possible outcomes of an event, for example betting on Over 2.5 goals with Bookie A and then betting on Under 2.5 goals with Bookie B. Arbing involves taking advantage of the variation in odds offered by different bookmakers, and calculating an appropriate stake level that will ensure any losses are covered by winnings in all potential outcomes.

Asian Handicap Betting

Asian handicap betting gives a disadvantage to favourites and an advantage to the underdog. Liverpool are far better than Burnley, but if the bookies give Burnley a 3 goal advantage, would Liverpool beat them by four goals? We’ve written a longer, more detailed post about Asian Handicap betting here (Click Here)

Banker

A selection that is hotly fancied to win is often called a ‘banker’ bet. Usually a short odds bet, something like Both Teams to Score in a derby match, for example.

Betting Exchange

A website where bettors can bet directly against each other, rather than a bookmaker. Betting exchanges like Betfair and Matchbook, allow you to make bets and lay bets, so for example, you can back Over 2.5 goals, if the match has three goals or more you win, or you can Lay Over 2.5 goals meaning you need less than three goals for the bet to win. You bet against other punters and the website take a commission on winnings.

Bookmaker/Sportsbook

A bookmaker is the company that provides odds on the outcome of certain events happening.

Closing line

The closing line is the odds of an event occurring at the point that a match kicks off or a race starts. Up to that moment bookies will raise and lower odds depending on how many bets are placed on the event occurring.

Double bet

Like an acca above, this bet involves two selections placed as one bet. Both selections must occur for the bet to win.

Dutching

Backing many possible outcomes in the same event to ensure that you get the same profit if any of the selections win. For example, betting on scores like 1-1, 2-1, 3-1 in a football match, or betting on two or three horses to win a race.

Each-way bet

An each-way bet is when you bet on a competitor to win or be a runner-up in an event. For example in golf Rory McIlroy would have to win or come in the top three (depending on the event) for this bet to return a profit.

Evens bet

A bet where you get back the same as what you bet, in fractional odds it’s 1/1, in decimal odds it’s 2.0. You bet £5, you win £5 and you get your stake back as well.

Fixed-odds betting

You guarantee that your potential return from a bet will not change, regardless of whether or not the odds change after your bet is placed.

In-play betting

Betting on an event after it has started.

Martingale

The worst betting system. When you lose a bet you double the stake each time to try and win back losses. Don’t do it.

Outright bet

Outright bets are placed on who will win competitions rather than single matches. For example, betting on Manchester City to win the Premier League or the outright winner of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Place bet

Backing a selection to finish in a particular place, or within a range of places in an event. For example, you bet on a horse to finish in the top three places.

Spread betting

This is where a bet is placed on the predicted movement of a market. It is not a bet made on the outcome of an event. Spread betting is usually used in financial markets, as well as in sports and politics betting too..

Treble bets

Like a double bet above, but with three selections. All three must win for your bet to pay out.

Underdog

The underdog is a team or competitor in an event who is less favoured to win in the view of the bookmaker and/or the market. They will have higher odds than the favourite.

Void bet

Void bets are when your stake is refunded by the bookie. For example, you bet on Spurs vs Arsenal to have Over 3 goals. The match finishes 2-1, so you don’t win, or lose your bet. Your bet is void and you get your stake back.