Popular sports attract the most spectators, and some brave souls are always willing to try their luck with bets. Some sports that have a high betting frequency include hockey, basketball, horse racing, and football. Sports betting is highly profitable globally, but especially so in Great Britain. In 2020, between April and September, the gross margin from gambling was over 60 million British pounds.

You can also join the fun and start placing your wagers. At least a third of the population in Great Britain place sports bets once a week. However, before betting your money, familiarize yourself with popular sports betting terminology. It will prevent you from making costly mistakes and give you an idea of pitfalls you need to watch out for. Here’s what you need to know.

Action

Actions are the total amount that gets wagered for a specific event. These can be a wager of any kind which you submit to a bookmaker.

Alternate Lines

Alternate lines are lines that give you the chance to place a bet on an adjusted point spread. You get the options of various betting lines higher or lower than the standard betting line.

Bookmaker

A bookmaker is a licensed person who creates betting lines and takes your wager. If you want to place good wagers, start reading bookmaker reviews to learn from seasoned betting experts who have substantial experience betting with online bookmakers. Reading reviews may also give you the chance to get bonuses with your first bet.

Circled Game

A game gets circled by a sportsbook when betting limits are too low, which are then increased to the maximum. These occur when unforeseen incidents such as bad weather, player injuries, and rumors about the game’s outcomes make betting less enjoyable.

Closing Line

A closing line is the final betting odds posted before the competition starts. If you want to know how well you did, compare the number of your bet against the closing line value.

Decimal Odds

Decimal odds refer to the money you win for every single pound you waged. You use a simple mathematical conversion to derive the decimal odd. For example, for a fractional 3/2, divide three by two and add one, which gives 2.5. That is how much you won.

Dog

Dog is short for the underdog. Dogs are teams that bookmakers don’t think will win the game, so they get tagged with a plus pricing.

Early Cash Out

Early cash out is a way for you to settle a wager for a certain amount of money before the game is over. It is a way to save yourself a profit that is usually smaller than what the bet would have paid you.

Edge

An edge is when you have a particular advantage against the sportsbook. You have a high chance of securing a handsome wager because the game is rolling in your favor.

Fixed Odds

Fixed odds are those odds that do not change once the bets get placed. The bookmaker accepts it when you place a wager, and the value becomes a fixed odd.

Betting Exchange

A betting exchange is a betting platform where you wager against another betting person instead of betting against a sportsbook. While you must give a small percentage of your winning wages to the exchange operator, it is still the most efficient form of sports betting.

Flat Betting

Flat betting is a system where you bet the same amount on every game. If you’re opting for flat betting, you don’t care for the wins or losses that the sport experiences.

Graded Bet

The bookmaker decides the outcome of a wager. The licensed professional will inform you if your bet is a win, a loss, a push, also known as a tie, and you get paid or refunded accordingly.

Grand Salami

Bookmakers offer you over or under bets on the total goals gathered from all the games in a specific league. Grand salamis differ from wagers placed on a particular game since it works with a total value.

Handicapper

Handicappers are people who analyze a sports event and predict the outcome of the game. They publish their predictions online, which you can read and use to place a bet.

Handle

Handle is the total amount of money a bookmaker collects from you and all your fellow wagers. The amount depends on the type of sport.

If Bet

An ‘if bet’ is a combination of two or more wagers. You cannot move to your second bet unless you win your first bet.

In-Play Betting

In-play betting is betting where a wager gets placed once the game starts. You place bets live while the game is going on by selecting multiple in-play betting options which a bookmaker will offer you.

Joint Favorite

A Joint favorite is one or more competitors who have the same odds of winning. A bookie decides which team or teams have an equal chance of winning.

Juice

Juice is also known as ‘vigorish’ when a bookmaker takes a fee for accepting your wages. The bookkeeper will only collect juice once you lose the wager.

Limit

Limits are standards placed by bookmakers which determine how much you can wage. These vary according to the sport so that you can go high or low according to the limit.

Lock

A lock is a way of saying the team or the player will win easily, but the prediction may not always be accurate. Most handicappers use locks to entice you to place a bet.

Sports betting is a massive industry, and if you feel inclined to join it, you need to prepare yourself. Sports betting language is specific, so you can’t become an expert wager unless you familiarize yourself with these terms. While the list is extensive, the basic terms are enough to get you started. Once you start placing bets, identifying successful sports, and get into the habits of reading reviews online, betting will become second nature to you. Therefore, start studying today and place your wages to profit off your skills.