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The Official Cabdrivers' Guide to Las Vegas ! |
| Glossary of sports betting terms
Buy Points Did you know "points" are for sale? Las Vegas sportsbooks generally charge 10% for an extra 1/2 point. Often, for football, expect to pay even more for "key points" such as 3 points and 7 points. If you're betting $50 on KC and getting 2 points, you can buy a 1/2 point for $5 (10% of your bet), giving you a 2 1/2 point spread. Circle Game-A game or event that has had its betting restricted, usually due to injuries to key players or extreme weather. Cover-When a favorite wins by more than the spread. Degenerate-Gamblers that lose, lose and lose some more....then borrow from their cab driver buddies at 3:AM. Dime-$1000 Futures-A wager on the outcome of a major event, such as the Super Bowl, NCAA Tourney or the World Series...usually placed before the start of the season. EXOTIC-A wager placed on any number of events. Often call a "proposition" (prop) bet, in sports, it could be a bet similar to "Will Shannon Sharpe catch more than 3.5 passes in the Super Bowl?", or "Who will score the first run in the World Series". Ask the sportsbook people about any available prop bets. Handle-Total amount of money taken in by the sportsbook on any given event. This is not the net earnings for the 'book, merely the total action on all sides. Hedge-Basically, this is a bet against yourself. For example, you have a 4 team parlay, with 3 Sunday games and the fourth on Monday night. You go 3 for 3 on Sunday, only needing the Monday night game for your winning parlay ticket. Let's say you bet $10....most parlays will pay about 3.5 to 1 for a 4 teamer, which is $35 for you. Since you have three games already won, you make another $10 straight bet on the opposite team on Monday. This way, if your original Monday team wins, you hit your parlay. If your original Monday team loses, your hedge bet has you covered, and you'll escape with a push, in this example. Looks good on paper...Either win $15 ($35 minus your two $10 bets) or push. However, in reality you are betting against yourself...therefore doubling the house advantage. Try to stay away from hedging bets. If it was a good bet to begin with, it's even better now. "The Hook"-The half point in point spreads...7 and a HALF. You'll be surprised with how many games are decided by "the hook"!
Juice-The amount of money the house will
make from a bet. Also know as vigorish, vig, and take. Laying Points-Betting the favorite..."I bet the Broncos at -7, so I laid the points". Line-The spread or point spread. The number of points given or taken from a team in order for that team to "cover" (win) a bet. Middle Bets-An attempt to win both sides of a bet by taking advantage of large changes in the point spread. A large middle is a rare, but valuable opportunity. Money Line Bet-A moneyline is offered when no handicap is given, such as a point spread or runline, and the odds are not therefore fixed. Payouts are then based on true odds rather than fixed odds. The favorite and underdog are given odds to win a game or fight. The minus sign (e.g.-130) always indicates the favorite and the amount you must bet to win $100. The plus sign (e.g.+120) always indicates the underdog and the amount you win for every $100 bet. Therefore based on the above moneyline, you bet $130 to win $100 on the favorite. For the underdog, you win $120 for every $100 bet. One of my favorite bets is when I see a few 'dogs, according to the spread, I think will win the game outright. I'll then bet them on a 2 or 3 team "money line parlay". While harder to hit than a point spread parlay, with dogs, the odds can get pretty high. Nickle-$500 Off the Board-Event were bets are being delayed or canceled, often because of weather or injuries to key players. Over/Under-To bet that an event or score will last longer or shorter, or score more or less than the totals given. In boxing, you may bet that a fight will last less than, say, 5 rounds. Or that both teams in the World Series will score more than 7 1/2 runs. Or that both teams on Monday night will score more than 36 points, combined. Over/unders may also be a part of parlay tickets. Parlay-A bet with two or more events must have a favorable outcome. If you have a 3 team parlay, all three teams must win or cover in order to be a winner. Pick-Pick 'Em or 'PK'-A game or event where neither side is receiving odds or points.... Pleasers-The same concept as parlays or teasers, in that you need to pick more than one game correctly for a winner. With a pleaser, you are trading points for odds. For example the line is Denver -7. On a pleaser, you'll usually give up an extra 6 points. In this example, this means Denver will now have to win by 13 points, instead of just 7. In exchange for giving up 6 points, the player will be paid higher odds. Pleasers are hard to hit, but can have a pretty hefty payback. Pressing-When a bettor increases the amount of his/her usual bet. A tendency for many players is to press either during a winning streak I'm HOT, I'm HOT!) or during a losing streak (I'm Due! I'm Due!) Proposition Bet-More commonly called "prop bets". See "Exotic Bets" above... Pointspread-The number of points to be added or subtracted to a team's score. The goal of the point spread os to have even amounts of money wagered on both sides of a bet. Puckline-One of the more confusing bets in any sportsbook. Because hockey has so little scoring, it's hard to have a "goal spread" that is accurate to any degree. Using just a pure money line too heavily favors the better teams. So, the puck line combines a spread with a money line bet. Here's a common example of a hockey puck line:
Denver +1 (-120) Push: A game or event that is a tie after the points are factored in. Round Robin-A little complicated, but a round robin is simply a combination of parlay bets. let's say you have 3 two team parlays. A round robin lets you bet every possible combination of results for those three parlays. Here's a quick break down:
*3 teams bet 2 different ways is 3 total
bets. Runline-Sort of like the money line, but in baseball. The underdog is given +1.5 runs. Spread: Synonymous with point spread or line. Straight Bet-A bet based on a single game or occurrence. A straight bet based on the spread is the best bet in the sportsbooks, and the only type of bet recommended for heavy and/or serious bettors.. Teaser: Another parlay type bet where more than one team or event must happen for a winning teaser. Differs from a parlay in that the player exchanges more points for lower odds. Sort of the opposite of a "pleaser". Tout Sheet or Service-Tips and opinions on sporting events available for payment. One of the more common scams of tout services is to set up many different services, knowing that there's a very good chance one of the tout services will be "hot" with their picks. The tout service will then focus and promote only their particular service that's been hot..."Look at us! We've covered 72% of the time the last 6 weeks!". Maybe, maybe not....Is the service including every pick made or only those on the "service" that's been hot? Danny Sheridan is probably the most well known of the 'touts'? Vigorish, Vig, Juice-The sportsbook's "cut" for handling the bets. Varies greatly from straight bets to parlays to future bets.
Wise Guy-Professional or semi-pro, big
betting sportsbook players. Have been known to bet huge amounts in an attempt
to move the line in hopes of seeking a middle. Looking for even more information? Use our exclusive Las Vegas search engine for the "Best Vegas on the Net"!
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