Common Gambling Phrases

admin 4/15/2022

Famous Gambling Phrases
Common Gambling Phrases Words
Funny Gambling Phrases
Catchy Gambling Phrases
Gambling Phrases Terms
Common Gambling Phrases Examples

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Action: Having a wager on a game.

ATS ('against the [point] spread'): If a team is 5-2 ATS, it means it has a 5-2 record against the point spread, or more commonly referred to simply as the 'spread.'

Backdoor cover: When a team scores points at the end of a game to cover the spread unexpectedly.

Bad beat: Losing a bet you should have won. It's especially used when the betting result is decided late in the game to change the side that covers the spread. Also used in poker, such as when a player way ahead in the expected win percentage loses on the river (last card).

Beard: Someone who places a wager for another person (aka 'runner').

Book: Short for sportsbook or bookmaker; person or establishment that takes bets from customers.

Bookie: A person who accepts bets illegally and charges vig.

Famous Gambling Phrases

Buying points: Some bookies or sportsbooks will allow customers to alter the set line and then adjust odds. For example, a bettor might decide he wants to have his team as a 3-point underdog instead of the set line of 2.5. He has then 'bought' half a point, and the odds of his bet will be changed.

Chalk: The favorite in the game. People said to be 'chalk' bettors typically bet the favorite.

Circle game: A game for which the betting limits are lowered, usually because of injuries and/or weather.

Closing line: The final line before the game or event begins.

Consensus pick: Derived from data accumulated from a variety of sportsbooks in PickCenter. The pick, and its percentage, provides insight as to what side the public is taking in a game.

Cover: The betting result on a point-spread wager. For a favorite to cover, it has to win by more than the spread; an underdog covers by winning outright or losing by less than the spread.

Dime: Jargon for a $1,000 bet. If you bet 'three dimes,' that means a $3,000 wager.

'Dog: Short for underdog.

Common Gambling Phrases Words

Dollar: Jargon for a $100 bet. Usually used with bookies; if you bet 'five dollars,' that means a $500 wager.

Edge: An advantage. Sports bettors might feel they have an edge on a book if they think its lines aren't accurate.

Even money: Odds that are considered 50-50. You put up $1 to win $1.

Exotic: Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay; can also be called a 'prop' or 'proposition wager.'

Favorite: The expected straight-up winner in a game or event. Depending on the sport, the favorite will lay either odds or points. For example, in a football game, if a team is a 2.5-point favorite, it will have to win by three points or more to be an ATS winner.

Fixed: A participant in a particular game who alters the result of that game or match to a completely or partially predetermined result. The participant did not play honestly or fairly because of an undue outside influence.

Futures bet: A long-term wager that typically relates to a team's season-long success. Common futures bets include betting a team to win a championship at the outset of a season, or betting whether the team will win or lose more games than a set line at the start of the season.

Halftime bet: A bet made after the first half ended and before the second half begins (football and basketball primarily). The oddsmaker generally starts with half of the game side/total and adjusts based on what happened in the first half.

Handicapper: A person trying to predict the winners of an event.

Handle: The amount of money taken by a book on an event or the total amount of money wagered.

Hedging: Betting the opposing side of your original bet, to either ensure some profit or minimize potential loss. This is typically done with futures bets, but can also be done on individual games with halftime bets or in-game wagering.

High roller: A high-stakes gambler.

Hook: A half-point. If a team is a 7.5-point favorite, it is said to be 'laying seven and a hook.'

In-game wagering: A service offered by books in which bettors can place multiple bets in real time, as the game is occurring.

Juice: The commission the bookie or bookmaker takes. Standard is 10 percent. Also called the 'vig/vigorish.'

Layoff: Money bet by a sportsbook with another sportsbook or bookmaker to reduce that book's liability.

Limit: The maximum bet taken by a book. If a book has a $10,000 limit, it'll take that bet but the book will then decide whether it's going to adjust the line before the bettor can bet again.

Lock: A guaranteed win in the eyes of the person who made the wager.

Middle: When a line moves, a bettor can try to 'middle' a wager and win both sides with minimal risk. Suppose a bettor bets one team as a 2.5-point favorite, then the line moves to 3.5 points. She can then bet the opposite team at 3.5 and hope the favorite wins by three points. She would then win both sides of the bet.

Money line (noun), money-line (modifier): A bet in which your team only needs to win. The point spread is replaced by odds.

Mush: A bettor or gambler who is considered to be bad luck.

Nickel: Jargon for a $500 bet. Usually used with bookies; if you bet 'a nickel,' that means a $500 wager.

Oddsmaker (also linemaker): The person who sets the odds. Some people use it synonymous with 'bookmaker' and often the same person will perform the role at a given book, but it can be separate if the oddsmaker is just setting the lines for the people who will eventually book the bets.

Off the board: When a book or bookie has taken a bet down and is no longer accepting action or wagers on the game. This can happen if there is a late injury or some uncertainty regarding who will be participating.

Over/under: A term that can be used to describe the total combined points in a game (the Ravens-Steelers over/under is 40 points) or the number of games a team will win in a season (the Broncos' over/under win total is 11.5). Also used in prop bets.

Parlay: A wager in which multiple teams are bet, either against the spread or on the money line. For the wager to win (or pay out), all of them must cover/win. The more teams you bet, the greater the odds.

Pick 'em: A game with no favorite or underdog. The point spread is zero, and the winner of the game is also the spread winner.

Point spread (or just 'spread'): The number of points by which the supposed better team is favored over the underdog.

Proposition (or prop) bet: A special or exotic wager that's not normally on the betting board, such as which team will score first or how many yards a player will gain. Sometimes called a 'game within a game.' These are especially popular on major events, with the Super Bowl being the ultimate prop betting event.

Push: When a result lands on the betting number and all wagers are refunded. For example, a 3-point favorite wins by exactly three points. Return on investment (ROI): In PickCenter, ROI is the amount (according to numberFire) that a bettor should expect to get back on a spread pick.

Runner: Someone who makes bets for another person (aka 'beard').

Sharp: A professional, sophisticated sports bettor.

Spread: Short for point spread.

Square: A casual gambler. Someone who typically isn't using sophisticated reasoning to make a wager.

Steam: When a line is moving unusually fast. It can be a result of a group or syndicate of bettors all getting their bets in at the same time. It can also occur when a respected handicapper gives a bet his followers all jump on, or based on people reacting to news such as an injury or weather conditions.

Straight up: The expected outright winner of the money line in an event or game, not contingent on the point spread.

Teaser: Betting multiple teams and adjusting the point spread in all the games in the bettor's favor. All games have to be picked correctly to win the wager.

Total: The perceived expected point, run or goal total in a game. For example, in a football game, if the total is 41 points, bettors can bet 'over' or 'under' on that perceived total.

Tout (service): a person (or group of people) who either sells or gives away picks on games or events.

Underdog: The team that is expected to lose straight up. You can either bet that the team will lose by less than the predicted amount (ATS), or get better than even-money odds that it will win the game outright. For example, if a team is a 2-1 underdog, you can bet $100 that the team will win. If it wins, you win $200 plus receive your original $100 wager back.

Vig/vigorish: The commission the bookie or bookmaker takes; also called the 'juice.' Standard is 10 percent.

Wager: A bet.

Welch: To not pay off a losing bet.

Wiseguy: A professional bettor. Another term for a 'sharp.'

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One of my favorite ways to learn about a new subject is to look at the various subdivisions of that subject. For example, I’m writing a blog about gambling, so that leads me to wonder what the different types of gambling games are. If I were writing a blog about literature, I might look at how literature experts categorize that subject.

I’ll start by offering a definition of “gambling”, and I’ll follow that with a definition of “game”:

Gambling Definition

My favorite online dictionary, Merriam Webster, says that the word “gamble” has 2 definitions:

To play a game for money or property
To bet on an uncertain outcome

I saw an interesting discussion in the Wikipedia article about poker that relates to this, in fact. A well-meaning editor had removed the phrase “gambling game” from the page’s lede, claiming that poker was a game of skill, not chance, and therefore it wasn’t a gambling game.

But according to the definition from Merriam Webster, poker qualifies for sure. After all, you’re playing a game for money. And the outcome of an individual hand in poker is uncertain, even when the odds are in your favor.

The legal definition of gambling might be another matter. USLegal.com has a page about the legal definition of gambling, and it’s also illuminating:

The legal definition agrees that risking money on an uncertain outcome is gambling, but it seems to make an exception for something that’s not under a person’s control or influence. This leads me to believe that a bet on a sporting contest that you’re involved in wouldn’t constitute gambling–at least not in a legal sense. Playing a game of billiards, darts, or golf (just to name 3 examples) for $20 with your drinking buddy wouldn’t count.

That site also specifies that buying securities or commodities doesn’t constitute gambling, even though the future price of those securities or commodities might be uncertain. In fact, anything that would qualify as a “bona fide business transaction” would be considered “not gambling.”

That seems to be a reasonably complete coverage of the definition of the word gambling, at least for this post’s purpose.

Now what’s a game?

Game Definition

Merriam-Webster’s definition of “game” is lengthier than its definition of “gambling.” The main definition is simple enough, though:

A game is any activity you’re participating in for purposes of fun or diversion. The concept of competition is mentioned in one of the other definitions, too.

In fact, “poker and other gambling games” is the 1st example of the word used in a sentence in that definition.

The Wikipedia defines a game as a “structured form of play.” The page goes on to list some key components of an activity that constitutes a game:

Funny Gambling Phrases

Goals
Rules
Challenge
Interaction

I think most of these components apply to almost any gambling activity you can think of.

What’s your goal playing a slot machine?

You try to get certain symbols lined up on a pay line.

Blackjack has specific rules about what values the playing cards have.

The challenge in any gambling game is to win more money than you lose.

And you’re interacting with someone or something every time you place a bet.

How Do You Categorize Gambling Games, Then?

I’m a simple man. I use simple strategies to find the information I want. To find categories of gambling games, I started with a Google search.

And one of the first pages I found included a great set of broad categories for gambling games:

Pure chance games
Mostly chance games
Mostly skill games

1- Games of Pure Chance

Gambling games consisting of pure chance include keno and roulette. No amount of skill gives you influence over the results of a keno draw or a spin of the roulette wheel.

2- Games of Mostly Chance

Craps is a game that’s mostly about chance. You need some skill at choosing the right bets, though. The odds change dramatically from the basics bets to the proposition bets. And some players believe in dice setting or dice control.

3- Games of Mostly Skill

Blackjack and poker are games of mostly skill. How you play your cards have a big role in determining your outcome. Card counters get an edge against the house. Skilled poker players also operate with a mathematical advantage.

But that’s not the only way to categorize gambling games.

The California Council of Problem Gambling lists the following types of gambling games:

Casino card games
Other card games
Dice games
Electronic games
Sports betting
Pitching quarters
Lottery games
Raffles
Bingo
Games of skill
Cultural games

I disagree with some of their categorizations, but here are some insights into each category:

4- Casino Card Games

Casino card games include games like blackjack and Texas holdem. I wouldn’t include traditional poker as as casino-style game, though. Poker games played against other players are dramatically different from games played in the casino proper.

Here’s why:

In a real poker game, you’re competing with the other players for money. In a casino card game, you’re competing with the house for money. If you lose a hand of blackjack, the casino wins your money. If you lose a hand of poker, the other player at the table wins your money.

The house does bank some poker games, though. Caribbean Stud, for example, is a game you play in a casino versus the dealer. The actions of the other players at the table have no effect on your outcome.

5- Other Card Games

The California Council on Problem Gambling’s page lists some of the following card games as examples of “other” card games:

Hearts
Rummy
Spades

I’d agree with their categorization, but I’d include all poker games played against other players in this category instead of the “casino card games” category.

6- Dice Games

Any gambling game using dice to determine outcomes qualifies. Craps is the obvious example. Sic Bo is another, less well-known example. You could even gamble on Yahtzee if you wanted to.

7- Electronic Games

The site lists the following games as examples:

Online keno
Internet poker
Web-based slots

It seems as if the California problem gambling site considers any game played on the internet to be an “electronic gambling game,” and I get that. I’d probably include slot machines and video poker games played in brick and mortar casinos, though. That would also include the less common games, video blackjack and video roulette.

8- Sports Betting

This is where you bet on the outcome of a sporting event that you’re not participating in. Place a bet on a baseball or football game, and you’re a sports bettor.

Sports betting is one of the more legally suspect gambling activities on this list. The Wire Act is a federal law that prohibits the running of a sports betting operation over the phone. For purposes of the law, this includes placing bets over the internet.

But the law only applies to the party taking the action. Placing the bet isn’t a crime. Taking the bet is.

Companies (or individuals) who take sports bets as a business are called “sports books.” They’re also sometimes just called “books” or “bookies.”

You can bet on sports with multiple offshore companies, even if you live in the United States. The companies accepting those bets can get in a lot of trouble if they get caught. You’re pretty safe, legally, though.

Betting on sports can be one of the most profitable betting games for the skilled bettor.

9- Pitching Quarters

They don’t have to be quarters. In fact, the Wikipedia article calls it “pitching pennies.” The concept is the same, though:

You throw a coin at the wall. So do your competitors. The person whose coin lands closest to the wall wins the coins.

It’s an ancient game. I’ve never thought of it when I wrote about lists of gambling games before, though.

I doubt there’s a lot of action in the quarter pitching market segment anymore. I do remember seeing The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Danny Aiello’s character was pitching pennies in that movie.

10- Lottery Games

Lotteries have become ubiquitous in the United States. I think only 2 or 3 states have no lottery at the time of this writing.

Even when lotteries weren’t commonplace, private individuals ran lottery style games. These are the gangsters you hear about in the movies who are “running numbers.”

A number running game might work like this:

You pick 3 numbers between 0 and 9. The next day, the last 3 digits of the Dow Jones Industrial Average determine the winner. The individual running the numbers keeps a cut, of course.

But probably not as big a cut as the states who are running the lotteries keep. The mathematical expectation for these games is 50 cents on the dollar.

If you started with $1 million, bought a million lottery tickets with the money, and kept reinvesting your winnings, you’d go broke much faster than you think:

$1 million
$500,000
$250,000
$125,000
$62,500
$31,250
$15,750
$7875
$3937
$1969
$984
$492
$246
$123
$62
$31
$16
$8
$4
$2
$1

You’d go broke in 3 weeks.

My best advice about gambling?

Skip the lottery altogether–even the seemingly-harmless scratch-off tickets.

11- Raffles

I don’t usually think of a raffle as a gambling game. But I guess it qualifies.

A raffle is when an organization wants to raise some money for some purpose. They offer some kind of prize, and they sell tickets for a drawing to win that prize.

Raffles resemble lotteries, but they’re privately held. Depending where you live, a raffle might be illegal.

12- Bingo

Bingo resembles keno, lottery, and raffle games. The difference is the shape and makeup of the card. In the United States, a bingo card is a 5X5 grid. The word “BINGO” is printed across the top. The numbers are in the 25 squares.

Depending on the game, you win money based on getting a straight line or some other shape.

Bingo is the most socially accepted type of gambling in the world. Churches often host bingo games on a regular basis. People play bingo in elementary schools and nursing homes, although the prizes might not be cash.

But bingo isn’t legal in every jurisdiction, either.

13- Games of Skill

I discussed this category earlier. These are personal games of skill, like darts or billiards. I played in a weekly shuffleboard tournament at my local bar for 10 years. You paid $10 to play. You drew your partner at random.

Catchy Gambling Phrases

The winners got the prize pool, and 2nd place got to play in the next week’s tournament free.

Gambling Phrases Terms

And if you don’t think shuffleboard is a game of skill, let me tell you this:

I didn’t win a tournament, no matter how strong a partner I had, for the 1st 9 years I participated.

14- Cultural Games

The California site mentions Native American stick games and Mahjong as examples. I know that in some Middle Eastern countries, it’s common to bet on kite fighting. Participants create kites with blades on them and try to take out their opponents’ kites.

Common Gambling Phrases Examples

This is an odd category. It seems like all gambling games are cultural games for someone.

Finally

These are just examples of the types of gambling games you might consider playing. I used 2 different websites’ opinions about how they should be categorized. But I had problems with both their categorization schemes.

I could create lists of games where your decisions matter versus games where your decisions don’t matter. I could also list games that use spinning wheels, like roulette or Wheel of Fortune. (Don’t confuse that 2nd one with the popular TV game show.)

I’ve done some work on a previous post that hopes to eventually be the most complete list of casino games on the internet. I’ll probably return to that post soon to update it. I doubt it will ever be finished, though. Gambling game creators are hard at work looking for new and exciting ways to separate you from your money all the time.