Betting Jargon Covered (No, Not that Cover)

Bookie, cover, dime, chalk, the home ¨dog¨ - what do these betting related words all mean? Sports betting has its own world when it comes to playing jargon. On sportsbook message boards throughout the web, these words and phrases are peppered throughout in hails much to the other person´s complete understanding and to the newbie´s (beginners) chagrin. Bettors constitute a brotherhood (gamblers are predominently men) of sorts, with their own slang, coin phrases, and terms of the day. Below is a listing of the most common terms and their meanings in our comprehensive betting glossary. Next time, you´ll understand what your bookie (let´s hope you are using an A+ rated sportsbook from sportsbookreview.com) is saying!

Action: probably one of the most common betting terms of all time. It simply means placing a bet!

Back Door Cover: one of a bettors worst nightmares. Its when a team who has no chance of winning the game (in a blowout) scores worthless points to cover a spread. This could wreck havoc for the gambler who bet on them to lose on a Kentucky -16 bet, for instance. Instead of staying down like good children, they covered the spread!

Bad Beat: All is sure you´ve won the game, but BAM! The Colorado State basketball goes on a 17-0 scoring run and covers the spread, making you lose your wager

Bookie: The preferred slang term, a play off the word sportsbook. Simply, its short for bookmaker and it is a person who takes your bet.

Bow -wow - an underdog in the game

Chalk - also known as the favorite. For example, the San Antonio Spurs are the CHALK against Atlanta, the worst team in the regular season - on any given night.

Chalkeater - A person addicted to playing only the favorites. Never plays the underdog no matter what the spread.

Cover win - winning by the pointspread

Degenerate - someone who refuses to stop gambling - an impulsive gambler. On the covers.com message boards, board members playfully refer to each other as degenerates after a losing day.

Dime - short for $1000, also known as a unit. For example, betting 3 dimes on the Purdue Boilermaker - Iowa Hawkeye game is betting $3000.

Dog - the underdog - the team favored to lose the game.

Futures Bets - bets placed on events that won´t occur that day. For example, wagering on who will win the 2008 Presidential election is a futures bet.

Handicapper - NOT a bettor (to your dismay.) It is an individual who studies the intricacies of the game prior to wagering, like weather conditions, injury reports, and other factors to make an informed prediction.

Hook - also referred to as a half point.

Juice - the commision the house keeps as a result of every winning bet.

Lines - the odds of every game.

Lock - a game that looks like a surefire win to the bettor. As we all know, no game is ever a lock.

Parlay - a betting gimmick that has a two set wagers (two separate games). If you win both games on the set, you win the parlay. If you lose one or both, you lose the parlay. For instance, you pick the Cavaliers and Sonics to win. If the Sonics lose, you lose the parlay.

Pick em game - a bet where there is neither a favorite or an underdog - an ¨even¨ game. For example, two extremely bad teams with identical records might constitute a pick em game.

Push - a tie, when no team covers the spread. Take a Detroit -5 - Miami +5 game. If Detroit wins 56-51, it is a push.

Scamdicapper - a false handicapper who promises gauaranteed wins and claims impossible winning percentages and hot streaks

Straight bet - One wager on one game

Teaser - a bet where you get to buy points, crafting the point spread to your liking. Be aware, you cannot buy 16 points and make a San Antonio +16 spread against the lowly New York Knicks @ San Antonio. The most you can buy is 7.

Wager - any bet

There you have it. This glossary presents some of the most common words and phrases in the sports betting industry. Stop saying that you´ll place a bet and say ¨I´m dropping 3 times on this parlay instead!¨ Have fun with your new vocabulary!