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Betting Glossary for Newbies 2024

To be a good punter you have to know the terms that are handled in the world of sports betting. Many of these terms appear in the bookies and to take advantage of the best options and prices in the odds, punters must know the most basic terms and the most difficult ones to understand.

Here we have a list, with the most popular terms, most wanted, and the favorite of punters in the world.

Lay: It is a term that is widely used today because of the exchanges. Lay means to support the negative result of an event. While the majority of the punters stakes are for the triumph of Arsenal Vs. Swansea, but some punters decided to bet the “Lay”, meaning they want Arsenal lose the match. It is betting against a result. One on one, punter vs punter.

Back: This word means support, support a bet or result. As described in the previous term, Back is quite the opposite. The punters give all their support (back) for Arsenal to win the match against Swansea. It is a very popular bet in the bookies of exchanges, but it is also a common term in sports betting.

Accumulator: It is a type of bet where several results must be successful so that the punter obtains a prize (money). An example is when a punter chooses 5 teams in a day of the EPL, all teams must win, according to the bet selected by the punter. You can combine several types of bets options. Also called parlay in North America.

Point Spreads (Handicaps): Points spreads are the number of points a team must cover or complete on a match to become a winner. For example: Chelsea -1.5 vs. West Ham +1.5, the bet indicates that Chelsea must win by 2 goals or more for the punter to get the prize money.

Half Times: It’s a pretty popular bet among punters. It is about betting on the outcome of a sporting event, but only for half the event, or for the second half. In football, it can be the first 45 minutes, or the second 45 minutes. Halftime bets include the extra minutes added by the ref. The halves (half times) have almost the same betting options as the full match. All options from overs / unders, draw no bet, asian handicap, etc.

Match Betting: It is a complex betting mode that requires some knowledge of the bookmakers that offer free bets and which are the best odds to bet. Matched Betting is required to use 2 or more bookies (normal & exchanges). Once obtained the free bets coupon, the pointer must do Lay in an exchange to cover the other result, in addition it is necessary to cover the draw if it is football.

Corners: The number of corners that will occur in a match can also be an excellent bet. In most matches this type of bet is always offered, it does not require much analysis. The offer of the amount of corner will be very similar to the handicaps, for example: 7.5 corners, or the amount of corners that a team can do in a match. Corner bets refer to the total number of corners during a football match.

Forecast: This type of bet is a kind of future bet. The forecasts are mostly used in horse races, but can also be obtained in football. For example: Who will be the first 2 or 3 finalists of the EPL, choose the selection available according to the offers available in the bookie.

Tricast: For horses and greyhounds is a type of bet that pays a lot of money. It is also known as a trifecta, it is a very difficult bet to win, the 3 horses or greyhounds have to arrive in the first 3 positions according to what the selection indicates, there is also another variation of tricast in which the selections can arrive in any order of the first 3 places.

Double Chance: Double chance is defined as the bet where a selection is multiple, so a team can win or draw, also it could be that in the football match either one of the teams wins, Team A – Team B (any win, no draw), but that match cannot finish in a draw. It is a bet that has become very popular nowadays.

Draw No Bet: It is very similar to Double Chance, but this bet is to prevent loss of money in the event of a draw. If you choose the team you want, when betting draw no bet, that selected team must win the match, in case of a tie the bet will be a push, if the team loses, the bet loses.

Correct Score: Predict the exact result of the end of a sporting event, say football. The punter must select between the scores options, which will be the exact final result of the match. The odds for this bet are very tempting for how high they tend to be.

Bookings: This bet option refer to the yellow and red cards that appear in a football match. Yellow cards can be worth 15 points, while red cards can cost 25 points. The punter must choose the number of points offered by the bookie for the match, for example: Bookings -45 or +45. The option of bookings for a particular team is also available.

Clean Sheet: This bet has a relationship with Bookings, both related to the cards. Clean sheet means to choose the team that will not commit any fault to receive yellow or red card in the match. Any card in the match causes the bet to lose.

Asian Handicap: The Asian handicap (AH acronym) is one of the most complex types of bets that exist today. It is about choosing a “mixed” handicap, or two or more handicaps in one. For example: FC Barcelona -1.25 Vs. Real Madrid +1.25, in this scenario Barça must win the match by 2 goals so that the bet is a winner, in case Barcelona only score a single goal, the bet is paid only half. -1.25 is divided into two, 1 means a goal, and 0.25 means half goal. The Asian Handicap table can be found easily on the internet and here at Wikipedia

First Goal Scorer: The punter must select who will be the first player to score a goal in the football match in question. It is a very difficult bet to hit. Other variations of this bet are: Match Goal Scorer, Last Goal Scorer, Come back and Goal Scorer (player who scores more goals after being in the second place). These bets can be found available in the most popular bookies of the moment.

Exotics: Exotic bets are different among bookmakers, each bookie has very tempting exotics but overall they are a waste of money. Some exotics bets: Number of people in the football match, Some player will be injured ?, Rain during the second half ?, etc.

Now you’re familiar with the betting jargon, have a look at our top list of UK bookmakers.