- Ante Post: Ante Post is a betting term commonly used in horse racing, referring to odds offered before the final race lineup is confirmed. For example, betting on a horse to win months before a Cheltenham Festival race. The advantage is better odds, but the risk is that if your horse does not participate (due to injury or loss of form), your bet is considered a loss.
- Betting W/O: This refers to “betting without.” It allows you to place a bet on a horse to win a race, but the favorite is excluded from the results. This means if your chosen horse finishes second behind the favorite, your bet is considered a winner.
- BTTS: Both teams to score. A bet on both teams in a match to score at least one goal each.
- Comparison: Comparison refers to odds comparison sites, which are online platforms that enable bettors to evaluate the odds offered by different bookmakers for a specific sporting event. Their main purpose is to assist users in finding the best possible odds for their bets, as this can greatly influence potential returns.
- Dead Heat: What is a dead heat? In the event of a tie (dead heat), where two or more selections finish at the same level, the payout is determined by dividing the total stake by the number of participants involved in the tie. This result is then multiplied by the odds at which the bet was placed.
- Decimal Odds: The decimal odds are the equivalent of the fractional odds. For example, 4/1 is 5.00. The decimal odds include the stake and potential profit. A winning £10 bet at 4/1 or 5.00 returns £50.
- Each Way (EW): An each way (EW) bet consists of two parts:
- One bet on your selection to win the event.
- Another bet on your selection to place (usually in the top 2, 3, or 4 positions, depending on the size of the field).
The place portion of the bet typically pays at 1/4 or 1/5 of the original odds. When betting each way, you are effectively doubling your stake. For example, if you bet £10 each way, your total stake is £20 (£10 for the win and £10 for the place). Example: If you place a £5 EW bet on a selection with odds of 10/1, your total stake is £10 (£5 for the win and £5 for the place). If the selection wins:
The win portion returns £55 (£5 x 10 + £5 stake).
The place portion pays £15 (1/5 of 10/1 odds = 2/1, so £5 x 2 + £5 stake).
Total return: £70.
If the selection only places, you lose the win bet but still receive £15 from the place portion.
- Evens: 1/1 odds, which would be 2.00 in the decimal format. A £1 stake at evens would return £2 (double your stake).
- Form: Form refers to how well an athlete, player, horse, greyhound, or team has performed in the past or recently. Bookmakers use this to decide the odds, and bettors use it to help choose who to bet on.
- Fractional Odds: What are fractional odds? The standard way of writing odds in the UK. Fractional odds allow you to calculate your potential profit, not including your stake. A successful bet at 10/1 with a £2 stake earns you £20, plus you get the stake back, so your ‘returns’ are £22 in that case.
- Going: How the state of the ground is described in horse racing. The going is good, hard, soft, and so on. Different horses suit different conditions, so this is crucial to prices.
- Handicap: In horse racing, handicap races give some horses extra weight to make the race fairer. The better the horse, the more weight it carries. In other sports like football or darts, you can also bet with handicaps. For example, you can bet on a team to win by more than two goals, or a darts player to win by more than two legs. This makes the bets more interesting by balancing the odds.
- In-play or live betting: This means that even after the event has started, you can still bet. For example, during a football match, you can watch the game and change your bets based on what you think will happen next.
- Lines: In betting, “lines” refer to the odds or point spreads set by bookmakers for a game or event.
- Maiden: In horse racing, a maiden is a horse that has never won a race.
- Non-Runner: A non-runner is a horse or competitor that does not take part in the race or event it was supposed to. If you placed a “non-runner no bet” (NRNB), you get your money back.
- Odds: Odds are the price a bookmaker gives you for a bet. Odds against means the odds are higher than even money (like 2/1 or 5/2), so if you win, you’ll get more than what you bet. Odds on means the odds are lower than even money (like 10/11 or 1/2), meaning you’re more likely to win, but your profit will be less than what you bet.
- Places: When a selection “places,” it finishes in one of the positions that pay out in the race. If there are only a few runners, only the top two get paid. But if there are a lot of runners, places might go down to fifth or sixth.
- Return: Profit plus returned stake in a successful wager.
- Stake: The amount being put down or placed by the bettor on the bet. Stake units refer to the value of each part of the stake in a multiple bet.
- Tips: A tip is a prediction about which team or player might win a game or race. Betting experts, known as tipsters, share these tips with the public or with people who pay for them.
- Virtual Sports: Virtual sports are computer-generated sports events, like races or matches, that you can bet on just like real games, but they happen quickly and anytime you want.
- Winnings: The amount earned from a successful bet (profit) on top of the returned stake.
- X: On betting sites, “X” means a draw in a 1×2 bet for football matches, where “1” is a home win, “X” is a draw, and “2” is an away win.
- Yankee: A type of bet where four selections are made, consisting of 11 separate bets (six doubles, four trebles, and a fourfold).
- Zero: A term that can refer to a betting strategy or outcome where there is no profit or loss.