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What Does it mean? Doc's Sports How-To Sports Betting Library

Be sure to read our Sports Betting Terms Explained.

Nick Lodolo Cincinnati Reds


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

I'm sure we've all been in a situation before where we stare at the list of games and think to ourselves "if only I could hit a nice 10 team parlay". Now, depending on the odds of the games you selected or the amount of money actually wagered on the parlay, this bet won't necessarily make you "rich" but it could offer up a very nice four or five-digit return. The problem with hitting a parlay that size is that it's damn near impossible to do.

hockey puck


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

As a proud Canadian and a lover of hockey, this article shouldn't really surprise my American counterparts. You already know we like to do things differently here in Canada with our pro sports. A prime example is the CFL. However, hockey is no different. If you bet on hockey, you're usually betting the money line - who you think is going to win the game straight up. But in crazy Canadian fashion, sportsbooks offer something called the "puck line" which is exactly like the American version of the point spread.

bank teller


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

It doesn't matter whether you are a novice bettor just learning the ropes or a serious bettor who has been in the industry for 20+ years, losing a bet by half a point is the most frustrating way to lose. Depending who you talk to, some say that if your bet loses by half a point, it is the bettors fault for not buying points and moving the line. By buying points, you are helping yourself get the best number possible, especially when you are moving the line through key numbers in football or basketball. Doing this can turn a push or loss into a win more often than you can imagine.

nickel


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

It today's world, the English language has taken a back seat to slang. Whether it be on social media, instant messaging platforms, through text or email, every body is using some sort of slang which saves them the slightest bit of time and makes them sound like a goof. In sports betting, it is no different. There is a short form for pretty much anything you can think of including the currency used to place a bet.

nfl odds


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Nothing in this world is free. Everything we want costs money to get and now days the actual value of money has decreased which in turn has made products more expensive. Sometimes it's so dramatic that the comparison between today and your parents/grandparent's younger days is unbelievable. We've all heard the famous line (some of you reading this may even tell your kids this from time to time) "back in my day, we could get a pop and a bag of chips for .10 cents". In today's world, .10 cent candies cost more than .10 cents.

huge stack money


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

If there is one thing in this world that you should try to do daily, its laugh. Laughter helps us lighten up and enjoy the every day blessings of life. Whether you laugh at funny jokes people tell you, funny situations you find yourself in or you just laugh at yourself for how weird you are - it doesn't matter. Laughter is important. Unfortunately, the majority of us have a friend or know someone who always takes jokes or pranks way too far until they get annoying or out of hand. This act would be considered pressing the issue and is generally not well received. In sports betting, "pressing" the issue can also be a big problem, especially if you're an emotional bettor who has suffered some early losses.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Sports betting has grown exponentially over the last 15-20 years with more betting options available now than ever before. I believe that the amount of information available and how easily accessible that information is has a lot to do the boom in sports betting. While the serious bettors still prefer the simple/straightforward kind of bets - money line, point spread, totals - the general public has grown fond of the prop bet opportunities. Prop bets offer up a quick win or loss which feeds right into society's terrible attention span. These bets are also known as exotic bets, which means they are bets that bettors wouldn't ordinarily think to make.

bookmaker


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

The term "bookmaker" is a more formal term for the commonly used slang term bookie. Though bookie can have a shady, illegal connotation, that isn't always the case. The word bookmaker, which is more common in the UK can than the US, can be used interchangeably with sportsbook, or the shortened form of book. A bookmaker simply take bets on sports, and guarantees a return at agreed upon odds if the bet is successful.

whale


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

One would think that if a gambler had an endless supply of money to bet with and constantly wagers five or six figures per game, they would have a nickname that sounds a bit more appealing. Instead, these walking ATM's have the dubious distinction of being called a "whale". I guess when you are rich, it doesn't matter what your nickname is, but I have to believe there are about 20 other nicknames that would be more appropriate for someone who drops $100,000 on a game and doesn't even think twice about it.

sportsbook


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Don't over think this one. A wager is just a slightly fancier way of saying the word bet. Nothing more, nothing less. When you wager on something, you are always risking a certain amount of money - or anything else for that matter (i.e. case of beer) - on the outcome of an game or event that hasn't yet happened.

outlaw


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

If you are reading this to find out what an outlaw line is then you certainly have never been able to bet one. Don't worry - most people haven't. An outlaw line is the earliest available line in sports betting. Linemakers will release it to a select group of sharp bettors that they know and respect before they make the line available to the public. By giving these bettors a sneak peek - and a chance to bet the line early on - the linemakers can be sure that the line they eventually release to the public is as strong as it can be.

Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Perfecta referred to at a race track. It's an old-fashioned term these days. It will show up in some racing books or forums, though, so it is important to know what the heck it is that people are talking about. Simply, a perfecta is another word for an exacta - which in turn can be also known as an exactor, or even a forecast in some places. They are all different words for the same thing - betting on which horses in a race will finish first and second in the exact order. They are a more complex version of a quinella - a bet in which you have to pick the top two finishers, but in which order doesn't matter.

Jockey Edgar Prado.


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

To understand what an exacta box is, we have to start by understanding an exacta. That is an exotic bet in which you have to pick the horses that will finish first and second in a race. To win you have to also correctly pick the order in which they will finish. It's one of the simpler exotic bets available to bettors.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

When it comes to pretty much any topic in life you will likely be on one side or the other. Pineapple on pizza, yes or no? Mustard on hotdogs, yes or no? Should a hot dog be considered a sandwich? And the list of yes or no questions goes on and on. However, these kinds of questions can be debated about until the cows come home and there really are no right or wrong answers. In sports betting, being on a particular side is usually black or white. You're either on the right side and you win your bet, or you're on the wrong side and lose it.

arrow


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

It doesn't matter whether you are a novice bettor just learning the ropes or a serious bettor who has been in the industry for 20+ years, losing a bet by half a point is the most frustrating way to lose. Depending who you talk to, some say that if your bet loses by half a point, it is the bettors fault for not buying points and moving the line. By buying points, you are helping yourself get the best number possible, especially when you are moving the line through key numbers in football or basketball. Doing this can turn a push or loss into a win more often than you can imagine.

canada flag


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Just when you think Canadians can't out do themselves, they go and get themselves a completely Canadian way of betting on the one sport they care the most about - hockey. As a Canadian, I can honestly say that we would chose hockey (plus beer) over just about anything in the world. It's our past time and it's our future because despite the lack of quality Canadian teams in the NHL, the fan bases are more passionate than ever in hopes of one day competing with and finally beating hockey's elite teams.

sports betting screen


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

If you hear someone use the phrase "off the board" when discussing sports betting, they are referring to a game or event where the sportsbooks refuse to take any bets. Since many sportsbooks operate under their own set of rules and guidelines, they can take any game or event off the board without a moments notice. As soon as they hear rumblings about certain circumstances that could affect the outcome, they protect their bottom line and pull the game until they know the exact details of what's going on.

Mike Smith gets the chance to ride Mine That Bird in the Preakness.


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

There are all sorts of reasons that a horse can be scratched from a race. First off is because of a decision by an owner or a trainer. Sometimes a trainer will enter a horse in two or more different races at the same time, and then wait until closer to the day of the race to decide which one sets up better for the horse. Other times, a trainer will scratch a horse if the conditions of the racing surface aren't going to be ideal - like if rain has made a turf course too soft for a horse to run his best, for example. A trainer could also scratch a horse if they aren't happy how the horse has trained leading up to the race, or if they have concerns about his health and readiness.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

In today's world, online shopping is all the rave. Sites like eBay and Amazon have taken the world by storm and people do whatever they can to avoid setting foot in a retail store. Unfortunately, there will be times where you receive your order and it's completely wrong or it looks nothing like you saw in the picture. Thankfully, you have the ability to get your money back and try again. To put that situation into sports betting context, let's talk about baseball. Baseball offers a unique bet called "listed pitchers" where your bet only goes live if the listed pitchers start the game. If not, just like Amazon, you will get a refund.

Kentucky Derby Winner Mine That Bird.


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

In horse racing, when you buy the rack you buy every possible combination of a daily double or similar bet. A daily double is when you have to pick the winners of two races in a row - typically the first two races of the day. So, if there were eight horses in each of the first two races of a card, then to buy the rack you would buy 64 different combinations of bets.

upward arrow


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

To understand what the over is in sports betting we first need to understand totals betting, otherwise commonly known as the over/under. In the most common form of totals betting the linemaker will set a total for the number of points he thinks the two teams in a game will combine to score. You can bet totals in any of the major teams sports in North America. Once you know what the total is for a given game then your job is easy - you have to determine whether the two teams are likely to score more points than the total, or fewer points.

wise guy


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

Without getting to philosophical or anything, the world will always have leaders and followers. It's just human nature. Some people are born to go against the grain and question the status quo while most are content with just floating downstream to avoid rocking the boat. In the sports betting industry, it is no different. The leaders are the ones making smart bets and getting the sportsbooks to react to their action, while the followers are usually mixed in with the general betting public and stuck betting on favorites with terrible lines and odds. In the sports betting industry, we call the aforementioned leaders "wise guys" and we call the followers squares.

tug of war


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

When you hear someone use the term "push" they are referring to the result of game or event that ends right on the listed point spread or finishes in a draw. Pushes are the most common in sports that use the point spread like basketball and football. However, a push can also happen when betting on certain run lines in baseball or spreads in soccer.

Stephen Curry of Davidson.


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

In today's world, convenience is king. Being able to do something without having to exert any extra time or energy is how most millennials live their life. However, being a successful handicapper is far from convenient. The amount of time and energy all great handicappers put can't be measured because it never stops. They are always looking for their next move and always looking for the right opportunity to maximize their profit. The "single action" betting option offers some semblance of convenience. This is a great bet if you know you are going to be away from the sportsbook or computer for a time period and can't get your bets in.

sportsbook layout


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

The sports betting term "sportsbook" refers to a company, or even just a single person, who accepts bets on sports. They will take your bets and pay you if you win. They take a commission on winning bets. More formally, sportsbooks can be known as race and sports books. In Europe and elsewhere they are known as bookmakers, which can be shortened to bookies. In North America we'll frequently refer to sportsbooks as just books.

square man


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

In order to become one of the heavy hitters in the sports betting industry, you must start out at the bottom and work your way up, earning respect and tailoring your betting methods along the way. Once you become established and can prove a solid winning percentage to your peers, you can shake the moniker of being called a "square" and graduate to a "sharp." However, this switch doesn't come easy. Everyone thinks they can be the next best gambler, but in reality they are all just "squares" betting high-priced favorites and playing four or five-team parlays.

steam


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

In sports betting, blindly tailing a sharp or betting syndicate may seem like a great idea since they are perceived to "know what they are doing." However, doing so is usually a solid way to drain your bankroll since you do not have key pieces of information as to why they are doing it. A "steam move" is something sharps and betting syndicates use for a number of reasons, including profit and to create a new line to bet into. As a new bettor, you never wanted to be fooled by a false "steam move" and find yourself on the wrong side of a game.

dime


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

If you want to become a serious handicapper, the very first rule you need to live by is bankroll management. Bankroll management mean several different things including sticking to a standard size bet whether that be $10, $25, or $100 or never play more than two percent of your entire bankroll on any game, unless you are absolutely certain the value is worth the risk. But in my opinion, the most important rule of bankroll management finding the best lines available. Don't be sucked in to betting a -120 line, when there are -110's available to be had. The line of -110 is what we call a "dime line" and is the most common line found while betting the point spread option.

Dollar Sign


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

If you've ever been to a store during one of their huge "sales" you are often times looking to buy products at a discounted price. Buying at a discounted price not only saves you money, but it gives buyers a chance to feel like they got plenty of value for the money they spent. The same can be said in the sports betting world. Value is one of those things that bettors chase and live for. If they see value in a certain play, they are absolutely going to play it. If not, they may wait until another opportunity with the same value presents itself - much like waiting for something to go on sale again at a different store.

hundred dollar bill


by Doc's Sports - 10/11/2014

It today's world, the English language has taken a back seat to slang. Whether it be on social media, instant messaging platforms, through text or email, every body is using some sort of slang which saves them the slightest bit of time and makes them sound like a goof. In sports betting, it is no different. There is a short form for pretty much anything you can think of including the currency used to place a bet.

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