Sports Betting Glossary
Essential terms for data-driven bettors.
ATS (Against the Spread)
A bet on whether a team will cover the point spread rather than simply win the game outright. A team's ATS record tracks how often they beat the number set by oddsmakers, which can differ significantly from their straight-up win-loss record.
Bankroll
The total amount of money a bettor has set aside exclusively for wagering. Proper bankroll management is the foundation of long-term betting success. A common approach is flat-betting 1-3% of your bankroll per wager, adjusting unit size as the bankroll grows or shrinks.
Closing Line
The final odds offered on a market just before a game begins. The closing line is considered the most efficient line because it incorporates all available information, including late-breaking news, sharp action, and full public handle. Consistently beating the closing line is the single best predictor of long-term profitability.
CLV (Closing Line Value)
The difference between the odds at which you placed your bet and the closing line. If you bet a team at +3.5 and the line closes at +2.5, you captured a full point of CLV. Bettors who consistently get positive CLV are extracting value from the market, regardless of short-term results.
Edge
The mathematical advantage a bettor has on a given wager, expressed as the percentage difference between the bettor's estimated true probability and the implied probability from the odds. A positive edge means the expected value of the bet is in the bettor's favor over a large sample.
Fade
To bet against a particular team, player, or trend. Fading the public means taking the opposite side of where the majority of recreational bettors are wagering, a strategy rooted in the idea that public sentiment inflates lines on popular sides.
Handle
The total dollar amount wagered on a particular event or market. Handle is distinct from the number of bets placed; a single large wager contributes more to handle than many small ones. Sportsbooks track handle to manage risk exposure.
Hedge
Placing a bet on the opposite side of an existing wager to guarantee a profit or minimize a potential loss. Hedging is most common in futures bets or parlays where a bettor has a chance to lock in value before the final leg.
Implied Probability
The probability of an outcome as derived from the betting odds. For American odds, the formula is: for favorites, |odds| / (|odds| + 100); for underdogs, 100 / (odds + 100). Comparing implied probability to your own estimated probability reveals whether a bet has positive expected value.
Juice / Vig
The commission built into the odds by the sportsbook. Standard juice on a spread bet is -110 on each side, meaning you risk $110 to win $100. The vig is how books guarantee profit regardless of the outcome. Finding reduced juice (e.g., -105) lowers the break-even win rate and compounds into meaningful savings over hundreds of bets.
Line Movement
A change in the odds or point spread from the opening line to the current line. Lines move in response to betting action, injury news, weather changes, and other new information. Reverse line movement, where the line moves against the side receiving the majority of bets, often indicates sharp money on the other side.
Moneyline
A bet on which team will win the game outright, with no point spread involved. The favorite is listed with a negative number (e.g., -150, meaning risk $150 to win $100) and the underdog with a positive number (e.g., +130, meaning risk $100 to win $130). Moneylines are the primary sharp market in baseball.
Over/Under (Total)
A bet on whether the combined score of both teams will be over or under a number set by the sportsbook. Totals betting is driven by pace, offensive and defensive efficiency, weather (in outdoor sports), and referee tendencies. It is independent of which team wins.
Parlay
A single bet that combines two or more individual wagers. All legs must win for the parlay to pay out, but the combined odds create a larger potential return. While parlays carry higher risk, correlated parlays where outcomes are logically linked can offer legitimate value when the book underprices the correlation.
Player Prop
A bet on an individual player's statistical performance in a game, such as points scored, rebounds, passing yards, or strikeouts. Props are often less efficiently priced than main markets because books allocate fewer resources to modeling them, creating opportunities for data-driven bettors.
Public Money
Wagers placed by recreational bettors, typically on favorites, overs, and high-profile teams. When the public is heavily weighted on one side, the line may be inflated, creating value on the other side. Public money is measured by bet count, while sharp money is measured by handle.
Push
A bet that results in a tie against the spread or total, where the final margin lands exactly on the number. In a push, the original stake is returned to the bettor. Books use half-point lines (e.g., -3.5) to eliminate pushes on spreads.
ROI (Return on Investment)
The net profit or loss expressed as a percentage of total amount wagered. An ROI of +5% means that for every $100 risked, $5 in profit was generated. Sustainable ROI in sports betting typically ranges from 2-8% for skilled bettors over a large sample of bets.
Sharp
A professional or highly skilled bettor whose action is respected by sportsbooks. Sharp bettors rely on models, data, and closing line value rather than gut instinct. When sharps bet into a market, books react by moving the line, which is why tracking sharp action is a key signal in line movement analysis.
Spread
The point handicap assigned to each team to level the playing field. The favorite must win by more than the spread (cover) for a bet on them to pay out, while the underdog can lose by fewer points than the spread or win outright. Spread betting is the most popular market in football and basketball.
Star Rating
StrataWager's 1-to-4-star confidence scale, derived from the calculated edge on each pick. Higher star ratings indicate a larger detected edge and correspond to larger recommended unit sizing. Star ratings are computed server-side from the difference between the model's estimated probability and the sportsbook's implied probability.
Steam Move
A sudden, sharp line movement that occurs simultaneously across multiple sportsbooks, triggered by heavy action from a syndicate or group of sharp bettors. Steam moves happen quickly and are often a signal that significant new information has entered the market. Getting in before a steam move is a source of closing line value.
Unit
A standardized measure of bet size, typically 1-2% of a bettor's total bankroll. Using units rather than dollar amounts normalizes results across different bankroll sizes and makes performance tracking consistent. A bettor who is +50 units has profited 50 times their standard wager size regardless of whether a unit is $50 or $1,000.
Void
A bet that is canceled and does not count toward the record. Bets can be voided for various reasons including game postponements, player inactivity, or when a line moves past the pick's threshold before notification. StrataWager automatically voids picks when conditions change significantly between analysis and delivery to protect the integrity of the card.
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