Action: A live bet or bets. ("They got a lot of action on that game." "I have action on this game.")

Arbitrage: Betting the same event at separate sports books in order to lock in a profit by taking advantage of different betting lines.

Bad beat: A very tough, often emotional, betting loss that is characterized by rotten luck.

Bankroll: Total capital available for betting sports.

Board: A presentation of all the games and events available for betting in a sports book. (If wagers are being taken on a game, the game is "on the board," otherwise it is "off the board.")

Bookmaker (or bookie): A person who accepts bets.

Buyback: The money that comes in on the underdog after a favorite is bet heavily enough to move the line.

Circled game: A game in which the sports book has reduced its betting limits, usually because of weather or the uncertain status of injured players.

Cover: Winning against the point spread.

Exposure: The degree of risk that a sports book will lose money on a given game, result or proposition.

Fade: To take the opposite side of another bettor's wager or to accept that bet yourself.

Favorite: A team that, according to the odds, is the stronger or strongest in a given match-up or is regarded as such by the betting public or is expected to win.

First-half betting: Wagers that involve the outcome of the first half of a game only.

Freeroll: A bet you can win or push but not lose.

Futures: A type of wager involving the outcome of a season or how a particular team or player will perform over the course of a season.

Halftime betting: Wagers, based on betting lines posted at halftime, which involve the outcome of the second half of a game only.

Handicap: To study and research sports in order to make predictions on the results of upcoming games and events.

Handle: The amount of money in wagers accepted.

Hedge: To make a bet that takes the opposite side of your original position, usually to reduce risk or lock in some profit.

Hook: A half-point in the betting spread.

House: The casino, sports book or bookmaker.

Juice: The commission charged by the bookmaker.

Layoff: A type of wager made by one bookmaker with another, often larger, bookmaker in order to balance action or reduce risk.

Limit: The maximum wager accepted by a sports book.

Line: The point spread or odds on a game or event.

Lock: A bet that cannot lose; a term that is often misused.

Long shot: Big underdog.

Match-up proposition: A betting option that pits two players against one another in a contest or event, often used in golf and auto racing wagering.

Middle: A situation in which you bet both sides in a game and win both bets, due to favorable line moves.

Money line: The odds on a team winning a game outright, regardless of the point spread.

Money management: Any strategy used by a bettor for making the most of his bankroll.

Offshore: Designation for the organized sports betting industry outside of the United States.

Out: A place to get bets down, whether it's a Nevada sports book, offshore book or illegal bookmaker.

Over/under: A type of wager that involves whether a score or result will go over or under a posted number.

Overlay: A situation in which the odds are favorable to the sharp bettor.

Parlay: A bet in which two or more events must happen in order to win; if any one of them does not happen, the wager loses.

Pick 'em: An even match-up, a game with no clear favorite.

Player: A sports bettor.

Pleaser: A specialized form of a parlay that improves the point spread (for the book) but pays off at improved odds.

Point spread: The number of points added to or subtracted from a team's actual score for betting purposes.

Power rating: A numerical representation of a team's strength for betting purposes.

Push: A bet in which the money wagered is refunded; a tie.

Rotation: The official list of all the games on the betting board, presented in a specific order.

Round robin: A specialized form of a parlay that uses every combination of a set of teams in a wager.

Rundown: A reading of all the games and betting lines on a particular day.

Sharp: Savvy, highly informed; or, used to describe the money bet by sharp players.

Side: A variation of a middle in which you win one bet and push the other; also, a particular team in a match-up.

Sports book: The part of the casino that accepts bets on athletic contests.

Straight: A single bet, usually laying 110 to win 100.

Takeback: On a money line, the price of the underdog.

Teaser: A specialized form of a parlay that improves the point spread (for the bettor) but pays off at reduced odds.

Totals: A type of wager that involves whether a score or result will go over or under a posted number.

Underdog: A team (or player) that, according to the odds, is the weaker or among the weakest in a given match-up, or is regarded as such by the betting public, or is expected to lose.

Vigorish (or vig): The commission charged by the bookmaker.