Sawdust Joint: It is an American slang term which refers to a non-luxury gambling club.

A common scenario for casual gamblers is to walk into the casino with around $200 dollars and make bets between $10 and $25. This seems harmless in theory, if you’re gambling with expendable income. But the problem is that you’re very likely to run out of money this way. Gambling winnings are fully taxable and you must report the income on your tax return. Gambling income includes but isn't limited to winnings from lotteries, raffles, horse races, and casinos. It includes cash winnings and the fair market value of prizes, such as cars and trips. A whale, also referred to as high roller, is a player who wagers massive amounts of money. The term isn’t specific to a single game – whether the gambler in question is playing Slots, Poker, Roulette, or Blackjack, he or she can still be considered a whale as long as the bets are sufficiently large.

We have created this Gambling Glossary to help the novice and even expert bettors.For the novice, if you are thinking about betting on sports then you need to know sports betting terms if you want to hang with the big boys.

Knowing a sports gambling term correctly and understanding it can make a world of a difference. This is because it can mean the difference between winning a bet or losing a bet. Furthermore, for Bookie Pay Per Head users it can mean how big your profit will be from your clients

The ‘Accumulator’ – A cumulative bet in which the bettor picks a selection in several events or races and makes a bet on the first one; should that win the accumulated winnings become his next bet etc. Also known as ‘If win only or if win action.’

Across the Board – Primarily on horse bets where win, place and show odds are offered, betting the same amount on each result.

Action –A bet of any type is considered Action if valid, and different sports have different rules in which they determine if a bet is Action or not, for baseball bets they have action when the game exceeds 4 ½ innings.

Ran –A bet selection that does not finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in an event or a race.

Ante-Post are the prices on major sports events, normally the day prior to the event, in which better odds are available.

ATC – Any to Come- A term that describes when all or a portion of one’s returns from a bet are automatically placed on another bet.

Arbitrage – A variation in odds that allows the better to bet on both sides and guarantees a winning.

Asian Handicap – A form of betting on football/soccer that originated in Indonesia and today has become one of the most popular method to be in Asia It is a form of betting in which teams are handicapped according to their form, so that a stronger team must win by more goals for a punter betting on them to win.

Banker – A term for a bettor’s strong bet or his ‘sure thing, or an almost guaranteed winner, as if it were a lock.

Bar– The runners in a race that has no odds during the early betting, thus the bar price is the minimum odds that are available for any selection not quoted in the early betting.

Bettor – a U.S. term for whom has a bet and in Europe they are known as a Punter. Betting Tax is a tax on a bookmaker’s income. In Europe they call it Beeswax.

Blind Bet – A bet that is made by bookmaker to entice other bookmaker’s attention away from his large bets on another horse.

Book – A bookmaker’s toll of the amounts that are bet on each entry, and his odds he needs to assure he gains a profit.

Bookmaker – A company or person who accepts bets from the public, normally on sports events, and also known as the ‘Bookie’.

Breakage – The difference in true pari-mutuel odds and smaller rounded amounts offered to winning bettor.

Buck – A U.S. bet of $100 and known as a ‘dollar bet’ to most.

Buy Price – Relates to spread or index type betting, and is the higher odds quoted by a bookmaker or an index.

Buy the Rack – A U.S. term that indicates you bet on all daily-doubles or other combinations.

Canadian – A multiple be,t that is made up of 26 bets (10 doubles, 10 triples, 5 4-folds and 1-5-fold) with 5 picks in different events and also known as the ‘Super Yankee’.

Carpet Joint – A slang for a U.S. Luxury gambling casino.

Chalk – A bettor’s favorite.

Chalk Player – One who bets on favorites.

Circled Game – When a bookmaker places a limit on the amount they will take on an event, normally has a limit when they are doubts about key players in a game.

Close – The final odds on a horse or in Europe ‘Starting Price’.

Combination – A U.S. across the board bet in which 1 pari-mutuel ticket is given.

Cover – As in sports betting and beating the spread by a required number of points, as to ‘cover the spread’.

Daily Double – A U.S. form of pari-mutuel betting, where the bettor makes a combination bet on 2 horses in two separate races.

Dead Heat – When 2 or more competitors finish the even tied.

Dime – A U.S. term for a bet $1,000 and known as a ‘Dime Bet.’

Dog – In the U.S. is the underdog in any betting odds.

Dog Player – A U.S. Bettor who primarily bets o the underdog.

Double – A bet that consists of 2 selections and both must win for the Bet to be successful.

Doubling Up – A widely used system for a player who loses a bet, he then doubles the size of his bet hoping to win and recoup his loss.

Each-Way – A bet that is made up of 2 bets, the 1st is for the selection to win and the 2nd is for selection to place, at a proportional price depending on the odds.

Evens – When odds are 1 to 1 also know as levels.

Exacta – A form of betting where you try to pick the winner and the 2nd place horse, and buy just 1 ticket on your double pick, and is also known as a ‘perfecta.’

Exotic Wager – A U.S. term for any bet that is not a straight bet.

Favorite – The competitor in the event more likely to win and normally has the lowest odds.

Fold – A term that indicates the number of picks in an accumulator bet.

Flag – A bet that is made up of 23 bets on 4 selections in different events.

Form – The past performances used to indicate the competitor’s chances of winning. In the U.S. it would be the ‘Daily Racing Form.’

Futures – The odds in the U.S. offered for winners of an event in advance of the actual event.

Goliath – A multiple consisting of 247 bets (28 doubles, 56 triples, 70 4-folds, 56 5-folds, 28 6-folds, 8 7-folds and 1 8-fold) involving 8 selections in different event.

Handicap – A method used by odds makers to make a one sided event a more attractive bet.

Handicapper – A person who assigns or assesses a competitor’s handicap, especially in golf or horse racing.

Handle – The total amounts of bets taken and does not include how much money was taken in from the bets, or the amount won/lost. It is also a term used in the U.S. for the total sum bet on a race, in a day or some other period of time.

Hang Cheng – A form of Soccer betting very popular in Asia as the returns on a team winning or drawing in a match are determined by part-goal handicaps.

Hedging – A bet made by a nervous bookie on a horse or event in which he has some large bets, for the reason of reduce his losses, and is also known as a ‘Lay-Off Bet.’

Heinz – A multiple bet consisting of 57 bets (15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 4-folds, 6 5-folds and 1 6-fold) involving 6 horses in different races.

Hold Percentage – The percentage of money the bookmaker or house holds onto after all bets have been settled.

for example, if various players made $10,000 in wagers during a 24 hour period, and the sportsbook kept $713 of it then the sportsbook hold is 7.13%. It made $713 on the $10,000 it saw in action.

The House – The operators of a gambling center.

In the Money – A term that describes the horses in a race that finis

Gambling Money Terms