Against the Spread: Against the Spread is where the teams are handicapped so the better team has to win by a certain number of points and the worse team has to just get within a certain amount in order to 'cover' - so if an underdog is +6.5, as long as they finish within that number, you win. If the favorite is -6.5, they need to win by more than that. ATS is about levelling the playing field.
American Odds: A type of odds favoured by American bookmakers. The odds for the favourite are indicated by a minus sign, while the odds for the underdogs are indicated by a plus sign. American moneylines posted at (-110) are the same as 1.91 decimal odds and 10/11 fractional pricing.
Clutch: Clutch means only games where the expert consensus is between 50% and 74% - the games that are hardest to pick because there's no overwhelming favorite!
A lot of games in the NFL are going to overwhelmingly favour one team. The favorites tend to get 85%+ picks in a lot of games, which means that most fans will probably see them as ‘gimmes’. Clutch games mean the games that are hardest to call because the experts disagree more about them.
Consensus: The percentage of experts/fans that are picking a team to win in an upcoming game. It gives an indication of which team to pick.
Cover/Covering the Spread: Any bet where a favorite wins and the final score exceeds the point spread. New England winning 32-21 over Miami means the Patriots would cover a -10 point spread. If the Pats win 29-21 they don’t cover the spread and bets are graded as losing wagers.
Decimal Odds: An odds format that is common in Europe. A 1.91 decimal line equals -110 in American odds and 10/11 in fractional pricing.
Draw: Any contest where the final score ends in a tie. In most instances, a draw is graded as a PUSH and original bet amounts are returned.
Fractional Odds: An odds format that is favored in the UK. A fractional line of 10/11 equals -110 in American odds and 1.91 decimal pricing.
Futures Bet: A wager placed on an event that will take place in the near or distant future.
MLB: Major League Baseball
Moneyline: A straight up bet, without any point spread, where bettors need to predict the outright winner.
NBA: National Basketball Association
NCAA: Governing body for all US college sports.
NFL: National Football League
NHL: National Hockey League
Off The Board: Shortened to OTB, off the board games are displayed on betting boards but don’t have odds attached to them.
Pick ’em: A betting option where the odds are exactly the same on both sides. Atlanta (-110) vs Miami (-110) is a pick ’em wager.
Point Spread: Odds posted on a match that are designed to level the playing field. Favorites are listed with a negative (-4.5) point spread while the underdog is given a ‘head start' with positive (+4.5) odds.
Puck Line: Point spread pricing in hockey. Prior to a match, the favorite is normally posted at -1.5 goals while the underdog receives +1.5 goals.
Push: Any wager where the final result is a tie. If a football spread is 7 points and the final score is 21-14 spread bets on both teams are graded as a push and original stakes are returned.
Run Line: Point spread pricing in baseball. Prior to a game the favorite is normally posted at -1.5 runs and the underdog odds are listed at +1.5 runs.
Spread Betting: Taking or laying points when betting on a competition. Selecting Los Angeles at -7 point odds against New York (+7) is a spread bet. The Rams need to defeat the Giants by at least eight points to win the bet.