1. Oct 09, 2014 What Does Total Mean? If you hear the phrase “total” being talking about during a sports betting discussion, it is referring to a betting option where the bettor is predicting the number of.
2. The odds ratio must be nonnegative if it is defined. It is undefined if p 2 q 1 equals zero, i.e., if p 2 equals zero or q 1 equals zero. Definition in terms of joint and conditional probabilities. The odds ratio can also be defined in terms of the joint probability distribution of two binary random variables.

Point spread betting odds. Point spreads are usually set with -110 odds, but pricing often fluctuates at online sportsbooks. This is the sportsbook operators’ house edge. The odds guarantee the sportsbook operator will see a little money over time. When the odds are set at -110, the bettor must wager $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10).

Action: A bet of any kind.

ATS: Abbreviation for Above the Spread

Back-door Cover: This term refers to meaningless points scored late in the game by the underdog team to cover the spread.

Book: A sportsbook or a betting establishment that offers odds and accepts wagers.

Bookie: A person (or establishment) that takes bets on the outcome of sporting events.

Cover: If you beat the spread by the required number of points, you’ve ‘covered’ the spread.

Edge: This is the advantage in any wager.

Favorite: This is the team that is expected to win.

Front-door Cover: This is the opposite of Back-door cover. It is used in reference to the favored team scoring meaningless points late in the game to cover the spread.

Futures bet: This refers to placing a bet on any future event in the season. For example, putting down a bet early in the football season for who will win a bowl game.

Handicapper: This is a person who studies and rates sporting events.

Handicapping: This is when someone tries to predict the outcome of any given game.

Home field advantage: The edge a team is supposed to have when they play on their home field. Since the home field is a familiar turf and in front of the home crowd, teams are expected to perform better than they would if they were travelling thus giving them an edge.

Hook: This is a half point added to football odds.

Line: This is the odds, points, money line, or point spread offered on football games.

Linemaker: This is someone that sets the odds, points, money lines, or point spreads for football games.

Lock: This term is used to refer to an easy win.

Longshot: This is a term used to refer to an extreme underdog.

Moneyline: This refers to the amount of money a player must wager in order to win $100, or the amount of money a player wins if they put $100 on the underdog.

Oddsmaker: This is another term for the Linemaker. It is the person who sets the odds, moneyline, or point spread for football games.

Over/Under Bets: This refers to a bet on whether the combined total of the points scored by both teams will be more or less than a set number.

Overlay: This is a term to refer to odds that are higher than they should be. These odds favor the bettor not the house.

Parlay: This is a wager on two or more teams or outcomes where the selections must win in order for the bettor to win.

Past performance: This refers to any given team’s results in past seasons. This is particularly important when betting on NCAA football.

Player: This is a term that refers to any person that puts down a bet on any given sports event.

Point Spread: This is a number of points given to the underdog by the Linemaker in order to handicap the favorite. It can also be thought of in terms of the scoring differential between the two teams. The point spread is used to even the playing field.

Proposition Bet or Props: This is a bet placed on a specific aspect of the game, such as who will score first or how long the longest touch down pass will be.

Soft line: This refers to a line that has been adjusted because of the result of an action. It is not the true posted line.

Underdog: This is a term that refers to the team that is expected to lose.

Underlay: This is a term that refers to odds that lower than they should be. These odds favor the house and not the bettor.

Understanding basic bet types is vital for any punter to maximise their opportunity of making a profit. This article explains three basic bet types offered by Pinnacle; 1X—2€, Handicap and Totals. Continue reading to learn more about the different basic bet types.

Basic Bet Types: 1X2€

1X2 betting is one of the most common forms of betting and is the simplest way for a bettor to understand the cost of a bet. We can use a hypothetical Champions League game between Borussia Dortmund and Napoli to explain how 1X2 betting works.

If you staked £10 on Borussia Dortmund to win at odds of 4.250, you would win £42.50 -€ although that would include your initial £10 stake. Therefore your profit would be £32.50. You would win nothing if the result ended in a defeat or draw for Borussia Dortmund.

A £10 bet on a draw would have returned £37.90 (£27.90 profit and your £10 stake); while the same bet on Napoli to win would see you pocket £19.17 (£9.17 profit).

Once you are familiar with 1X—2 betting, the next step is to understand how the value in 1X—2 odds varies across bookmakers, thus impacting your potential winnings.

Basic Bet Types: Handicap

Betting on the handicap is valuable when one team is heavily favoured over their opponents. To counter the perceived bias in ability, bookmakers offer a handicap to level the playing field.

The handicap is factored into the final score to determine the game€'s outcome for the purpose of the bet (which might be different from the actual result).

The handicap is factored into the final score to determine the game€'s outcome for the purpose of the bet (which might be different from the actual result).

For example, the handicap for the hypothetical example above might be (+0.5, 2.020) for Borussia Dortmund and (-0.5, 1.917) for Napoli.

If the result was 1-0 to Napoli, bets on Napoli would win as the 0.5 handicap is not enough to change the outcome. This is often called €covering the handicap€.

If the result was a 1-1 draw, however, bets on Borussia Dortmund would win, as the 0.5 handicap added to their score is enough to tip the match in their favour.

The handicap can also differ by appearing as a split, such as €+0.5 & +1 or -0.5 & -1. This takes your stake and effectively places two handicap bets -€ one at each option. Therefore you can win both bets, just one, or lose both.

Advanced bettors will understand the relationship between 1X—2 and handicap betting and how to decide which option offers better value.

Basic Bet Types: Totals

Totals bets are another basic bet type, and a popular alternative to 1X—2 and handicap betting. The focus is not on finding the winner of a particular event, but predicting the outcome of game variables (e.g. total goals/runs/points or any other easily quantifiable variable).

Bookmakers offer bettors the option of whether the total goals/points will be either OVER or UNDER their assessment of the game.

For the hypothetical Borussia Dortmund and Napoli example, the total goal mark is set at Over 2.5 (2.080) and Under 2.5 (1.909).

If you bet £10 on the game to have over 2.5 goals and the result was 2-1 (a total of three goals) you would make a return of £20.80 (£10.80 profit), while you would have won nothing had you bet on the goals total to be under 2.5.

A video on 1X2 betting

If you found this article useful, you might enjoy our short video that explains how 1X2 betting works.

Overall Odds Meaning

If you want to watch more educational betting videos, subscribe to the Pinnacle YouTube channel!