Sports betting has no shortage of buzzwords. Here is a glossary with definitions for the various words you may see on our platform.
A
American Odds
American odds are the format typically used by sports books and casinos in the United States. Favorite sides are represented by negative numbers and underdog sides by positive numbers. Negative American odds can be thought of as “wager X credits to win 100 credits” where X is the odds number appearing after the minus sign. Positive American odds can be thought of as “wager 100 credits to win X credits” where X is the odds number appearing after the plus sign.
For example:
-235 = Wager 235 credits to win 100 credits
+135 = Wager 100 credits to win 135 credits
Even odds are depicted as +100
B
Back
A back is a money line bet that is a wager that the associated side will win. Backs are the same as standard money line bets and are offered if a bet has more than 2 possible sides. Opposite of lay.
C
Contest
A contest is a competition created by a host venue in which players compete against each other by making wagers on bets. Contests have a start time and an end time as well as a list of sports leagues that are available for picks from all players.
Credits
Credits are the fictional currency used on the Lose the Juice platform to keep score among players in a contest. Credits hold no monetary value and cannot be cashed out or deposited.
D
Decimal Odds
Decimal odds are the format typically used by sports books in Europe, Australia, and most places outside the United States. All sides are a decimal that represents the total return for every credit wagered. The wager amount multiplied by the decimal is the total amount collected if you were at a sports book (winnings + the original wager). Winnings are wager amount multiplied by decimal odds minus wager amount.
For example:
1.430 = Wager 235 credits to win 100 credits
2.350 = Wager 100 credits to win 135 credits
Even odds are depicted as 2.000
Draw
An event that ends with a tied score and no winner. Not to be confused with a push.
F
Favorite
The favorite is the team or side in an event that expected to win. Opposite of underdog.
G
Grade
To settle or evaluate a pick at the end of an event to determine whether it is a win, loss, or push for the player.
H
House Rules
A list of policies and exceptions that will be used to grade picks for events of each sport or league.
I
J
Juice
Juice is a slang term referring to the cut or commission a sports book would normally charge for taking a bet. All odds used on Lose the Juice have juice removed which is why they appear more favorable to the player when compared to a sports book.
K
L
Lay
A lay is a money line bet that is a wager that the associated side will not win. Lays are offered if a pick has more than 2 possible outcomes. Opposite of back.
M
Money Line Bet
A money line bet is a bet that is simply tied to the outcome of the event without any adjustment to the number of points scored. Each side of a money line bet has its own odds that determines the number of credits that will be awarded for a win.
N
O
Odds
Odds represent the probability that a particular side of a bet will win. Sides with more likely outcomes have “short” odds which will offer a smaller return on a wager and sides with less likely outcomes have “long” odds which will bring a larger return on your wager. Odds can be represented in American or Decimal format.
Over/Under
Over/Under is another term used to refer to Total bets.
P
PK
PK is an abbreviation used for spread bets which stands for “Pick ’em”. It means the point spread is 0 and the teams or sides are considered to be essentially equal.
Prop Bet
Prop or proposition is a bet on a part of an event that may have nothing to do with the final outcome of that event. Examples include number of points scored by an individual player or the score in the first half of a game.
Push
A push is a graded pick that is neither a win nor a loss for the player and there is no change to the player’s credits balance. For money line bets, this means the score of the event ended in a tie. For spread bets, this means the score of the event ended in a tie when adjusted by the number of spread points in your pick. For total bets, this means the total number of points scored by all teams was exactly equal to the number of total points in your pick. Not to be confused with a draw.
Q
R
S
Side
A side is any one of the possible outcomes of a bet for an event. Unless the bet is a prop bet, a side is usually the same as one of the teams competing.
Spread Bet
A spread bet is a bet in which two teams or sides are considered to be unequal and an adjustment will be made to the number of points scored by that team so that the two outcomes are equally probable and can be offered at or near even odds. Teams or sides that are favorites will have points subtracted from their score, while teams or sides that are underdogs will have points added. The number of points that will be subtracted or added is called the “spread” or the “line”.
For example:
If the Lions are playing the Tigers and you have “Lions -7”, that means you need the Lions to win by more than 7 points. If you have “Tigers +7”, that means you need to Tigers to either win or lose by fewer than 7 points. Spread bets are graded as a push if the margin of the victory by the favorite is exactly the same as the spread.
On the Lose the Juice platform, all spread bets will always have exactly 2 sides.
T
Total Bet
Total refers to a type of bet that is a wager on the total number of combined points scored in the event by both teams, rather than which team will win. For these bets, you choose either OVER or UNDER a certain number of points called the “total”. These bets are sometimes also referred to as “Over/Under” bets.
For example:
If the Lions are playing the Tigers and you have “Over 25”, that means you need the number of points scored by the Lions plus the number of points scored by the Tigers to be more than 25 in order to win. If you have “Under 25”, that means you need the number of points scored by the Lions plus the number of points scored by the Tigers to be fewer than 25 in order to win. Total bets are graded as a push if the total number of points scored by both teams exactly equals the total number in the bet.
On the Lose the Juice platform, all total bets will always have exactly 2 sides: Over and Under.
U
Underdog
The underdog is the team or side in an event that expected to lose. Opposite of favorite.
V
Voided
A voided pick is one that has been administratively canceled according to cases outlined in the House Rules. Most commonly, picks are voided if they are associated with events that end under unusual circumstances.
W
Wager
A wager is the number of credits that are risked on a pick. If you win, the wager amount with odds applied is added to your credits total for that contest. If you lose, the wager amount is subtracted from your credits total for that contest.