A multiple bet, sometimes called a “parlay.” Very common in football and racing, though available for other sports as well. This is a combination bet that involves the outcomes of two or more games. All wagers combined to form an accumulator or parlay must pay off in order for the wager itself to pay off.

A phrase mostly-used in horse racing to refer to a specific type of wager. In the case of horse racing, it is a short-odds bet that a horse will win first, second, or third place.

The term used to refer to any sort of valid bet. Bets can be invalidated by different things, mostly the premature end of games due to inclement weather. In baseball, for example, action is invalid if the game doesn’t get to the bottom of the fourth inning. Most books only validate soccer wagers if the match lasts past the 70th minute. And so on.

A slang term derived from UK gamblers that stands for juice, or “betting tax.” It’s a bit of Cockney rhyming slang that’s caught on somewhat in other parts of the world.

Short for Against the Spread. The phrase “against the spread” refers to the result of point spread-based contests. This slang term can also refer to the act of “taking points” (see below) rather than with the spread, also known as “laying points.”

A term for a sports gambler, also sometimes simply a “player.”

Short for “sportsbook.” This refers to any business that takes wagers on the eventual outcome of sporting events.

Obviously, this is a person who works at a “book” (see above). A bookmaker (or “oddsmaker”) is any individual licensed to take wagers on the outcome of sporting events to their customers.

This word refers to buying “points” (see below). To “buy points” is to pay a larger fee in order to earn an additional half a point (sometimes more) in the favor of their wager on a bet that’s based on a point spread.

The favored athlete, team, or wager. A “straight chalk” pick is, thus, a pick based entirely on popular opinion.