Betting Terms Glossary

Where To Start

If you’re new to betting, these are the terms worth learning first — they turn up in almost every market, every offer and every set of terms and conditions.

• 01
  Odds On vs Odds Against

  The most basic split in betting. Odds on means you stake more than you stand to win — the selection is favoured. Odds against means the return is bigger than your stake.

• 02
  Accumulator

  Several selections in one bet, with every leg needing to win. An accumulator multiplies the odds together, so returns grow fast — and one losing leg kills the whole bet.

• 03
  Each-Way

  Two bets in one: half your stake on the win, half on the place. Each-way betting is standard in racing and increasingly common in golf and outright football markets.

• 04
  The Over-Round

  The bookmaker’s margin baked into the prices. Understanding the over-round is the single biggest step from casual punter to informed bettor — see also how bookmakers work.

• 05
  Cash Out

  Settle a bet early for a value the bookmaker offers. Cash out is useful for managing risk, but the price always carries a margin — it costs you value over the long run.

• 06
  Rule 4

  A deduction applied to racing winnings when a horse is withdrawn after you’ve bet. Rule 4 catches out more punters than any other rule in the book.

Full-Cover Bets By Selection Count

Multiple bets confuse more punters than anything else in the glossary — mostly because the names give away nothing about the size. They’re really just one ladder. Each pair below covers the same number of selections; the difference is whether the singles are included.

Read the ladder in pairs: a Lucky 15 is simply a Yankee with the four singles added, and a Patent is a Trixie with its three singles added. The singles cost more up front but return something when only one selection wins.

Common Questions

• What is the difference between a Yankee and a Lucky 15?

  Both cover four selections. A Yankee is 11 bets — six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold. A Lucky 15 is those same 11 bets plus the four singles, making 15. The Lucky 15 costs more but returns something if only one selection wins.

• What does each-way mean in betting?

  An each-way bet is two equal bets: one on your selection to win, one on it to place. Your total stake is doubled. The place part pays a fraction of the win odds — commonly 1/4 or 1/5 — over a set number of places set by the bookmaker.

• What is the over-round?

  The over-round is the bookmaker’s built-in margin. Convert every price in a market to its implied probability and add them up; the amount above 100% is the over-round. A lower over-round means better value. Our guide to how bookmakers work covers this in depth.

• What does Best Odds Guaranteed mean?

  Best Odds Guaranteed is a racing concession. If you take an early price and the starting price is bigger, the bookmaker pays out at the larger of the two. It applies only to selected races and usually only to bets placed on the day.

• Which bookmakers offer these features?

  Features like bet builders, acca insurance, price boosts and cash out vary by operator. Our bookmaker reviews list which features each site offers, and how we rate explains our scoring.