Betting glossary

What the words on a bet slip and an odds board actually mean. One page per term, in plain English, with the maths where a term has any.

A

All in betting: no refund when your selection does not start: All in means a bet stands whether or not your selection takes part, so a player, team or horse that never starts is a loss with no refund.
All up bet meaning in racing: An all up bet links two or more bets so the whole return from each leg becomes the stake on the next, and it pays only if every leg comes in.
American odds explained: American odds are built around $100: a plus number is the profit on a $100 stake, and a minus number is the stake needed to win $100.
Any other score in correct score betting: Any other score is the correct score selection that wins when the final score is none of the scores the market lists by name.
ATS in betting: what against the spread means: ATS means against the spread: a team's results counted against the line rather than as wins and losses, so 9-7-1 ATS is nine covers, seven misses and one push.
Average traded price on Betfair: The average traded price (ATP) on Betfair is the average of every price matched on a selection, weighted by the money matched at each price.

B

Back bet meaning at a bookmaker and on an exchange: A back bet is a bet that an outcome will happen, such as a runner winning or a team covering the line.
Back lay spread on a betting exchange: The back lay spread is the gap between the best price you can back at and the best price you can lay at on an exchange.
Back-to-backs in NBA betting: rest, travel and the second night: In NBA betting, a back-to-back is a team playing on consecutive days, and the second night is when rest decisions, fatigue and travel can move lines and player props.
Ballot in horse racing: who gets a start: A ballot decides which horses start when more accept for a race than its field limit allows, using an order of elimination the race's conditions set.
Bet slip meaning and how the slip works: A bet slip, also written betslip, is the panel on a bookmaker's site or app where a bet is put together and checked before you place it.
Bet token meaning in Australian betting accounts: A bet token is a promotion a bookmaker adds to your account as a credit you attach to a bet, such as a bonus bet, an odds boost or a saver, each with its own terms.
Betting drawdown and how to measure it: A betting drawdown is the fall in a bankroll from its highest point to the lowest point that follows, measured in dollars, units or a percentage of the peak.
Betting edge: how far a price beats the fair price: A betting edge is how far the price you take sits above the fair price for an outcome: edge = offered price / fair price - 1.
Big 6 bet: six winners on one tote ticket: A Big 6 bet is a tote bet on the winners of six races the operator nominates, which can be at one meeting or spread across several.
Black type meaning in thoroughbred racing: Black type is the bold print a thoroughbred sales catalogue gives to Group and Listed results, so buyers can see at a glance which horses in a pedigree reached that level.
Blinkers in horse racing and what first-time blinkers mean: Blinkers are cups on a horse's bridle that cut out much of its view behind it, so it focuses on what is in front of it.
Box seat in horse racing: one back on the fence: The box seat is the spot on the fence directly behind the leader, with a horse in front for cover and no ground lost on the turns.
Boxed bet meaning and what a box costs: A boxed bet is an exotic staked on every finishing order of the runners you pick, so they can fill the paid places in any order.
Breaking stride in harness racing: Breaking stride in harness racing is a pacer or trotter leaving its gait for a gallop; the harness rules call it breaking gait and require the driver to restore the correct gait at once (AHRR 154).
Brier score for betting forecasts: The Brier score measures probability forecasts: the average of (forecast - result) squared, where the result is 1 if the event happened and 0 if not.

C

Caught wide in horse racing and what it costs: A runner is caught wide when it races off the fence with no horse in front of it for cover, so it travels further on every turn and has no shelter.
Clean sheet betting explained: Clean sheet betting is a bet that a named team concedes no goals in the match.
Corporate bookmaker meaning in Australian betting: Corporate bookmakers, or corporates, are bookmaking companies that offer fixed odds online and by phone, each licensed by a state or territory authority that ACMA's register names.
Cross matching on Betfair: Cross matching on Betfair matches your bet against offers on other selections in the same market, not only against offers on your own selection.

D

DLS method: how rain-affected cricket targets are reset: The DLS method (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) is the ICC's system for setting a revised target, or naming a winner, when rain or bad light cuts the overs in a one-day or T20 match.
Double chance betting explained: Double chance is one bet on two of a match's three results: home or draw (1X), draw or away (X2), or home or away (12).
Drifter meaning in betting: A drifter is a runner or team whose price is lengthening, because the market now rates its chance lower than it did.
Duet bet: two runners in the first three: A duet bet is a tote bet that two runners you choose both finish in the first three, in either order.

E

Early quaddie meaning and how it differs from the main quaddie: An early quaddie is a second quaddie on a race card, run over four earlier races, and it pays only if your runners win all four legs.
Emergency runner in horse racing: An emergency runner is a reserve accepted for a race, which gets a start only if a horse in the field is scratched in time.
Even money meaning in betting: Even money is a price of $2.00 in decimal odds: a winning bet's profit equals its stake, so $15 comes back as $30.
Exotic bet meaning in horse racing: An exotic bet is a racing bet on more than one placing in a race, such as a trifecta, or on the winners of more than one race, such as a quaddie.
Expected goals (xG) in soccer betting: Expected goals (xG) adds up the scoring chances of a team's or player's shots, each judged against similar shots from the past.
Exposure meaning on Betfair and other exchanges: Exposure on Betfair is the most you can lose in one market once every bet you hold in it, backs and lays, is counted together.

F

Fall of first wicket betting: first-wicket lines, rules and conditions: A fall of first wicket bet is an over or under on a team's total, extras included, at the moment its first batter is dismissed in a named innings.
Favourite meaning in betting: The favourite is the selection with the shortest price in a market, the one the market rates most likely to win.
First five innings betting: how F5 baseball bets work: First five innings betting (F5) settles a baseball head to head, line or total on the score after five innings, whatever happens after that.
First split in greyhound racing: A first split is a greyhound's time from the release of the starting boxes to a race's first timing point, the usual measure of early speed.
Fixed odds meaning in betting: Fixed odds means the price is agreed when the bookmaker accepts your bet, so the return is known before the result: return = stake x odds.
Follow-on in cricket: the rule, the lead needed and follow-on markets: The follow-on lets the side that batted first, once it leads by enough on first innings, make its opponent bat again straight away.
Fractional odds explained: Fractional odds show the profit a winning bet makes against the stake: the first number is what you win, the second what you stake.
Free for all race in greyhound and harness racing: A free for all (FFA) is a race for the best runners: in greyhound racing it usually groups the top grades in one race rather than forming a grade of its own, and in harness racing it has no National Rating cap.

G

Gambler's fallacy and the hot hand in betting: The gambler's fallacy is the belief that a result is due because it has not happened lately, such as a winner after a run of losses.
Gate speed in harness racing: Gate speed in harness racing is a horse's early acceleration off the mobile barrier, shown by the ground it claims in the first 200 m or so; a horse that has it is a fast beginner.

H

Harville formula for place and exotic probabilities: The Harville formula estimates the chance of every finishing order in a race from the runners' win chances alone.
Hopples in harness racing: Hopples are straps that join a horse's front and hind legs on the same side, helping a pacer hold its lateral gait at racing speed.

J

Jockey challenge betting: Jockey challenge betting is a fixed-odds bet on which jockey scores the most points across a race meeting or a carnival, from winning and placed rides.

K

Kill switch on a betting bot: A kill switch on a betting bot is one control that stops every automated session at once, so no new bet is sent until you start them again.
KO vs TKO: knockouts, technical knockouts and how bets settle: A KO ends a fight because strikes leave a fighter unable to intelligently defend themselves, while a TKO is a stoppage by the referee, the ringside doctor or the corner before that point.

L

Lapsed bet meaning and what happens to your money: A lapsed bet is an unmatched exchange bet, or the unmatched part of one, that is cancelled automatically at the jump or when a suspension triggers the exchange's rules.
Last traded price on Betfair: The last traded price (LTP) is the price at which the most recent bet on a selection was matched on an exchange such as Betfair.
Late scratching meaning in horse racing: A late scratching is a runner withdrawn after the race-morning deadline for scratchings, up to the start, sometimes at the barriers; RWWA's own fixed-odds rules count any withdrawal after final fields.
Latency in betting and odds delay: Latency in betting is the delay between a price changing at the bookmaker and you, or your software, seeing that change and acting on it.
Lead time in harness racing: Lead time in harness racing is the time from the start until the leader reaches the start of the final mile, so it exists only in races longer than 1,609 m.
Leg meaning in betting: one selection in a multi, SGM or quaddie: A leg is one selection inside a bet that combines several, such as one game in a multi, one outcome in a same game multi or one race in a quaddie.
Liability in betting and what a lay bet can cost: Liability in betting is the amount a lay bet loses if the selection wins: the lay stake multiplied by (the lay odds minus 1).
Liquidity in betting exchange markets: Liquidity in betting is how much money is waiting to be matched at each price on an exchange: the offers a back or lay bet can be matched against right now.

M

Machine learning in betting and how to test a model: Machine learning in betting is a model that learns its own rules from past results and data and outputs a probability for each outcome, which converts to a fair price.
Make the cut golf betting: the cut line and how bets settle: Make the cut golf betting is a yes or no bet on whether a golfer qualifies for the final two rounds at the 36-hole cut.
Market makers in betting: A market maker in betting quotes prices on both sides of a market: on an exchange, offers to back and to lay one selection; among bookmakers, its own prices that others copy.
Market suspended meaning in betting: Market suspended means a betting market is closed to new bets for now: prices may still show, but nothing can be placed or matched until it reopens.
Match rating in matched betting, with commission: A match rating compares a bookmaker's back price with an exchange's lay price for the same selection, as a percentage: back odds / lay odds x 100.
Max bet meaning and why your maximum stake changes: A max bet is the largest stake a bookmaker will accept from your account on one selection, at the current price, at that moment.
Method of dismissal betting: how a batter will be out: A method of dismissal bet picks how a named batter, or a team's first wicket, will fall: caught, bowled, lbw, run out, stumped or a rarer way in the Laws of Cricket.
Mile rate in harness racing: A mile rate in harness racing is a race time restated as the time for one mile, 1,609.344 m, at the same average speed, so runs over different distances can be compared.
Minimum odds requirement for a bonus bet or promotion: A minimum odds requirement is the shortest price a bet can carry and still count for a promotion: for example, a bonus bet with a $1.80 minimum cannot go on a selection shorter than $1.80.

N

No contest meaning in UFC and boxing betting: A no contest is a fight that ends with no winner and no loser: usually it was stopped by an accidental foul before enough was complete to decide it, and a regulator can also change a finished result to one.
No race in greyhound racing: A no race is a greyhound race the Stewards declare null and void, so none of its placings stand.
No result in cricket: minimum overs and what happens to your bets: A no result is a one-day or T20 match that ends without a winner because rain, bad light or another stoppage left too few overs for a result.
NRFI betting: no run first inning bets and YRFI: NRFI betting backs neither team to score in the first inning of a baseball game, while YRFI backs at least one run in either half of it.
NSW Official Price (NOP) explained: The NSW Official Price (NOP) is the official price service for NSW TAB race meetings, introduced by Racing NSW in May 2017.

O

Odds against meaning in betting: Odds against means a price longer than even money, which is anything over $2.00 in decimal odds, so a winning bet profits more than its stake.
Odds-on meaning in betting: Odds-on means a price shorter than even money: under $2.00 in decimal odds, so a winning bet makes less profit than it stakes.
One legged arb: when one side of an arbitrage fails: A one legged arb is an arbitrage where one bet is placed but the covering bet is refused, cut, missed at its price or voided later, leaving an ordinary open bet.
One out one back in harness racing: One out one back is the harness racing position one horse off the pegs, directly behind the horse parked outside the leader; it is often shortened to the one-one.
Opening partnership betting: stand lines, head to heads and retirement rules: An opening partnership bet is on the runs a team's two openers add together, extras included, before the first wicket falls or the stand otherwise ends.
Opening price in horse racing: An opening price is the first price a bookmaker posts for a runner when it opens its market on a race, and the first point on the runner's flucs.
Opt-in promotion meaning for betting offers: An opt-in promotion is an offer that applies only after you actively join it, usually with an opt-in button on the offer in your account, before you place the bet.
Overlay meaning in betting: An overlay is a price longer than the fair price for a selection, so a bet at that price returns more than its chance is worth on average.
Own goal betting rules: An own goal counts on the scoreboard for the other side but, under the common rule, for no goalscorer.

P

Palpable error meaning in betting: A palpable error is a price, line or market so plainly wrong that the bookmaker's terms let it void the bet or settle it at the price it meant to offer.
Paper betting and what it can prove: Paper betting is recording the bets a method would make, with the time, the price on offer and the stake, without placing any of them.
Photo finish in horse racing: A photo finish is a finish too close to call by eye, decided by the Judge from the finish camera's image, with each horse placed by its nose (AR 214).
PK in betting: what a pick'em line means: PK means pick'em: a line of 0, so neither team gets a points start and a bet on either side needs that team to win outright.
Plunge in horse racing: A plunge is a rush of money for one runner that drives its price sharply shorter, often in the last stretch before the jump.
Power method devig explained: The power method removes a bookmaker's margin by raising every implied chance in a market to the same power, k, chosen so the fair chances add up to exactly 100%.
Powerplay in cricket: the fielding-restriction overs and powerplay runs bets: A powerplay is a block of overs in a limited-overs innings with a cap on fielders outside the 30-yard circle: two in the opening powerplay, then four and five in an ODI's second and third.
PRA in betting: points, rebounds and assists as one prop: PRA adds a player's points, rebounds and assists into a single total that you back over or under a line: 19 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists make a PRA of 32.
Price floor in betting automation: A price floor is the lowest price at which an automated or API bet may go on: if the price has fallen below it when the bet arrives, the bet is skipped.
Price improvement on Betfair: Price improvement on Betfair means your bet is matched at a better price than the one you asked for, because a better offer was already waiting.
Protest payout meaning in horse racing betting: A protest payout is a racing promotion that pays a bet on the horse first past the post as a winner even if it loses the race on protest, while bets on the horse promoted to first are paid too.
Push meaning in betting: when a result lands on the number: A push is a result exactly on the line or total you bet, such as a 4-point win on a -4 line, so the bet neither wins nor loses and the usual rule type refunds the stake.

Q

Qualifying bet meaning in Australian betting promotions: A qualifying bet is the bet a promotion's terms require before the bookmaker pays the reward, such as a stake refund or a bonus bet, and it is usually placed with your own cash.
Qualifying loss meaning in matched betting: A qualifying loss, or QL, is the amount you expect to lose when you back a qualifying bet at a bookmaker and lay the same selection on an exchange to cover it.

R

Railer in greyhound racing: A railer is a greyhound that races on or close to the inside rail and holds that line through the bends instead of drifting off it.
Rated price meaning in racing and betting: A rated price is the price you give a runner from your own ratings: 1 / the win chance you assess, with no bookmaker margin added.
Regression to the mean in betting: Regression to the mean is the tendency for an extreme result to be followed by a more ordinary one, because part of the extreme result was luck that does not repeat.
Reserve greyhound meaning and when a reserve runs: A reserve greyhound is a dog named with a race's field that runs only if one of the drawn dogs is scratched by the appointed scratching time.
Reverse line movement in betting: Reverse line movement is a line or price that moves the opposite way to the weight of bets: the side most bets are on gets a better line or price.
Roughie meaning in horse racing: A roughie is Australian racing slang for a runner at long odds, one the market rates unlikely to win; longshot is the general word for any long-priced selection in racing or sport.
Run home time in greyhound racing: Run home time is a greyhound's time from a race's last timing point to the finish, worked out as its finishing time minus its time at that point.

S

Scorecast betting explained: A scorecast is one bet on the first goalscorer and the final correct score, and both must be right for it to pay.
Set weights races and set weights plus penalties: In a set weights race the conditions fix each runner's weight in advance, from rules such as age and sex, so no handicapper weighs the form and the best horse carries no extra.
Sharp money meaning in betting: Sharp money is money from punters the market treats as well informed, judged by a record of taking prices that beat the closing price.
Shin method for de-vigging betting odds: The Shin method strips the bookmaker's margin from a market by treating a small share of the money as coming from insiders who already know the result.
Slippage in betting: Slippage in betting is the difference between the price you expected and the price your bet was actually placed or matched at.
Stake factoring and how it cuts your maximum stake: Stake factoring is a bookmaker setting how much of its standard limit one account may bet, as a percentage or multiplier applied to that limit.
Stake not returned meaning for bonus bets: Stake not returned (SNR) means a winning bet pays its winnings but not its stake, which is how a bonus bet normally settles in Australia.
Standard deviation in betting results: In betting, standard deviation measures how far the result of a run of bets typically lands from its expected value.
Standardbred horses in harness racing: A standardbred is the breed used in harness racing; under the Australian Harness Racing Rules it is a horse by a registered standardbred sire out of a registered standardbred dam.
Steam move in betting: A steam move is a price that shortens sharply and fast across most bookmakers and the exchange at once, after news or a burst of money the market trusts.
Stewards inquiry in horse racing: A stewards' inquiry is an investigation by the race-day Stewards into an incident in a race or any other matter connected with racing, under their powers in AR 20 and AR 22.
Stoppage time in soccer betting: Stoppage time counts in soccer betting: markets settled on 90 minutes include every goal scored in the time added to each half.
Super over: cricket's tie-breaker and what it means for your bet: A super over is cricket's tie-breaker: when a one-day or T20 international ends level, each side bats one six-ball over and the side scoring more runs wins.
Survivorship bias in betting: Survivorship bias is judging a betting method by the records still standing, while the ones that failed, closed or were quietly dropped stay out of view.

T

TAB One Pool and Tabcorp's national tote: TAB One Pool is Tabcorp's national pool, reported under the name One Pool: Tabcorp has moved its tote pools to a single national pool (reported from October 2026).
Take SP meaning on a betting exchange: Take SP is an exchange setting that turns any unmatched part of your bet into a bet at the starting price when the market reaches the jump, instead of cancelling it.
Teaser bet: a multi with every line moved your way: A teaser bet is a multi on lines or totals in which every leg moves the same number of points your way, and the whole bet pays less than the legs would at their main lines.
The death seat in harness racing: The death seat in harness racing is the spot one wide and outside the leader, with no horse in front to give cover; a horse there is said to be sitting parked.
The last half in harness racing: The last half in harness racing is the time for the final 800 m or so of a race: the third and fourth quarters of the last mile added together, printed in bold in Harness Racing Australia form lines.
The law of large numbers in betting: The law of large numbers says the average result of many independent bets settles towards its expected value as the number of bets grows.
The penetrometer in horse racing and how it feeds a track rating: A penetrometer measures how far a rod can be driven into the turf: the Brisbane Racing Club's instrument drops a 1kg weight 1 metre down a shaft onto a 1cm square rod.
The racehorse birthday in Australia and why it is 1 August: Every Australian thoroughbred turns a year older on 1 August, because AR 161 of the Australian Rules of Racing reckons a horse's age from that date, not its foaling day.
The sprint lane in harness racing: A sprint lane in harness racing is an extra lane on the inside of the home straight, just before the winning post, that gives horses racing on the pegs a way out.
Tipster meaning in betting: A tipster is a person or service that publishes betting selections for other people to follow, either free or for a fee.
Tissue price meaning in betting: A tissue price is a draft price drawn for a runner or team before its market opens and before any money has been bet; the tissue is the full set for the field.
Topweight in horse racing and the limit weight below it: The topweight is the runner allotted the most weight in a handicap, normally the one the handicapper rates highest, and the limit weight is the race's minimum.
Total matched on Betfair and what it means: Total matched on Betfair is the money already traded in a market, shown for the whole market and for each runner.
Tote minimum dividend: A tote minimum dividend is the least a winning tote bet pays, with a few exceptions: 104% of the unit staked, shown as $1.04 per $1, under Queensland's Wagering Rule and the tote rules gazetted in WA in 2010.
Triple-double bets: what counts, double-doubles and overtime: A triple double bet is a yes or no bet on an NBA player reaching 10 or more in three of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in one game.
Turnover meaning in betting: Turnover in betting is the total amount staked over a period, counted on every bet whether it wins or loses, so it measures how much you bet rather than how you went.

U

Underlay meaning in betting: An underlay is a price shorter than a selection's fair price: the bookmaker pays less than the chance is worth, so the bet loses money on average even when it wins often.

V

Vacant box in greyhound racing: A vacant box is a starting box with no greyhound in it, left empty by a short field at the box draw or by a scratching that no reserve could fill.
Void bet meaning: when a bet is cancelled and the stake refunded: A void bet is cancelled and settled as if it was never placed: the stake comes back and nothing is won or lost.

W

Walkover meaning in tennis and esports betting: A walkover is a win awarded without the match being played, because the opponent withdrew before it started or was not allowed to play.
Weight of money on a betting exchange: Weight of money compares the money waiting to be matched on each side of an exchange market, usually over the best three back and best three lay prices.
What .5 means in betting: the half-point line: The .5 in betting is half a point on a line or total: no game ends on half a point, so a bet at -6.5 or over 160.5 always has a winning and a losing side and never pushes.
What a betting algorithm is and what it can do: A betting algorithm is a fixed set of rules that turns data or prices into a betting decision: which bet, at what price and for how much.
What a bookmaker is and what a bookie does: A bookmaker is a person or business that sets fixed odds on a race, game or event, takes bets at those prices and pays winners from its own funds.
What a maiden race is and how to bet on one: A maiden race is restricted to horses that have never won a flat race at a registered meeting or any advertised race in any country, as Schedule 4 of the Australian Rules of Racing defines it.
What a punter is and what punting means: A punter is someone who places a bet, usually on racing or sport, and Racing Victoria's glossary defines a punter simply as a person placing a bet.
What a spell means in horse racing: A spell is a break from racing between two preparations, and Racing Victoria's glossary sets the minimum at two months, or 60 days.
What TAB stands for in Australian betting: TAB stands for Totalisator Agency Board (in Queensland, Totalisator Administration Board): the boards Australian states set up from 1960 to run legal off-course betting on the tote.
What TABtouch is and how it differs from the TAB: TABtouch is Western Australia's TAB, run by Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA), a body set up under WA law, rather than by Tabcorp.
White label bookmaker meaning and shared betting platforms: A white label bookmaker is a betting brand that runs on another company's betting platform, which can supply its website, accounts, prices and risk tools.
Who owns TAB: Tabcorp and the state TAB companies: Outside Western Australia, Tabcorp runs the TAB brand (as at October 2026); its parent, Tabcorp Holdings Limited, was listed on the ASX on 15 August 1994, the ATO records.
Wide runner in greyhound racing: A wide runner is a greyhound that prefers to race off the rail, out from the field, and often moves further out on the bends.
Win bet meaning: how a win bet pays: A win bet pays only if your runner finishes first, so second, third or anywhere else returns nothing.
Win to nil in soccer betting: Win to nil means a team wins without conceding, so a bet on it needs a win and a clean sheet together.

Betting involves risk. Bookmakers can restrict or close accounts and void bets, automation can fail, prices move, and a positive expected value (+EV) bet can still lose. Promotions carry each bookmaker's own terms. There is no guarantee of profit. 18+ only. For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au. See responsible gambling for limits and support.

Betting glossary

What the words on a bet slip and an odds board actually mean. One page per term, in plain English, with the maths where a term has any.

A

All in betting: no refund when your selection does not start: All in means a bet stands whether or not your selection takes part, so a player, team or horse that never starts is a loss with no refund.
All up bet meaning in racing: An all up bet links two or more bets so the whole return from each leg becomes the stake on the next, and it pays only if every leg comes in.
American odds explained: American odds are built around $100: a plus number is the profit on a $100 stake, and a minus number is the stake needed to win $100.
Any other score in correct score betting: Any other score is the correct score selection that wins when the final score is none of the scores the market lists by name.
ATS in betting: what against the spread means: ATS means against the spread: a team's results counted against the line rather than as wins and losses, so 9-7-1 ATS is nine covers, seven misses and one push.
Average traded price on Betfair: The average traded price (ATP) on Betfair is the average of every price matched on a selection, weighted by the money matched at each price.

B

Back bet meaning at a bookmaker and on an exchange: A back bet is a bet that an outcome will happen, such as a runner winning or a team covering the line.
Back lay spread on a betting exchange: The back lay spread is the gap between the best price you can back at and the best price you can lay at on an exchange.
Back-to-backs in NBA betting: rest, travel and the second night: In NBA betting, a back-to-back is a team playing on consecutive days, and the second night is when rest decisions, fatigue and travel can move lines and player props.
Ballot in horse racing: who gets a start: A ballot decides which horses start when more accept for a race than its field limit allows, using an order of elimination the race's conditions set.
Bet slip meaning and how the slip works: A bet slip, also written betslip, is the panel on a bookmaker's site or app where a bet is put together and checked before you place it.
Bet token meaning in Australian betting accounts: A bet token is a promotion a bookmaker adds to your account as a credit you attach to a bet, such as a bonus bet, an odds boost or a saver, each with its own terms.
Betting drawdown and how to measure it: A betting drawdown is the fall in a bankroll from its highest point to the lowest point that follows, measured in dollars, units or a percentage of the peak.
Betting edge: how far a price beats the fair price: A betting edge is how far the price you take sits above the fair price for an outcome: edge = offered price / fair price - 1.
Big 6 bet: six winners on one tote ticket: A Big 6 bet is a tote bet on the winners of six races the operator nominates, which can be at one meeting or spread across several.
Black type meaning in thoroughbred racing: Black type is the bold print a thoroughbred sales catalogue gives to Group and Listed results, so buyers can see at a glance which horses in a pedigree reached that level.
Blinkers in horse racing and what first-time blinkers mean: Blinkers are cups on a horse's bridle that cut out much of its view behind it, so it focuses on what is in front of it.
Box seat in horse racing: one back on the fence: The box seat is the spot on the fence directly behind the leader, with a horse in front for cover and no ground lost on the turns.
Boxed bet meaning and what a box costs: A boxed bet is an exotic staked on every finishing order of the runners you pick, so they can fill the paid places in any order.
Breaking stride in harness racing: Breaking stride in harness racing is a pacer or trotter leaving its gait for a gallop; the harness rules call it breaking gait and require the driver to restore the correct gait at once (AHRR 154).
Brier score for betting forecasts: The Brier score measures probability forecasts: the average of (forecast - result) squared, where the result is 1 if the event happened and 0 if not.

C

Caught wide in horse racing and what it costs: A runner is caught wide when it races off the fence with no horse in front of it for cover, so it travels further on every turn and has no shelter.
Clean sheet betting explained: Clean sheet betting is a bet that a named team concedes no goals in the match.
Corporate bookmaker meaning in Australian betting: Corporate bookmakers, or corporates, are bookmaking companies that offer fixed odds online and by phone, each licensed by a state or territory authority that ACMA's register names.
Cross matching on Betfair: Cross matching on Betfair matches your bet against offers on other selections in the same market, not only against offers on your own selection.

D

DLS method: how rain-affected cricket targets are reset: The DLS method (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) is the ICC's system for setting a revised target, or naming a winner, when rain or bad light cuts the overs in a one-day or T20 match.
Double chance betting explained: Double chance is one bet on two of a match's three results: home or draw (1X), draw or away (X2), or home or away (12).
Drifter meaning in betting: A drifter is a runner or team whose price is lengthening, because the market now rates its chance lower than it did.
Duet bet: two runners in the first three: A duet bet is a tote bet that two runners you choose both finish in the first three, in either order.

E

Early quaddie meaning and how it differs from the main quaddie: An early quaddie is a second quaddie on a race card, run over four earlier races, and it pays only if your runners win all four legs.
Emergency runner in horse racing: An emergency runner is a reserve accepted for a race, which gets a start only if a horse in the field is scratched in time.
Even money meaning in betting: Even money is a price of $2.00 in decimal odds: a winning bet's profit equals its stake, so $15 comes back as $30.
Exotic bet meaning in horse racing: An exotic bet is a racing bet on more than one placing in a race, such as a trifecta, or on the winners of more than one race, such as a quaddie.
Expected goals (xG) in soccer betting: Expected goals (xG) adds up the scoring chances of a team's or player's shots, each judged against similar shots from the past.
Exposure meaning on Betfair and other exchanges: Exposure on Betfair is the most you can lose in one market once every bet you hold in it, backs and lays, is counted together.

F

Fall of first wicket betting: first-wicket lines, rules and conditions: A fall of first wicket bet is an over or under on a team's total, extras included, at the moment its first batter is dismissed in a named innings.
Favourite meaning in betting: The favourite is the selection with the shortest price in a market, the one the market rates most likely to win.
First five innings betting: how F5 baseball bets work: First five innings betting (F5) settles a baseball head to head, line or total on the score after five innings, whatever happens after that.
First split in greyhound racing: A first split is a greyhound's time from the release of the starting boxes to a race's first timing point, the usual measure of early speed.
Fixed odds meaning in betting: Fixed odds means the price is agreed when the bookmaker accepts your bet, so the return is known before the result: return = stake x odds.
Follow-on in cricket: the rule, the lead needed and follow-on markets: The follow-on lets the side that batted first, once it leads by enough on first innings, make its opponent bat again straight away.
Fractional odds explained: Fractional odds show the profit a winning bet makes against the stake: the first number is what you win, the second what you stake.
Free for all race in greyhound and harness racing: A free for all (FFA) is a race for the best runners: in greyhound racing it usually groups the top grades in one race rather than forming a grade of its own, and in harness racing it has no National Rating cap.

G

Gambler's fallacy and the hot hand in betting: The gambler's fallacy is the belief that a result is due because it has not happened lately, such as a winner after a run of losses.
Gate speed in harness racing: Gate speed in harness racing is a horse's early acceleration off the mobile barrier, shown by the ground it claims in the first 200 m or so; a horse that has it is a fast beginner.

H

Harville formula for place and exotic probabilities: The Harville formula estimates the chance of every finishing order in a race from the runners' win chances alone.
Hopples in harness racing: Hopples are straps that join a horse's front and hind legs on the same side, helping a pacer hold its lateral gait at racing speed.

J

Jockey challenge betting: Jockey challenge betting is a fixed-odds bet on which jockey scores the most points across a race meeting or a carnival, from winning and placed rides.

K

Kill switch on a betting bot: A kill switch on a betting bot is one control that stops every automated session at once, so no new bet is sent until you start them again.
KO vs TKO: knockouts, technical knockouts and how bets settle: A KO ends a fight because strikes leave a fighter unable to intelligently defend themselves, while a TKO is a stoppage by the referee, the ringside doctor or the corner before that point.

L

Lapsed bet meaning and what happens to your money: A lapsed bet is an unmatched exchange bet, or the unmatched part of one, that is cancelled automatically at the jump or when a suspension triggers the exchange's rules.
Last traded price on Betfair: The last traded price (LTP) is the price at which the most recent bet on a selection was matched on an exchange such as Betfair.
Late scratching meaning in horse racing: A late scratching is a runner withdrawn after the race-morning deadline for scratchings, up to the start, sometimes at the barriers; RWWA's own fixed-odds rules count any withdrawal after final fields.
Latency in betting and odds delay: Latency in betting is the delay between a price changing at the bookmaker and you, or your software, seeing that change and acting on it.
Lead time in harness racing: Lead time in harness racing is the time from the start until the leader reaches the start of the final mile, so it exists only in races longer than 1,609 m.
Leg meaning in betting: one selection in a multi, SGM or quaddie: A leg is one selection inside a bet that combines several, such as one game in a multi, one outcome in a same game multi or one race in a quaddie.
Liability in betting and what a lay bet can cost: Liability in betting is the amount a lay bet loses if the selection wins: the lay stake multiplied by (the lay odds minus 1).
Liquidity in betting exchange markets: Liquidity in betting is how much money is waiting to be matched at each price on an exchange: the offers a back or lay bet can be matched against right now.

M

Machine learning in betting and how to test a model: Machine learning in betting is a model that learns its own rules from past results and data and outputs a probability for each outcome, which converts to a fair price.
Make the cut golf betting: the cut line and how bets settle: Make the cut golf betting is a yes or no bet on whether a golfer qualifies for the final two rounds at the 36-hole cut.
Market makers in betting: A market maker in betting quotes prices on both sides of a market: on an exchange, offers to back and to lay one selection; among bookmakers, its own prices that others copy.
Market suspended meaning in betting: Market suspended means a betting market is closed to new bets for now: prices may still show, but nothing can be placed or matched until it reopens.
Match rating in matched betting, with commission: A match rating compares a bookmaker's back price with an exchange's lay price for the same selection, as a percentage: back odds / lay odds x 100.
Max bet meaning and why your maximum stake changes: A max bet is the largest stake a bookmaker will accept from your account on one selection, at the current price, at that moment.
Method of dismissal betting: how a batter will be out: A method of dismissal bet picks how a named batter, or a team's first wicket, will fall: caught, bowled, lbw, run out, stumped or a rarer way in the Laws of Cricket.
Mile rate in harness racing: A mile rate in harness racing is a race time restated as the time for one mile, 1,609.344 m, at the same average speed, so runs over different distances can be compared.
Minimum odds requirement for a bonus bet or promotion: A minimum odds requirement is the shortest price a bet can carry and still count for a promotion: for example, a bonus bet with a $1.80 minimum cannot go on a selection shorter than $1.80.

N

No contest meaning in UFC and boxing betting: A no contest is a fight that ends with no winner and no loser: usually it was stopped by an accidental foul before enough was complete to decide it, and a regulator can also change a finished result to one.
No race in greyhound racing: A no race is a greyhound race the Stewards declare null and void, so none of its placings stand.
No result in cricket: minimum overs and what happens to your bets: A no result is a one-day or T20 match that ends without a winner because rain, bad light or another stoppage left too few overs for a result.
NRFI betting: no run first inning bets and YRFI: NRFI betting backs neither team to score in the first inning of a baseball game, while YRFI backs at least one run in either half of it.
NSW Official Price (NOP) explained: The NSW Official Price (NOP) is the official price service for NSW TAB race meetings, introduced by Racing NSW in May 2017.

O

Odds against meaning in betting: Odds against means a price longer than even money, which is anything over $2.00 in decimal odds, so a winning bet profits more than its stake.
Odds-on meaning in betting: Odds-on means a price shorter than even money: under $2.00 in decimal odds, so a winning bet makes less profit than it stakes.
One legged arb: when one side of an arbitrage fails: A one legged arb is an arbitrage where one bet is placed but the covering bet is refused, cut, missed at its price or voided later, leaving an ordinary open bet.
One out one back in harness racing: One out one back is the harness racing position one horse off the pegs, directly behind the horse parked outside the leader; it is often shortened to the one-one.
Opening partnership betting: stand lines, head to heads and retirement rules: An opening partnership bet is on the runs a team's two openers add together, extras included, before the first wicket falls or the stand otherwise ends.
Opening price in horse racing: An opening price is the first price a bookmaker posts for a runner when it opens its market on a race, and the first point on the runner's flucs.
Opt-in promotion meaning for betting offers: An opt-in promotion is an offer that applies only after you actively join it, usually with an opt-in button on the offer in your account, before you place the bet.
Overlay meaning in betting: An overlay is a price longer than the fair price for a selection, so a bet at that price returns more than its chance is worth on average.
Own goal betting rules: An own goal counts on the scoreboard for the other side but, under the common rule, for no goalscorer.

P

Palpable error meaning in betting: A palpable error is a price, line or market so plainly wrong that the bookmaker's terms let it void the bet or settle it at the price it meant to offer.
Paper betting and what it can prove: Paper betting is recording the bets a method would make, with the time, the price on offer and the stake, without placing any of them.
Photo finish in horse racing: A photo finish is a finish too close to call by eye, decided by the Judge from the finish camera's image, with each horse placed by its nose (AR 214).
PK in betting: what a pick'em line means: PK means pick'em: a line of 0, so neither team gets a points start and a bet on either side needs that team to win outright.
Plunge in horse racing: A plunge is a rush of money for one runner that drives its price sharply shorter, often in the last stretch before the jump.
Power method devig explained: The power method removes a bookmaker's margin by raising every implied chance in a market to the same power, k, chosen so the fair chances add up to exactly 100%.
Powerplay in cricket: the fielding-restriction overs and powerplay runs bets: A powerplay is a block of overs in a limited-overs innings with a cap on fielders outside the 30-yard circle: two in the opening powerplay, then four and five in an ODI's second and third.
PRA in betting: points, rebounds and assists as one prop: PRA adds a player's points, rebounds and assists into a single total that you back over or under a line: 19 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists make a PRA of 32.
Price floor in betting automation: A price floor is the lowest price at which an automated or API bet may go on: if the price has fallen below it when the bet arrives, the bet is skipped.
Price improvement on Betfair: Price improvement on Betfair means your bet is matched at a better price than the one you asked for, because a better offer was already waiting.
Protest payout meaning in horse racing betting: A protest payout is a racing promotion that pays a bet on the horse first past the post as a winner even if it loses the race on protest, while bets on the horse promoted to first are paid too.
Push meaning in betting: when a result lands on the number: A push is a result exactly on the line or total you bet, such as a 4-point win on a -4 line, so the bet neither wins nor loses and the usual rule type refunds the stake.

Q

Qualifying bet meaning in Australian betting promotions: A qualifying bet is the bet a promotion's terms require before the bookmaker pays the reward, such as a stake refund or a bonus bet, and it is usually placed with your own cash.
Qualifying loss meaning in matched betting: A qualifying loss, or QL, is the amount you expect to lose when you back a qualifying bet at a bookmaker and lay the same selection on an exchange to cover it.

R

Railer in greyhound racing: A railer is a greyhound that races on or close to the inside rail and holds that line through the bends instead of drifting off it.
Rated price meaning in racing and betting: A rated price is the price you give a runner from your own ratings: 1 / the win chance you assess, with no bookmaker margin added.
Regression to the mean in betting: Regression to the mean is the tendency for an extreme result to be followed by a more ordinary one, because part of the extreme result was luck that does not repeat.
Reserve greyhound meaning and when a reserve runs: A reserve greyhound is a dog named with a race's field that runs only if one of the drawn dogs is scratched by the appointed scratching time.
Reverse line movement in betting: Reverse line movement is a line or price that moves the opposite way to the weight of bets: the side most bets are on gets a better line or price.
Roughie meaning in horse racing: A roughie is Australian racing slang for a runner at long odds, one the market rates unlikely to win; longshot is the general word for any long-priced selection in racing or sport.
Run home time in greyhound racing: Run home time is a greyhound's time from a race's last timing point to the finish, worked out as its finishing time minus its time at that point.

S

Scorecast betting explained: A scorecast is one bet on the first goalscorer and the final correct score, and both must be right for it to pay.
Set weights races and set weights plus penalties: In a set weights race the conditions fix each runner's weight in advance, from rules such as age and sex, so no handicapper weighs the form and the best horse carries no extra.
Sharp money meaning in betting: Sharp money is money from punters the market treats as well informed, judged by a record of taking prices that beat the closing price.
Shin method for de-vigging betting odds: The Shin method strips the bookmaker's margin from a market by treating a small share of the money as coming from insiders who already know the result.
Slippage in betting: Slippage in betting is the difference between the price you expected and the price your bet was actually placed or matched at.
Stake factoring and how it cuts your maximum stake: Stake factoring is a bookmaker setting how much of its standard limit one account may bet, as a percentage or multiplier applied to that limit.
Stake not returned meaning for bonus bets: Stake not returned (SNR) means a winning bet pays its winnings but not its stake, which is how a bonus bet normally settles in Australia.
Standard deviation in betting results: In betting, standard deviation measures how far the result of a run of bets typically lands from its expected value.
Standardbred horses in harness racing: A standardbred is the breed used in harness racing; under the Australian Harness Racing Rules it is a horse by a registered standardbred sire out of a registered standardbred dam.
Steam move in betting: A steam move is a price that shortens sharply and fast across most bookmakers and the exchange at once, after news or a burst of money the market trusts.
Stewards inquiry in horse racing: A stewards' inquiry is an investigation by the race-day Stewards into an incident in a race or any other matter connected with racing, under their powers in AR 20 and AR 22.
Stoppage time in soccer betting: Stoppage time counts in soccer betting: markets settled on 90 minutes include every goal scored in the time added to each half.
Super over: cricket's tie-breaker and what it means for your bet: A super over is cricket's tie-breaker: when a one-day or T20 international ends level, each side bats one six-ball over and the side scoring more runs wins.
Survivorship bias in betting: Survivorship bias is judging a betting method by the records still standing, while the ones that failed, closed or were quietly dropped stay out of view.

T

TAB One Pool and Tabcorp's national tote: TAB One Pool is Tabcorp's national pool, reported under the name One Pool: Tabcorp has moved its tote pools to a single national pool (reported from October 2026).
Take SP meaning on a betting exchange: Take SP is an exchange setting that turns any unmatched part of your bet into a bet at the starting price when the market reaches the jump, instead of cancelling it.
Teaser bet: a multi with every line moved your way: A teaser bet is a multi on lines or totals in which every leg moves the same number of points your way, and the whole bet pays less than the legs would at their main lines.
The death seat in harness racing: The death seat in harness racing is the spot one wide and outside the leader, with no horse in front to give cover; a horse there is said to be sitting parked.
The last half in harness racing: The last half in harness racing is the time for the final 800 m or so of a race: the third and fourth quarters of the last mile added together, printed in bold in Harness Racing Australia form lines.
The law of large numbers in betting: The law of large numbers says the average result of many independent bets settles towards its expected value as the number of bets grows.
The penetrometer in horse racing and how it feeds a track rating: A penetrometer measures how far a rod can be driven into the turf: the Brisbane Racing Club's instrument drops a 1kg weight 1 metre down a shaft onto a 1cm square rod.
The racehorse birthday in Australia and why it is 1 August: Every Australian thoroughbred turns a year older on 1 August, because AR 161 of the Australian Rules of Racing reckons a horse's age from that date, not its foaling day.
The sprint lane in harness racing: A sprint lane in harness racing is an extra lane on the inside of the home straight, just before the winning post, that gives horses racing on the pegs a way out.
Tipster meaning in betting: A tipster is a person or service that publishes betting selections for other people to follow, either free or for a fee.
Tissue price meaning in betting: A tissue price is a draft price drawn for a runner or team before its market opens and before any money has been bet; the tissue is the full set for the field.
Topweight in horse racing and the limit weight below it: The topweight is the runner allotted the most weight in a handicap, normally the one the handicapper rates highest, and the limit weight is the race's minimum.
Total matched on Betfair and what it means: Total matched on Betfair is the money already traded in a market, shown for the whole market and for each runner.
Tote minimum dividend: A tote minimum dividend is the least a winning tote bet pays, with a few exceptions: 104% of the unit staked, shown as $1.04 per $1, under Queensland's Wagering Rule and the tote rules gazetted in WA in 2010.
Triple-double bets: what counts, double-doubles and overtime: A triple double bet is a yes or no bet on an NBA player reaching 10 or more in three of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in one game.
Turnover meaning in betting: Turnover in betting is the total amount staked over a period, counted on every bet whether it wins or loses, so it measures how much you bet rather than how you went.

U

Underlay meaning in betting: An underlay is a price shorter than a selection's fair price: the bookmaker pays less than the chance is worth, so the bet loses money on average even when it wins often.

V

Vacant box in greyhound racing: A vacant box is a starting box with no greyhound in it, left empty by a short field at the box draw or by a scratching that no reserve could fill.
Void bet meaning: when a bet is cancelled and the stake refunded: A void bet is cancelled and settled as if it was never placed: the stake comes back and nothing is won or lost.

W

Walkover meaning in tennis and esports betting: A walkover is a win awarded without the match being played, because the opponent withdrew before it started or was not allowed to play.
Weight of money on a betting exchange: Weight of money compares the money waiting to be matched on each side of an exchange market, usually over the best three back and best three lay prices.
What .5 means in betting: the half-point line: The .5 in betting is half a point on a line or total: no game ends on half a point, so a bet at -6.5 or over 160.5 always has a winning and a losing side and never pushes.
What a betting algorithm is and what it can do: A betting algorithm is a fixed set of rules that turns data or prices into a betting decision: which bet, at what price and for how much.
What a bookmaker is and what a bookie does: A bookmaker is a person or business that sets fixed odds on a race, game or event, takes bets at those prices and pays winners from its own funds.
What a maiden race is and how to bet on one: A maiden race is restricted to horses that have never won a flat race at a registered meeting or any advertised race in any country, as Schedule 4 of the Australian Rules of Racing defines it.
What a punter is and what punting means: A punter is someone who places a bet, usually on racing or sport, and Racing Victoria's glossary defines a punter simply as a person placing a bet.
What a spell means in horse racing: A spell is a break from racing between two preparations, and Racing Victoria's glossary sets the minimum at two months, or 60 days.
What TAB stands for in Australian betting: TAB stands for Totalisator Agency Board (in Queensland, Totalisator Administration Board): the boards Australian states set up from 1960 to run legal off-course betting on the tote.
What TABtouch is and how it differs from the TAB: TABtouch is Western Australia's TAB, run by Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA), a body set up under WA law, rather than by Tabcorp.
White label bookmaker meaning and shared betting platforms: A white label bookmaker is a betting brand that runs on another company's betting platform, which can supply its website, accounts, prices and risk tools.
Who owns TAB: Tabcorp and the state TAB companies: Outside Western Australia, Tabcorp runs the TAB brand (as at October 2026); its parent, Tabcorp Holdings Limited, was listed on the ASX on 15 August 1994, the ATO records.
Wide runner in greyhound racing: A wide runner is a greyhound that prefers to race off the rail, out from the field, and often moves further out on the bends.
Win bet meaning: how a win bet pays: A win bet pays only if your runner finishes first, so second, third or anywhere else returns nothing.
Win to nil in soccer betting: Win to nil means a team wins without conceding, so a bet on it needs a win and a clean sheet together.