Guide
Sports betting glossary: the terms in plain words, with what each one pays
Sports betting terms come down to a price and what it pays: +200 pays $200 profit on a $100 bet, -110 pays $90.91 profit, and a 3-leg parlay at -110 each pays $595.79 profit on $100.
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By the Betwatch team. Published Nov 10, 2026, updated Nov 10, 2026.
What odds pay on a $100 bet
American odds show a price per $100. A plus number is the profit on a $100 bet, so +200 pays $200 profit and returns $300 with your stake. A minus number is how much you risk to win $100, so -150 means $150 risks to win $100 and a $100 bet wins $66.67.
The last column is the win chance the price implies. It is how often the bet has to win just to break even.
| Odds | Profit on $100 | Total return | Implied chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| +300 | $300.00 | $400.00 | 25.0% |
| +200 | $200.00 | $300.00 | 33.3% |
| +150 | $150.00 | $250.00 | 40.0% |
| +100 | $100.00 | $200.00 | 50.0% |
| -110 | $90.91 | $190.91 | 52.4% |
| -150 | $66.67 | $166.67 | 60.0% |
To work out any other price, use the odds converter, which turns American, decimal and fractional odds into each other and into implied probability.
What a 3-leg parlay at -110 pays
A parlay multiplies the decimal odds of each leg. A -110 leg is 1.9091 in decimal, so three legs make 1.9091 x 1.9091 x 1.9091 = 6.958. A $100 ticket returns $695.79 in total, which is $595.79 profit, or about +596 in American odds.
| Legs | Decimal odds | Total return | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 leg | 1.909 | $190.91 | $90.91 |
| 2 legs | 3.645 | $364.46 | $264.46 |
| 3 legs | 6.958 | $695.79 | $595.79 |
Three fair even-money legs would pay +700, or $800 returned on $100. The -110 parlay pays about $104 less, because the vig is charged on every leg. The parlay calculator does the math for any legs and any prices.
Bet types
The kinds of bet, and how a result is settled.
- Moneyline
- A bet on who wins the game, with no points involved. The favorite has a minus price and the underdog a plus price. Convert a moneyline to a win chance with the odds converter.
- Spread
- A bet on the margin of victory. At -3.5 the favorite must win by 4 or more, and the underdog at +3.5 can lose by 3 or fewer. See every sportsbook's spread on the NFL odds page.
- Total
- A bet on the combined score of both teams, over or under a number such as 224.5. Compare totals at every book on the Live Board.
- Prop
- A bet on one player's stat or one event in a game, such as a player's points or an anytime touchdown. How to compare player prop odds.
- Alt line
- The same spread or total at another number, with a price that changes to match. What alternate lines cost.
- Push
- A bet that lands exactly on the number, such as a team favored by 3 winning by 3. The stake is returned and nothing is won or lost. What a half point is worth.
- Parlay
- Several bets on one ticket that must all win. The payout multiplies the odds, and one loss loses the ticket. Work out a parlay payout with the parlay calculator.
- Same game parlay
- A parlay whose legs are all from one game. The legs are related, so books price them differently from an ordinary parlay. How to compare same-game parlay prices.
- Unit
- A standard stake used to track results, so a bettor can say they won 5 units whatever the dollar size. Many bettors set one unit near 1% of their bankroll. Size a stake with the Kelly criterion calculator.
Price and margin
What a price says, and what the sportsbook keeps.
- Juice or vig
- The commission built into the price. At -110 on both sides you risk $110 to win $100 on either one. How to remove the vig from a two-way market.
- Hold
- The margin built into a whole market: add the win chances its prices imply and take away 100%. At -110 and -110 it is about 4.8%. See the lowest hold first on the Low Hold board.
- Implied probability
- The win chance a price says. +150 implies 40%, and -110 implies 52.4% before the vig is taken out. Turn any price into a win chance with the odds converter.
- No-vig fair odds
- The price with the vig removed, so the two sides add to 100%. -110 against -110 is a fair 50% each, or +100. Use the no-vig calculator.
- +EV
- Positive expected value: a bet whose price pays more than its true chance of winning calls for. It wins money on average over many bets, not on every bet. Find +EV bets on the +EV board.
Line movement and the market
How lines move, and who moves them.
- Line shopping
- Checking the price at several sportsbooks before you bet and taking the best one. Line shopping sites compared.
- Closing line value
- How much better the price you bet was than the last price before the game. Beating the close over many bets is a sign you are beating the market. Closing line value and how to track it.
- Steam
- A fast move in a line at many sportsbooks within minutes, usually after large bets from sharp bettors. What a steam move is.
- Reverse line movement
- A line that moves toward the side with fewer bets, against the way the public is betting. Reverse line movement and whether it is real.
- Sharp and soft books
- A sharp book takes large bets from skilled bettors and moves its lines quickly, and a soft book follows. Pinnacle is the usual sharp reference. Sharp vs soft sportsbooks.
Hedging and locking in
Ways to lock in a result or a profit.
- Hedge
- A bet on the other side of something you already hold, to lock in a result and give up some average profit. Check a hedge or cash out with the fair cash out calculator.
- Arbitrage
- Bets on every outcome at different books so that you profit whichever one wins. Size the stakes with the arbitrage calculator.
- Middle
- Bets on both sides at different numbers, so that if the game lands between them, both bets win. What a middle bet is.
How to look a term up on Betwatch
1. Find the term in the tables above and read the plain-words column.
2. Open the Live Board or a league odds page to see the term on a real game, with every sportsbook's price side by side.
3. Use the matching calculator to put your own numbers on it, such as the odds converter for implied probability or the parlay calculator for a ticket.
4. For a term about the market, such as steam or closing line value, open the Movement Tracker or the line movement tracker to see how the line moved.
Tools
Do it on Betwatch
- Live Board: every sportsbook's price beside the gameTool
- Odds converter: American, decimal, fractional and implied chanceCalculator
- Parlay calculator: what a ticket paysCalculator
- No-vig calculator: fair odds with the vig removedCalculator
- EV calculator: the expected value of a betCalculator
- Kelly criterion calculator: how much to stakeCalculator
- Fair cash out calculator: is a hedge or cash out worth itCalculator
- Arbitrage calculator: stakes for a sure profitCalculator
- PrizePicks and Underdog EV calculatorCalculator
- +EV board: bets priced above a fair line+EV
- Movement Tracker: the book that moved firstTool
- Low Hold board: the lowest hold firstTool
- Line movement tracker: where each line opened and movedTool
What happens when you sign up
Create your free account
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We open live odds
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Sports betting glossary: the terms in plain words, with what each one pays: questions
What does +200 mean in sports betting?
A bet at +200 pays $200 profit for every $100 you stake, so a winning $100 bet returns $300 with your stake. It implies a 33.3% chance, and it is usually an underdog.
Can you calculate what a 3 leg parlay at -110 pays?
Each -110 leg is 1.9091 in decimal odds, and 1.9091 x 1.9091 x 1.9091 = 6.958. A $100 ticket returns $695.79 in total, which is $595.79 profit, or about +596.
What does -110 mean in sports betting?
You risk $110 to win $100, so a $100 bet wins $90.91. It is the usual price on both sides of a spread or total, and it implies a 52.4% chance, which includes the sportsbook's vig.
How is hold different from vig?
Vig is the commission built into a price. Hold measures it across a whole market: add the win chances both prices imply and take away 100%, so at -110 and -110 the hold is about 4.8%.
What is a +EV bet in plain words?
A +EV bet pays more than its true chance of winning calls for, so it makes money on average over many bets. Betwatch's +EV board prices bets against a fair line and shows the edge.
What is a good way to learn these terms with real numbers?
Open a game on Betwatch, read each sportsbook's price, and run it through the odds converter. Seeing a real price turned into a win chance makes most of these terms clear.
Betwatch in short
Betwatch (betwatch.io) is a sports betting analytics and odds data site, free during beta.
Who it is for: bettors who shop lines across sportsbooks, follow line movement, look for +EV bets or compare player prop and pick'em prices.
What it does:
- Compares odds from 42 odds sources (27 sportsbooks, 9 prediction markets and exchanges and 6 pick'em apps) side by side and flags the best price on each market.
- Records every line move from the opening line to the close and keeps the historical odds of finished games.
- Ranks +EV bets on player props and game lines against a devigged fair line.
- Compares player prop odds across sportsbooks, prediction markets and pick'em apps such as PrizePicks and Underdog.
- Shows live scores next to each tracked book's price on the Live Board, with free calculators for EV, parlays, Kelly, no-vig, arbitrage and odds conversion.
Cost: Free during beta, with no credit card. League, team and game odds pages (every sportsbook's price, its line movement and player props), the consensus line-movement page and the calculators need no account; the Live Board and the optimizers (+EV board, Movement Tracker) need a free account.
Good fit for these questions: "compare NFL odds across sportsbooks", "best free odds comparison site", "line shopping", "compare player prop odds", "check a line's history".