Knowledge Base
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terminology used across Football Insights.
- American Odds
- Odds expressed as a plus or minus number; plus shows profit on a 100-unit bet, minus shows how much you must bet to win 100.
- Arbitrage
- Betting on all possible outcomes of an event across different bookmakers to guarantee a profit.
- Asian Handicap
- A handicap given to a team to level the playing field, often using quarter‑goal increments to eliminate draws.
- Bankroll
- The total amount of money you have set aside for betting.
- Both Teams To Score
- A bet on whether each side will score at least one goal during the match.
- Cash Out
- A feature that lets you settle your bet before the match ends, locking in a profit or limiting a loss.
- Correct Score
- A bet that requires you to predict the exact final score of a match.
- Decimal Odds
- A way to display odds as a single number that includes your stake; multiply your bet by this number to get total payout.
- Double Chance
- A bet that covers two of the three possible outcomes in a match, increasing your chance of winning.
- Draw No Bet
- A bet that refunds your stake if the match ends in a draw, leaving only a win for either team.
- Edge
- An advantage you have over the bookmaker, often calculated from better knowledge or odds.
- First Goalscorer
- A bet on which player will score the first goal in the match.
- Fractional Odds
- Odds shown as a fraction, such as 3/1, where the numerator is profit and denominator is stake.
- Free Bet
- A bet credited by a bookmaker that you can use without risking your own money, usually with certain conditions.
- In-Play Betting
- Placing bets after the match has started, with odds that update as the game unfolds.
- Juice
- The commission a bookmaker charges on a bet, reflected in the odds.
- Kelly Criterion
- A mathematical formula that calculates the optimal size of a bet based on your edge and odds.
- Line Movement
- The change in odds or handicap lines over time, often caused by betting volume or new information.
- Odds
- The price that tells you how much you can win if your bet wins, shown as numbers like 2.50 or 5/2.
- Over/Under
- A bet on whether the total number of goals in a match will be higher or lower than a set line.
- Parlay
- A single bet that links two or more selections; all must win for the bet to pay out, giving higher odds but higher risk.
- Pre-Match Betting
- Placing bets before the match begins, based on the starting odds.
- Stake
- The amount of money you risk on a bet.
- System Bet
- A bet that covers multiple combinations of selections, allowing you to win even if some of your picks lose.
- Value Bet
- A bet where the odds offered are higher than the true probability of the outcome, giving you an edge.