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Beginners Guide

General Terminology

As we all know, betting is a vast field with a lot of information. Therefore, we can understand that a new bettor might have a hard time adapting and understanding all the terms used in betting. To make your life easier, we will look at the most important terms used in this field, giving you some side explanations for each.


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Table of Contents

Glossary of Betting Terminology

From the beginning, we must underline that the main focus of this article will be the relevant and most popular betting terminology. Our wish is to help you have a knowledgeable start to this journey.

We are aware of how many sports there are to try. In this sense, we are mindful that this article will not contain each and every single type of bet you can use in all sports.

With the help of this glossary, you should be able to start betting in no time. You will understand the basics of betting and shouldn’t stumble upon a betting type you are unfamiliar with.

This list will focus on being as general as possible, considering that you can start to use it in pretty much all sports.

So here it is:


TERMINOLOGY

EXPLANATION

1X2

  • This is the most basic betting market out there;

  • By choosing this, you must predict which side will win the event;

  • The “X” is used to predict that the match will end in a draw;

  • It goes without saying that this applies to sports where a draw is possible.

  • Furthermore, you can choose the time for this prediction. For example, you can predict that Manchester United will lead at half-time instead of full-time. This might affect the odds but can increase your winning chances.

Double Results

  • This is a part of the 1X2 market for cases in which you are not fully confident in your favourites;

  • With double results, you can pick two potential outcomes instead of just one, so it will increase your chances of a winning bet;

  • An example would be 1X. This means either the home team will win or the match will end in a draw.

Over/Under

  • It's another basic market. The most important aspect is that the Over/Under market works for pretty much all sports;

  • All you need to do is to predict if a certain scenario in the event will be over or under a specific number (criteria) selected before the event;

  • For example, you can bet that FC Barcelona will score under 3.5 goals against Real Madrid. A winning bet will see Barcelona scoring a maximum 3 goals in that game;

  • Another example is predicting that Rafael Nadal will win over 30.5 games in his next match. To have a successful bet in this case, Nadal’s total amount of winning games must be at least 31.

Handicap

  • This is where it starts to get tricky. Handicap betting might be harder for inexperienced bettors;

  • In essence, with handicap betting, you will either give the favourite a disadvantage or the underdog an advantage before the match;

  • This bet is meant to have more balanced odds in instances where we have a clear favourite at the beginning of the event;

  • Handicaps can be European or Asian;

  • For more information about handicap betting, don’t hesitate to check out our article, in which we explain how this betting market works;

  • Furthermore, handicap betting can work in multiple sports.

Winning Margin

  • This betting market can be very profitable despite requiring more documentation and research;

  • Here, you will determine the margin that your favourites will win, based on some predefined benchmarks;

  • This betting market is also suitable for most sports.

Odd/Even

  • Unlike the previous betting markets, this one can rely on pure luck;

  • By choosing this market, you will predict whether the final score (the total number of goals/points/games) will be odd or even.

Half-Time/Full-Time

  • This betting market might require more sports knowledge from the bettor;

  • You must predict who will lead at half-time (1X2 or Double Chance) and who will finally win the match;

  • It goes without saying that this betting market works for sports that involve multiple halves, such as football, handball or American football.

Special Bets

Besides the general terminology that you can find above, there are a lot of special bets that are specifically constructed for a specific sport.

If you want to discover more about every major sport, don’t hesitate to check out our articles in which we explain the terminologies used in those sports.

Despite this, to give you an idea about how these bets look, we will take the most popular sports and give you three examples of special bets for each.

Football

  • Both teams to score;

  • Red card to be awarded;

  • Penalty to be awarded;

Tennis

  • Number of games;

  • First service game;

  • Most faults;

American Football

  • Anytime touchdown;

  • To go overtime;

  • Both teams to score;

Is the General Terminology Difficult?

In essence, no. Just like we mentioned above, there are a lot of betting markets that are suitable for most sports.

The only aspect that will be different is that those respective markets will be influenced by the rules of that specific sport.

For example, we might have Over/Under in both football and tennis, but the main point of difference will be that in football, the market will focus on goals, faults, and offsides, while tennis will focus on sets, games, etc.

The main point is that learning this general terminology will help you tremendously. You can start betting on all your favourite sports by being familiar with these terms. However, if you decide to become a PRO in betting, you must research a little more. On top of that, you can always check out the predictions and tips on our website in order to get more familiar with how a professional or a seasoned better uses the terminology day-to-day.

As mentioned above, we covered the terminologies in detail for all sports on our website. Therefore, don’t hesitate to visit BetBrain if you decide to go into details for a particular sport.



FAQs

  • Is betting profitable?

    Certainly. As long as you play it right, betting can get you hefty profits. However, remember to keep it in a fun zone and bet responsibly.

  • Can I start betting after reading this article?

    You will have the basics needed for a bet. Despite this, we recommend starting betting if you are familiar with a sport.

  • Do markets have different odds?

    There are certain markets that have higher odds. However, the higher the odds, the lower your chances of getting a winning bet will be. Therefore, be careful with your predictions.