Beginner Guide
Betting Terms Glossary
Every acronym, market and industry word we use across the site — explained in plain English.
- Accumulator (Acca)
- A single bet combining multiple selections. All must win for the bet to pay out.
- Ante-post
- A bet placed well before an event (e.g. Grand National winner months in advance).
- Bet Builder
- A single-game bet combining multiple markets — e.g. Team A win + BTTS + Over 2.5 goals.
- Best Odds Guaranteed (BOG)
- If you back a horse at a price that then drifts, the bookmaker pays you at the starting price if it's bigger.
- Cash Out
- Settle a bet before the event ends for a smaller guaranteed return, based on current market price.
- Each-Way
- A double bet — one on the selection to win, one on it to place. Common in racing.
- Exchange
- A platform where users bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker. You can back or lay any selection.
- Handicap
- A market that gives one side a virtual head-start (or deficit) to level the odds.
- In-play / Live betting
- Betting after an event has started, with prices moving in real time.
- Lay bet
- A bet that a selection will NOT win. Only available on exchanges.
- Lucky 15
- A full combination bet across 4 selections — 15 bets in total (4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, 1 four-fold).
- Nap
- A tipster's strongest selection of the day.
- Odds-on
- A price shorter than evens (e.g. 1/2). You risk more than you'd win.
- Place terms
- How an each-way place pays — 1/4 or 1/5 of the win odds, over a set number of places.
- Push
- A tied bet, where stakes are returned.
- Rollover / Wagering
- The number of times a bonus must be bet through before winnings can be withdrawn.
- Starting Price (SP)
- The official price at the moment an event starts.
- Void bet
- A bet that's cancelled and refunded — for example, if a player is a late scratch.