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| Scalper |
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A person who attempts to profit from the differences in odds from book to book by betting both sides of the same game at different prices.
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| Scalping |
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Selling tickets to a contest at a price above their face value.
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| Score |
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To win a lot of money.
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| Scouts |
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Person(s) who study team plays and/or practice and report findings to handicappers.
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| Scratch |
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To call off a wager. Withdraw, cancel a bet.
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| Scsa |
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Supreme Council of Sports in Africa.
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| Second Half Wager |
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A wager placed on the third and fourth quarters of a game. (This includes any potential overtime).
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| Selections |
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The horses selected by a knowledgeable person (tipster) to have the most likely chance of finishing in first, second and third place. This may also refer to a person's own selections - the horses they have chosen to back.
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| Set Betting |
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A wager that involves correctly predicting the final set score of a game.
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| Set the Board |
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When a bookmaker completes the information shown on the betting board, by listing each runner in a race and their respective odds, he or she is referred to as having set the board.
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| Sharp |
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A sophisticated or professional sports bettor
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| Shaving Points |
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The act of one or more participants in a contest manipulating the outcome of a game so that the final score does not cover the spread.
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| Shill |
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A person employed by the casino as a game starter.
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| Shoe |
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Name given to the box in which the dealer places the freshly shuffled cards. Each hand is then dealt from the shoe.
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| Shooter |
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The person rolling the dice.
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| Short Price |
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Low odds, meaning a punter will get little return for their initial outlay.
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| Shorten |
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When the odds of a horse decrease, usually because a lot of money has been wagered on that horse. A shortener is a horse which opens at a specific price at the start of betting, and is at a lower price when betting closes.
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| Show |
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A horse racing bet in which you collect if the horse finishes first, second or third.
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| Side |
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To win one side and tie the other. For example, if you lay -2 1/2 and take 3 on the same game and the favorite wins by 3 you have sided the book. The book has been sided.
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| Side Bet |
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Side bet is one of the most common forms of sports betting: The bettor picks which team will win the game. For football, basketball, or hockey there will generally be a point spread as part of the bet. If the favorite is chosen then the points are subtracted from the final score and if the underdog is chosen the points are added to the final score.
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| Sides |
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The names of the two teams playing: the underdog and the favorite.
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| Single |
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The most common and simplest kind of bet. A single wager on an event. The single can be win, each way, or win and place. See relevant terms.
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| Single Action |
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An "if bet" that is processed only if the precedent bet wins.
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| Skim |
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The cash siphoned off from an operation before it is reported.
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| Smart Money |
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Sides that are bet on by the more knowledgeable handicappers.
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| Soft Hand |
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Any blackjack hand that contains an ace valued at eleven. Stand: To not take any more cards.
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| Soft Line |
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A wagering line that is not current with the true posted line. A line that has been adjusted or moved as a result of action and does not reflect the true line as posted.
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| Souts |
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Person(s) who study team plays and/or practice and report findings to handicappers.
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| Spike Mike |
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An illegal electronic surveillance device.
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| Sport Book |
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A collection of all the bets taken on a fixed odds betting event.
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| Sport Player |
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A person who waits for what he thinks is an unusually strong wager.
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| Spread |
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An abbreviated form of point spread. Odds makers need a way of making even bets possible. They assign a point advantage to a weaker team that is expected to lose by a certain number of points. If you bet on the stronger team, they need to win by more than the point advantage (covering the spread) in order for you to win. Half-point spreads are also possible and available for purchase.
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| Spread Betting |
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A form of betting derived from financial markets where the punter bets on a 'spread' of numbers relating to the particular event - for example, runs scored in cricket, points in Rugby Union, or the number of lengths between named horses at the end of the race. The bookmaker quotes the spread: say, regarding the number of points to be scored by one side in a Rugby game, 28-30. If you think the side will score more than 30, you 'buy' at 30; if fewer, you 'sell' at 28, and stipulate your stake per point. If you buy the spread at £1 and the team scores only 25, you lose £5 - 30 minus 25 leaves 5, which multiplied by your stake is £5; if that team scores 35, you win £5. The attraction of spread betting is that the more right you are, the more you will win - and by the same token the more wrong you are, the more you will lose. Note: you cannot have a spread bet unless you have an account with the bookmaker concerned, since you cannot stake the bet in advance as you do not know how much you might lose.
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| Square |
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Unsophisticated gambler.
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| Stake |
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Amount of money you give the bookmaker – therefore the money you will lose if the result is not what you predicted.
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| Stakes |
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The sums of money deposited or guaranteed by the parties to a bet.
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| Stanley Cup |
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Best-of-seven series between the Eastern and Western conference champions in the NHL to determine the World Champion.
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| Starting Price |
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The odds determined by the official starting price reporters on the racecourse at the start of the race, which is an average of the odds being offered at the racecourse. For certain races, some internet and other off-course bookmakers will only quote SP for each participant rather than different odds. This means that the off-course bookmaker has not determined their own prices for this race and is letting the market be made at the racecourse. Typically this happens when the volume of money and the number of bets placed on this event at the off-course bookmaker is too low to make a representative market of their own. Accepting the Starting Price from a bookmaker means that you don’t know exactly what the odds will be when you place your bet.
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| Steam |
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When a betting line starts to move rapidly. Most "steam games" do not necessarily reflect objective circumstances, but are games that a mass of bettors are drawn to for some reason.
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| Steamer |
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A horse which, on the morning of the race, is backed significantly, causing its odds to shorten markedly.
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| Stewards |
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The panel of men and women - usually a total of four - who are responsible for ensuring adherence to the Rules of Racing
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| Ste\Uck |
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Behind, losing, buried, down for the week.
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| Stickman |
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The dice dealer who calls the numbers rolled and controls the stick.
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| Straight Bet |
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A single wager on a selected side or over/under.
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| Straight Out |
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Betting on a competitor to win an event. Also win only, or money line betting.
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| Stuck |
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Behind, losing, buried, down for the week.
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| Sucker Bet |
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Parlays, teasers or exotics (anything bookmakers use to entice squares to bet more)
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| Sudden Death |
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An overtime period in which the first contestant to score is declared the winner of the contest.
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| Super Heinz |
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7 selections, 120 bets - 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 four-timers, 21 five-timers, 7 six-timers, 1 accumulator.
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| Superbowl |
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Winners of the AFC and NFC meet to determine the NFL Champion.
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| Supremacy |
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Spreads based upon the margin of victory between teams of individuals.
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| Sure Thing |
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A horse which an investor (punter) or tipster believes is unbeatable in a race.
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| Surrender |
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To give up half the wager before the hand is complete.
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| Sweepstakes |
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Type of betting whereby each horse in a race is drawn out of a hat by a particular person (who pays a set amount of money for the privilege of buying a horse). The people which chose the winner and placegetters will receive a percentage of the total money pool.
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| System |
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A wager or series of wagers usually based on statistics or mathematical probability and which determine the selections.
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