Gimme the Loot!

Toyed around with the idea of betting on the Jets/Pats game with my coworker. Looking back now, I should have made that damn bet. The spread was 7.5, and the Jets did more than their part to cover it.

However, the only time I had ever made a sports bet was with a friend, and it was a simple "I got the Vikings, you got the Saints"- the first game of the 2010 season. He won, so I ended up paying in $20. I realized that if I ever wanted to bet on sports, I had better freshen up on my terminology. Without further adieu, here are some sports betting terms that even a child should know:

1. Parlay- An umbrella bet that relies on winning all of several smaller bets. So, I would have had to bet on the Jets beating the Patriots and the Bears beating the Seahawks. Lesser odds to get both right means a higher payout.

2. Spread- The expected margin of victory of the favorite over the underdog. To win, the favored team that you chose to "cover" the spread would have to win by more than the spread number. That means that the Pats would have to have won by 8 in order to win, had you chose them like an asshat.

3. Money Line- This is what I am used to, I was just unsure of the name. This is the bet you make if you just want to pick the winner and loser, regardless of the point differential.

4. Prop (osal) Bet- This is a bet made not on the total outcome of the game, but rather a single aspect of the game. Shonne Greene to get atleast 25 carries? Braylon Edwards to score a touchdown? Bill Bellichek losing his shit?

5. Hedging- You may understand this in financial terms, and the sporting definition is not very different. Hedging generally means betting both sides of a line (not at the same time) so that you can lock in a smaller victory, but remove all (or some) risk.

6. Over/Under- This one, to me atleast, is the most fun. You bet on what you think the combined score will be between the two teams. For the Jets/Pats, with a final score of 28-21, you would have to have bet the over (it was predicted to be 41, but the final was 49).

Regardless if you bet a lot or not, you should be keen on the terms that apply to sports gambling. Here at DocsGood we don't suggest betting, but hell, it is what it is, homay.