Everything on this site — the odds boards, the picks, the simulations — makes more sense once you know how the numbers work. Ten minutes, no fluff.
American odds are quoted against $100. A minus number is how much you must risk to win $100. A plus number is how much you win by risking $100.
Every price implies a win probability: -110 implies about 52.4%, +150 about 40%. Our matchup pages show these implied percentages next to every line, with the bookmaker's cut removed.
The spread handicaps the better team to make both sides equally attractive. A favorite at -6.5 must win by 7 or more to "cover." An underdog at +6.5 covers by winning outright or losing by 6 or fewer.
The simplest bet: pick who wins, no spread involved. You pay for that simplicity through the price — heavy favorites cost a lot (-300) for small returns, while underdog moneylines pay plus-money because they win less often.
Books post a combined-points number for each game; you bet whether the actual score lands over or under it. Totals reflect pace, offense, defense, and — outdoors — weather. If the final lands exactly on the number, that's a push and stakes are returned.
Both sides of a spread are usually -110, not +100. That extra 10 is the juice (or vig) — the book's built-in fee. It's also why line shopping matters: getting -105 instead of -110 on every bet meaningfully changes your long-run results. The gold-highlighted cells on our odds boards mark the best available price across books.
A parlay chains multiple bets; every leg must win. Payouts multiply, but so does the book's edge — parlays are among the most profitable products for sportsbooks. Fun in small doses; a poor foundation for serious betting.
Props are bets on things within a game (a player's yards, a team's first-half score). Futures are long-term bets — champions, season totals — priced months ahead. Futures tie up your money longest, which is why grabbing the best price matters most there; see our futures boards.
Most losing bettors lose to sizing, not selection. The standard discipline: set aside a dedicated bankroll you can afford to lose, bet flat "units" of 1-2% of it, never chase losses with bigger bets, and track every wager. A 55% picker betting chaotically loses to a 53% picker betting flat units.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ATS | Against the spread — a team's record at covering, not just winning |
| Bad beat | Losing a bet that looked won until a late twist |
| Chalk | The favorite; betting chalk = betting favorites |
| Closing line | The final number before kickoff — the market's last word, and what we grade against |
| Cover | Winning against the spread |
| Dog | Underdog |
| Edge | Expected advantage over the price you're being offered |
| Hook | The half point (e.g., -6.5's ".5") |
| Implied probability | The win chance a price mathematically suggests |
| Juice / vig | The book's fee baked into prices |
| Line shopping | Comparing books to take the best available number |
| Push | A tie against the number; stake returned |
| Sharp | A professional or winning bettor; "sharp money" moves lines |
| Steam | Rapid line movement from heavy one-sided action |
| Units | Standardized bet size (1-2% of bankroll) |
Now the site reads differently: the boards show you prices, the leaderboard shows you our record, and the daily games are just for fun. Bet responsibly — see our responsible gambling page.