Matched Betting Glossary
This page is a glossary of terms and common phrases used in the Matched Betting space. There’s a lot of jargon and phrases that may make no sense to a newbie, so we have made this helpful glossary to help you identify said words!
The list contains every word we could think of – and we’ve split these up into some helpful categories for you. If you’re looking for a particular word or term then feel free to run a search on the page by pressing ctrl + F on your keyboard, or clicking the browser menu if you’re on mobile.
Any questions at all, then please do give us a shout!
General
ACCA – Accumulator – A bet which involves more than 1 selection.
AP – Advantage Play – A technique of Matched Betting that involves not laying a bet. The bet still has value and so in the long run it should yield profit.
ARB – ARB – When the back odds are higher than the lay odds. Profit can be made from an arb by simply placing a back bet and laying it on an exchange.
Boost – Price Boost – When a bookmaker offers a special price on an event. This usually creates an arb, which allows you to profit by placing a back bet and lay bet. Not all boosts are profitable though.
Chelts – Cheltenham Festival – The biggest horse racing festival of the year which takes place in March. It’s usually Tuesday to Friday, around St Patrick’s Day.
EV – Expected Value – Sometimes called estimated value, EV is the long term value of an offer. If an offer has £1 EV, then you’d expect to make £1 from that offer in the long run. If you did it 1000 times, you’d expect to make £1000 on average, although this isn’t guaranteed.
FB – Free Bet
FS – Free Spins
KYC – Know Your Customer – Checks that bookmakers perform to verify your account ad ensure you are who you say you are.
LC – Live Chat
MB – Matched Betting
MBing – Matched Betting
Mug / Mug Bet – A bet placed where no promotion is involved, in order to “blend in” with the gambling crowd and prolong accounts.
Palp – Palpable Error – When the price of a back bet is much higher than the exchange, usually because of an error. A bookmaker may void bets like this, as per their terms.
Price Boost – When a bookmaker offers a special price on an event. This usually creates an arb, which allows you to profit by placing a back bet and lay bet. Not all boosts are profitable though.
QB – Qualifying Bet – Your initial bet to qualify for an offer. This is sometimes known as a Trigger Bet.
QL – Qualifying Loss – The loss you make when placing your qualifying/trigger bet.
OP – Opening Poster – The person who posted first on a forum thread.
RTP – Return To Player – A casino term which is used to explain the theoretical return a player will receive for each bet they place on things such as Slots, Blackjack, and Roulette. A typical RTP of Blackjack is 99%, which means every bet you place you will receive 99% back. So if you bet £10, you should receive £9.90 back on average – meaning you are losing 10p every hand of Blackjack you play.
Sharb / Sharbing – The same as arbing but with the use of shops.
SNR – Stake Not Returned – When you use a free bet, the amount of the free bet (stake) is usually not included in the winnings.
SR – SR – Stake Returned – When you place a normal bet, the stake is included with the winnings.
Variance – The term used when you are doing advantage play offers and can sometimes win a few in a row, or lose a few in row. Variance is just part of the mathematics. Good variance means you are winning more than you should, and bad variance means you are losing more than you should.
Wagering/ Wagering Requirements – When an offer requires you to bet a certain amount before you can complete it and convert the case to real money.
Football
2UP – A promotion whereby the bookmaker pays out your back bet as a winner if your team goes 2 goals up (so 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 etc). This is a massive promotion and can generate a lot of profit. The main website that allows this promotion is Bet365 – but others such as Paddypower and Skybet will occasionally run it.
AGS – Anytime Goalscorer – A bet on a player to score at any point of the match.
BTTS – Both Teams To Score – A bet on both teams to score in a match.
DD/HH – Double Delight/Hatrick Heaven – An offer that Betfred run where you receive extra winnings if the first goalscorer scores a second goal, and even more if they score a third.
FGS – First Goalscorer – A bet on a player to score first.
FT – Full Time
HT – Half Time
HT/FT – Half Time/Full Time – A market where a team is winning at half time, and then again at full time. This is commonly confused with the market to win both halves. These are NOT the same market. One means that the team is ahead at both halftime and full time, whereas the other means they WIN both halves – so basically treat each half like a separate 45 minute match.. did they win them both?
Over/Under – A market where you can bet on over and under something. This is most commonly used in Football where you can bet on goals e.g. over 2.5 goals, over 1.5 goals, but can also be used on points in many sports.
PYP – Pick Your Punt – A special bet that can be placed on Betfred.
RAB – Request A Bet – A special bet that can be placed on Skybet.
WhatOdds – What Odds Paddy – A special bet that can be placed on Paddypower.
Horse Racing
AP – Ante Post – When a bet is placed far in advance of a horse race. This is usually a few days in advance, but can even be months before the race.
AW – All Weather – A type of surface in horse racing.
BBH – Beaten By A Head – When a horse is beaten by a head or less.
BBL – Beaten By A Length – When a horse is beaten by a length or less.
BBN – Beaten By A Neck – When a horse is beaten by a neck or less.
BFSP – Betfair Starting Price – The price of a horse on Betfair when the race starts.
BOG – Best Odds Guaranteed – When a bookmaker offers the best odds. If you place a bet and the odds of the horse increases by the time the race starts, then you will be paid out at the higher odds should it win.
EW – Each Way – A bet that consists of betting on the horse to win and the horse to place.
FPTP – First Past The Post
HD– Head (distance)
JF/CF – Joint Favourite/ Co-Favourite
L – Length (distance)
NK – Neck (distance)
NR – Non Runner – When a horse has been withdrawn from the race.
NRNB – Non-Runner No Bet – When a bookmaker offers to void your bet on the ante post market if the horse doesn’t run. Not every bookmaker does this, and sometimes your bet will lose if the horse doesn’t actually run.
NSE – Nose (distance)
Rule 4 – A deduction when a horse withdraws from the race. The bookmakers will reduce the price and payout of all other horses to take into account that a horse has been withdrawn. This is a fair way to do things, as you’d be getting a huge value bet if the favourite withdrew otherwise.
SP – Starting Price – The price of a horse on the bookmaker when the race starts.
Bookmakers
365 – Bet365
888 – 888Sport
BF – Betfair
BFEX – Betfair Exchange
BFSB – Betfair Sportsbook
BV – BetVictor
FRED – Betfred
HILLS – William Hill
LADS – Ladbrokes
MB – Matchbook
PADDY – Paddpower
PP – Paddy Power
SM – Smarkets
WH – William Hill