As you navigate through the Oddshero Matched Betting blog, you’re probably coming across all kinds of words and phrases that might sound strange to you. It’s because Matched Betting lingo often uses abbreviations.

If some of those abbreviations sound like gibberish to you, the best advice we can give you is to take some time and go through this text as this is where we’re going to discuss the most common betting, Matched Betting and casino abbreviations. So, let’s start!

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Top 3 Key Takeaways:

1. The Matched Betting community uses abbreviations very often.
2. Learning what common Matched Betting terms mean can help you get the hang of the strategy quicker.
3. The Oddshero Blog is packed with useful articles where you can learn all you need about Matched Betting.

Acca

Acca is short for accumulator, which is one bet that features several bets. Usually, the number of bets in an acca is at least four.

When it comes to Matched Betting, accas are basically never used. Still, this doesn’t mean that you should forget about them. Accas are great for making sure your account stays free from gubbing. As regular players often make accas, you should do the same in order to ensure your account doesn’t seem suspicious.

AH

In sports betting terminology, AH stands for Asian Handicap. It’s a type of sports bet in which a handicap is given to a team.

For example, Baltimore Ravens AH -10.5 means that the Ravens need to win the match with at least 11 points or more to than the opponent. It’s because 10.5 points are deducted from their final score. If they win with a fewer point difference, the bet is lost. The same goes if their opponent wins the game.

Read more about how the Asian Handicap works here.

Arbs

Arbs are arbitrage bets, that is, those in which the bettor gets profits regardless of the outcome. The bad news is that you can’t make your own arbs. Instead, you need to wait for odds discrepancies at different bookmakers.

You can call a bet an arb only when the odds are set in such a way that if you cover all possible outcomes, you will make a profit.

With Matched Betting, you’re betting bonus money at a bookmaker, while laying the same bet at a betting exchange or betting on the complete opposite at a Cover Bookmaker.

The bonus comes in the form of a Free Bet, which means that you only put your money on one of the two outcomes. This practically makes any bet made in Matched Betting a proper arb – you win profits no matter what.

BF & BFSB

In the Matched Betting community, BF stands for Betfair. This is the world’s oldest and biggest betting exchange. For many, Betfair is also the best exchange in the world, thanks to its large betting volume. This exchange has millions of users, which is why it’s not hard for Matched Bettors to find someone who will accept their lay bets.

An important thing to remember is that Betfair is not the same as Betfair Sportsbook. Although they’re owned by the same people, Betfair Sportsbook or BFSB is a proper online bookmaking site. Because of that, a player is betting against the bookmaker at the odds they’ve come up with.

You don’t have the option to offer your own odds, which is why BFSB is not too commonly used as a Cover Sportsbook.

BTS

BTS or BTTS is the abbreviation of the phrase Both Teams To Score, which is a common market in football betting. The opposite of BTS is No BTS, which means that at least one of the teams is not going to score in the game.

Because this is a two-way bet, BTS/No BTS is sometimes used by Matched Bettors. You can bet on BTS at the Bonus Bookmaker, while laying the same bet at the betting exchange or betting on No BTS at a Cover Bookmaker.

CS

CS or Correct Score is another popular betting market, commonly used in football betting. Guessing the correct score is interesting for the bettors and can be very profitable as the odds are pretty high. Usually, the odds on the most probable Correct Score are way over 2.00.

Apart from football, the Correct Score market also exists in tennis, where you need to guess the correct set score. It’s also used in Ice Hockey, American Football, Volleyball, and, to a lesser extent, Basketball.

DC

In sports betting lingo, DC stands for Double Chance. Instead of placing two separate bets on Team 1 and Draw, you can make a Double Chance bet. Sports bettors usually choose this market when they’re not completely sure that their team is going to win, but at the same time, they are convinced the team is not going to lose.

In the Matched Betting universe, DC is a popular choice for those who wish to use Cover Bookmakers instead of betting exchanges. If you’re familiar with how Matched Betting works, you know that you have to bet on a certain outcome with the bonus funds, while laying the same outcome at an exchange.

However, if you don’t want to use a betting exchange, you can use a Cover Bookmaker, where you ought to bet on the exact opposite to the bet you’ve placed at the Bonus Bookmaker.

Let’s say you’ve placed your bonus money on Tottenham against Liverpool. The opposite of that bet would be DC Liverpool/Draw, which you would need to bet at the Cover Bookmaker.

MB

Sometimes Matched Bettors use MB when they talk about Matchbook, one of the leading betting exchanges. One of the reasons why this exchange is loved by the players is that its commission structure is pretty good.

MBS

MBS stands for Money Back Special, which is a type of promo offered by bookmakers. With this kind of deal, you get your money back if your bet loses if certain criteria is fulfilled. What kind of criteria that is depends on what kind of promotional deal the bookmaker is offering.

One of the examples of Money Back Specials is the late goal insurance. If a goal is scored in the extra time of a Football game, causing your bet to fail, you’re going to get your stake back thanks to the MBS.

O/E

In the world of sports betting, O/E or Odd/Even refers to a bet in which you need to guess whether the total number of goals/points/sets/rounds is an odd or even number. Apart from being used in sports betting, O/E is also used in certain casino games, such as roulette for example.

O/U

O/U refers to Over/Under, which is a very popular sports betting market. This market can be used for literally any sport as it focuses on the total number of goals/points/sets/rounds. The oddsmakers will come up with a margin and it’s your job as the bettor to guess whether the total will be over or under that number.

Usually, the margin comes in the form of a number and a half, so that there are only two outcomes possible. For example, O/U 2.5 goals means that you can bet that there are going to be Over 2.5 goals (3 goals or more) or Under 2.5 goals (2 goals or less).

RTP

RTP stands for Return To Player, which refers to the percentage of all the wagered money that goes back to the players. Let’s say that the RTP of a casino game is 95%, it means that of all the money players have spent on the game, the house will keep 5%. The other 95% is distributed back to the players.

What the RTP is for casino games, the bookmaker margin is in sports betting. The betting odds are set in such a way that regardless of the outcome, the house always wins. To understand how this works, you better take a look at an example involving a two-way bet with the same odds on each outcome.

Let’s say the event in question is the NBA game between Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets and that the market we’ve picked is the player points market.

As you can see in the image above, the point margin on James Harden is set at 34.5 points. You can bet either Over or Under and the odds are the same in both cases (1.83). If you placed an equal amount of money on both of those bets, you would end up losing 9.5%, which is how big the bookmaker’s margin is for this market.

SM

In Matched Betting lingo, Smarkets is often referred to as SM. It’s one of the betting exchanges that’s been getting a lot of attention lately. Although it’s not as big as Betfair or Matchbook, Smarkets definitely has a lot of potential.

One of the main reasons why the number of Smarkets users is growing all the time is the fact that this exchange uses a very favorable commission structure.

SUB

SUB stands for Sign Up Bonus, which is one of the most common types of promos bookmakers give away. It’s also one of the most popular types of bonuses in the Matched Betting community, the reason being that they’re usually more lucrative than other bonuses.

Almost every online bookmaker is giving some kind of a welcome present to the newcomers. Usually, the present comes in the form of a matched deposit bonus.

T&C

T&C or Terms and Conditions can be your biggest ally or your biggest enemy. Sometimes bookmakers use the small print to ensure the players don’t get away with too much money. That is why it’s essential to go through the T&Cs before putting your trust into a bookmaker.

WR

The bonus offers given by bookmakers can sometimes seem too good to be true. Unfortunately, in some cases, they are exactly that – untrue. What bookmakers often do is set up Wagering Requirements a.k.a. WRs that are difficult to fulfill.

For example, they might offer a 500% Sign Up Bonus that comes with a 10x WR. What this means is that in order to clear the bonus, you need to win 10 bets. The good news is that there is a way to clear the bonus easily, without having to risk anything, and that’s called Matched Betting!

Matched Betting Dictionary: Other Common Words and Phrases

Assuming that you already know how lay betting works, what Bonus Bookmakers and betting exchanges are, it’s now time to learn what some less common Matched Betting terms mean.

These words and phrases might not be too common, but learning them could pay off. So, with no further ado, here they are!

• Betting Brokerages – These sites enable a bettor to back/lay bets at betting exchanges and place bets at Sharp Bookmakers using a single account.
• Betting Exchanges – These are the websites that let you assume the role of a bookmaker by laying a bet. This practically means betting against a certain outcome. The same as bookmaker earns money when a bet loses, you can make money by betting that an outcome is not going to happen.
• Dutching – Named after Al Capone’s associate Dutch Schulz, this method helps you keep your bookmakers’ accounts free from suspensions. You can read more about it here!
• Sharp Bookmakers – These bookmakers are using math-based software to change the odds rapidly based on supply and demand, thus ensuring they make a profit no matter what.
• Soft Bookmakers – These are the bookmakers that slowly change their odds, which are aimed at casual players. That’s why professional gamblers, arbers and Matched Bettors prefer the so-called Sharp Bookmakers.

For more info about everything Matched Betting-related, feel free to browse the Oddshero Blog section. There are plenty of useful articles there that are guaranteed to help you get the most out of your Matched Betting adventure.

3 Takeaways

1. Matched Betting lingo may sound strange to you as it’s packed with abbreviations.
2. Learning what commonly-used Matched Betting abbreviations means can make it much easier for you.
3. The Oddshero Blog is an excellent source for everything related to Matched Betting.