NBA Betting

Football sportsbook
A person or company that accepts bets.A sportsbook (sometimes abbreviated as book) or a race and sports book is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, horse racing, boxing and mixed martial arts. The method of betting varies with the sport and the type of game. The more prominent the event, the more wagering options that are made available.
Winning bets are paid when the event finishes, or if not finished, when played long enough to becomes official; otherwise all bets are returned. This policy can cause some confusion since there can be a difference between what the sportsbook considers official and what the sports league consider official. Customers should carefully read the sportsbook rules before placing their bets.
The betting volume at sportsbooks varies throughout the year. Bettors have more interest in certain types of sports and increase the money wagered when those sports are in season. Likewise the interest in sports varies by country since the level of interest in the various sports is not constant throughout the world. Some major sporting events that don't follow a specific schedule, like boxing, can create peaks of activity for the sportsbooks.
Word originA sportsbook is a portmanteau word, combining two meanings into one word for a sports gambling operation, in this case SPORTS and BOOK which is short for bookmaking.
Today there are roughly 150 licensed sportsbooks in the United States, all located in Nevada casinos. Now that many casinos share the same parent company, they offer the exact same wagering choices and odds, which is a disadvantage to the astute gambler who in the past could do more shopping for better prices.
In the 1950s the first Nevada sportsbooks, called turf clubs, opened. They were independent from the casinos, and had an informal agreement with the hotels that they would stay out of the casino business as long as the hotels stayed out of the sportsbook business. The sportsbooks had to pay a 10% tax so they charged a high vigorish to gamblers, but they still brought in a lot of business.
In 1974 the tax was lowered to 2%, (and in 1983 lowered to 0.25%), and in 1975 Lefty Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Casino, convinced legislators to allow them in the casinos, and soon nearly all of the casinos added them. The turf clubs were no longer able to compete and eventually all closed.
In Nevada casino sportsbooks you will find:
Betting Windows Numerous big screen televisions Places to sit and watch Interactive betting stations Odds boards, usually computerized
While internet sportsbooks lack face-to-face transactions, they can handle more customers than land based sportsbooks and operate more cost effectively. They pass lower costs on to customers in the form of reduced vigorish (cheaper prices) or bonus incentives. They can also offer similar products, such as casino games, bingo, and poker to their existing clients.
While Internet sportsbooks take bets online, normally they are licensed in some jurisdiction. Taxation and regulation vary greatly by country.
Internet sportsbooks range from fraudulent operations with no intention of paying their customers to multi-billion dollar publicly traded companies. Furthermore, many internet sites have been reported for questionable customer service practices and withholding money from customers. Internet sportsbooks range in focus, as some primarily cater to American sports, while others focus on European soccer. Some sportsbooks handle large wagers while others have low wagering limits. Some offer many exotic proposition wagers, where others have limited choices. Payment methods are not universally accepted at all sportsbooks.
Costa Rica is home to a large number of offshore sportsbooks, as it caters to many of the needs of the industry with an open regulatory environment and a large, capable workforce. A number of sportsbooks are also located in Jamaica, Gibraltar, Antigua, Curaçao, Australia, and many other countries around the world.
The United States Justice Department claims that wagering at offshore sportsbooks is a violation of the 1961 Federal Wire Act. Jeffrey Trauman of Harwood, North Dakota, was the first player ever to be prosecuted for online sports betting in the United States. The former car salesman, who quit his job to become a professional gambler, was cited under a North Dakota state law. [1]
In separate incidents in 2006, two executives of internet-based sportsbooks were arrested in the United States. On July 16, 2006 David Carruthers of BetonSports was arrested at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas while changing planes.[2] On September 7 of that same year, Peter Dicks of Sportingbet Plc was detained in similar fashion at John F. Kennedy International Airport.[3] Both men await separate charges on gambling-related offenses.
football Traditional football games had virtually no rules, no limit on the number of players, and goals, if they existed at all, could be a mile or more apart. In most cases, the opposing ‘sides’ were drawn from different parts of the town or from different trades. In London, and other big cities, it was specifically a game of the apprentices. Throughout its known history there have been repeated attempts to abolish or modify the custom, and most of the earliest references are concerned with trying to suppress what must have been an already well-established tradition. In the long-drawn-out struggle between the authorities and the players, the former were bound to win in the end, but it took centuries to achieve. The documentary record starts in c.1183 with William Fitz Stephen's account, which includes no hint of societal disapproval:
After dinner (at Shrovetide) all the youth of the City goes out into the fields to a much-frequented game of ball. The scholars of each school have their own ball, and almost all the workers of each trade have theirs also in their hands. Elder men and fathers and rich citizens come on horse-back to watch the contests of their juniors, and after their fashion are young again with the young … (Fitz Stephen, c.1180: 56-7)
Published disapproval started in 1314, when it was prohibited in the City of London, and from then on regular attempts were made to ban it, and Puritan reformers such as Stubbes (1583: 184) inveighed against the game, and the authorities attacked the game on various fronts. Firstly, the popularity of such ‘pointless’ games drew young men away from other more rational and necessary pursuits, particulary archery, and secondly the violence and lawlessness involved held moral dangers both for the individual and society in general. The third factor was the danger to property and trade which was a potential result of allowing rough, mass sports in narrow streets and city centres. An early casualty was the game at Chester, which was abolished in 1539. Opposition at other places went less smoothly. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries there are records of particular communities' games coming under increasing pressure and one by one they were suppressed, or modified out of all recognition. In Manchester in 1608 and London in 1615, Worcester in 1743, Bolton in 1790, the pattern was very similar. By the mid-19th century, there was still a number of examples alive and kicking and in each case the custom was hotly contested between the suppressors and the players, with a key turningpoint coming with the Police Act of 1840. The game at Derby was gone by 1849, Kingston-upon-Thames (Surrey) by 1868, and Dorking (Surrey) by 1909. The Kingston-upon-Thames case is an example of just how difficult it was to reform or suppress a custom until all the influential people in the community united against it. The first attempt to suppress it came in 1799, but the game lasted until 1868.
The origin of the game remains obscure. Although the vast majority of instances took place at Shrovetide, there seems to have been no formal church involvement. Players from various parts of the country explained that the game started when locals were kicking around the severed head of a Dane (or other invader).
Encyclopedia football, any of a number of games in which two opposing teams attempt to score points by moving an inflated oval or round ball past a goal line or into a goal. Differing greatly in their rules, these include soccer (association football) and rugby, in addition to the games covered in this article: American football, Canadian football, Gaelic football, and Australian football. In the United States, the word football generally refers only to the American game; in other parts of the world it usually means soccer. Football, amateur and professional, is perhaps the most popular spectator sport in the United States, attracting a total attendance of over 40 million and watched by many more millions on television each year.Most of the modern forms of football are derived from ancient games, especially harpaston and harpastrum, played in Greece and Rome. These survive today in Tuscany and Florence under the name calcio. Meanwhile a rugged, undisciplined type of football took root in the Middle Ages in England, where despite royal edicts banning the game from time to time, football remained popular until the early 19th cent. Different forms of the game soon developed at the various English public schools, including Rugby, Eton, and Harrow. Eventually, two main games emerged. One was primarily a kicking game, which later became association football, or soccer; the other (dating from 1823) was football as played at Rugby, in which carrying the ball and tackling were permitted.
American Football
Basic Rules
The American game is played by two opposing teams of eleven. The football field is level, measures 100 by 531/3 yd (91.4 by 48.8 m), is marked off by latitudinal stripes every 5 yd (4.57 m) and has at each end an end zone 10 yd (9.14 m) deep. In the center of each end zone stand goal posts not exceeding 20 ft (6.10 m) in height, with a crossbar 10 ft (3.05 m) from the ground and with the uprights on either end 24 ft (73.2 m) apart.
Play is directed toward moving the ball across the opponent's goal line, thereby scoring a touchdown, worth six points. In advancing the ball a team may run with it or pass it (forward or laterally), but the team must gain 10 yd (9 m) in four plays (downs) or yield possession of the ball to the opponent. The defending team tries to stop the ball carrier by tackling him, i.e., forcing him to the ground—thus causing the team with the ball to use up one of its downs. The defending team can gain possession of the ball before the end of four downs by recovering a dropped ball (fumble), or by intercepting a pass.
Because strategies and skills required on offense and on defense differ, most organized football clubs have offensive and defensive squads that alternate on the field as possession of the ball changes. All professional and most collegiate teams employ special teams for various game situations (e.g., offense, defense, kickoffs, and punt returns) and coaches who specialize in various aspects of the game. The offensive team traditionally comprises a quarterback (the field leader), a fullback, two halfbacks, and seven linemen—a center, two guards, two tackles, and two ends. A typical defensive unit has two tackles and two ends, who play on the line, as well as three linebackers, two cornerbacks, and two safeties.
The game is divided into two halves, each consisting of two quarters, periods of 15 minutes playing time. At the end of each of the first three quarters, the teams exchange goals. Each half begins with a kickoff, which also initiates play after every score (except a safety). In addition to the touchdown, points are scored by kicking the ball (which is held on the ground by a teammate of the kicker) over the crossbar between the goal posts (a field goal), for three points; and by downing a player in possession of the ball behind his own goal line (a safety), for two points. Additional points, known as conversions, may be scored after the scoring of a touchdown. In professional play the conversion is earned by kicking the ball over the crossbar of the goal post (worth one point) or by running or passing the ball over the goal line from 2 yd (1.83 m) away (worth two points). In amateur (high school and college) football, the conversion play is begun 3 yd (2.74 m) from the end zone.
When a team is not likely to gain 10 yards in four downs, it often kicks, or punts, the ball downfield, usually on the fourth down. After each down, before resuming play, the opposing teams face each other along an imaginary line, called the line of scrimmage, determined by the position of the ball relative to the goals. Among standard offensive formations, the basic T formation (a balanced line with the quarterback behind the center and the other backs behind the quarterback) is, with modern variations, the most popular in both amateur and professional football. Blocking and tackling make football one of the most rugged sports played; thus players wear heavy protective gear.
Five officials—the referee, umpire, field judge, linesman, and electric clock operator—control a game, and penalties, chiefly in the form of moving the ball away from a team's object goal, are meted out for violations of the rules. Rules concerning the field, scoring, playing time, downs, scrimmage, substitution, officials, and equipment have undergone numerous changes, generally to make the game safer.
College and Amateur Football
The first intercollegiate football match in America (actually a 50-person soccer game) was played (1869) at New Brunswick, N.J. The Intercollegiate (Soccer) Football Association, composed of Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale, was created (1873) to standardize rules. Harvard, meanwhile, refused to join the group and, looking for other opponents, accepted a challenge from McGill Univ. of Montreal to play a series of games (1874–75) under Rugby rules. The Rugby-type game soon caught on at the other schools also, and within a decade the distinctive game of American football evolved.
Since the late 19th cent. football has enjoyed tremendous popularity as a collegiate sport. In 1902 the first Rose Bowl game was played at Pasadena, Calif., and that postseason tournament has been conducted annually since 1916. Other annual, postseason, collegiate games include the Sugar, Orange, Sun, and Cotton bowls. In 1996 a national system to pick bowl opponents so as to determine a national champion was introduced. Selection of All-America teams, begun (1889) by Walter Camp and Caspar Whitney, has also contributed to football's popularity. The Heisman trophy, originated in 1935, is awarded annually to the nation's outstanding college football player.
Most collegiate teams play in athletic conferences. Among the best-known are the Ivy League, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, and Pacific 10 conferences. Famous collegiate rivalries include Army–Navy and Yale–Harvard. With an atmosphere enhanced by bands and cheering sections, football is not only the most popular collegiate sport of the fall season but also a big business.
Revenues from football often finance other sports at a college, and some games are played before crowds of 100,000 people in university-owned stadiums. Despite the strict amateur code of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its member conferences, illegal subsidization of football players is a recurrent issue. Football also is extremely popular in U.S. high schools. Six-man football and touch football, both usually played for recreation, are other forms of the amateur game.
Professional Football
Although professional football was played as early as 1895 in Pennsylvania, it was not until 1920 that national organization began, with the formation of the American Professional Football Association at Canton, Ohio. Originally consisting of five teams, the association evolved and in 1922 was renamed the National Football League (NFL). The professional game received a tremendous boost when Red Grange, a star halfback at the Univ. of Illinois, signed a professional contract (1925) with the Chicago Bears. Other college stars soon followed, and the public began to show interest in NFL teams.
In the period immediately following World War II professional football's popularity grew tremendously. A new league, the All-America Conference (established 1944), competed with the NFL until the two groups merged (1949). The American Football League (AFL; formed 1959) competed with the NFL during the early 1960s; the first Super Bowl championship game was held in 1967 between the NFL and AFL champions.
Four years later the two leagues were merged into the present NFL, which now comprises two conferences (the National Football Conference, or NFC, and the American Football Conference, or AFC) totaling 32 teams. The NFL season includes 16 regular games, after which the winners of the three divisions in each conference, along with two “wild card” teams (the teams with the next-best record in each conference) play a four-round playoff culminating in the Super Bowl.
Canadian Football
Canadian football is similar to the U.S. game, but the Canadian field and end zone are larger, measuring 110 yd by 65 yd (100 m by 59 m) and 25 yd by 65 yd (23 m by 59 m), respectively. Canadian teams have 12 players on the field rather than 11 and, among other variations in the rules, are allowed only three downs to advance the ball 10 yards. The present game developed from rules established (1891) by the Canadian Rugby Union. In 1959 the two professional leagues in the union broke away to form the Canadian Football League (CFL). From 1993 to 1995 the CFL had several U.S.-based teams; there are now nine teams divided between two divisions. A number of prominent U.S. players have made careers in the CFL. The league's annual championship game is known as the Grey Cup.

Learn horse betting terms before gambling on horses in online racebook. Get great off-track odds when betting horses, with player bonuses, and super fast payouts. Also Ran: A horse that does not finish among the first three racing finishers.
Asterisk(*):When used with a jockeys name, or beside the weight a horse is to carry, it denotes an apprentice rider. In breeding publications where it appears with a horses name, it means the horse was imported to the U.S.
Backstretch: The straightway on the far side of the race track. Also used as a reference to the stable area.
Bandages: Bandages or cloth wrappings on a horses legs do not necessarily denote lameness or infirmity. Many trainers keep their horses in standing bandages at all times as a means of protection. They are also used in horse racing for support.
Barrier: The starting gate is sometimes referred to as the barrier.
Bill Daly: A runner that breaks in front and sets the pace is on the Bill Daly. This manner of running style was said to be the principal tactic drilled into jockeys, developed by Father Bill Daly, a colorful trainer who lived prior to the turn of the 20th century.
Blanket Finish: One which finds several horses finishing noses and heads apart, or so closely grouped, they could be covered by a blanket.
Blinkers: Once called the Rogue's Badge, blinkers are a common piece of horse racing equipment today. The eye cups on the blinkers, depending on modifications, block side and rear vision in either or both eyes. The use, or discontinued use, of blinkers must be approved by the racing stewards and the change reported on the official program.
Blow Out: A brief last workout (usually three furlongs or a half mile) given a day or two before racing in order to sharpen or maintain conditioning.
Bottom Wheel: Bottom wheel is a horse gambling strategy in which a selection in an exacta is wagered in the "bottom" or place position, while all other horses in the field are used in the win position. To win this wager, your selection must finish second. To get a feeling about how much you might be about to win, check the possible payoff grids shown on your tv monitor. To wager a bottom wheel, you need to tell the mutuel clerk that you want to wheel the (whatever the number) on the bottom.
Chalk: Or Chalk Horse: the favored horse in a race. The term originated in the days when odds were chalked on slates.
Chute: A straightaway extension of either the homestretch or the backstretch used for distances which would otherwise necessitate starting on a turn.
Climbing: A fault in a horses stride in which, instead of reaching out, his action is abnormally high.
Clubhouse Turn: The turn to the right of the grandstand, so called because he Clubhouse is usually to the right of the general stands.
Colors: The jockeys silk or nylon jacket and cap provided by the owner. Distinctive colors are registered by the owner with The Jockey Club and with the state racing authority. The practice of using individually registered colors was introduced at Newmarket, England in 1762.
Condition Book: A booklet issued periodically by the racing office describing conditions of upcoming races so that trainers can plan ahead which races to enter their horses.
Coupled: Two or more horses belonging to the same owner or trained by the same person are said to be coupled and they run as an entry comprising a single betting unit. Their program number regardless of post position would be 1 and 1A. A second "entry" in the race would be listed in the program as 2 and 2A. A bet on one horse of an entry is a bet on both.
Cushion: The loose, top surface of the race track.
Dead Heat: Where the photo-finish camera shows two horses inseparable at the finish, the race is declared a dead heat or tie.
Dogs: Wooden barriers used during workout periods to close off a portion of the race track near the inner rail when the track is sloppy or muddy.
Driving: When a horse is running under extreme pressure he is said to be driving.
Dwelt: A horse that is slow in breaking from the starting gate is said to have dwelt.
Eighth Pole: The pole one eighth of a mile before the finish line.
Entry: Two or more horses in a race, owned by the same stable, or trained by the same trainer are termed an entry and coupled as a single betting unit. A bet on one is a bet on BOTH.
Excused: To be withdrawn from a race after the regular time for scratches a horse must be excused by the Stewards.
Extended: A horse running at top speed under extreme pressure by the rider.
Farrier: A blacksmith specializing in the shoeing, or plating, of horses. In early days he was also a veternarian.
Far Turn: The turn off the backstretch.
Fast: A race track at its best condition is said to be fast.
Fractional Time: The running time at various points between the start and finish of a race.
Furlong: One eighth of a mile. Originally a furrow long, or the length of a plowed field.
Garrison Finish: A late rush resulting in a narrow margin of victory, so called because Edward Snapper Garrison, a prominent rider at the turn of the century, specialized in such finishes.
Gelding: A castrated male.
Halter: A piece of equipment placed on a horses head similar to a bridle but lacking a bit and reins. A long leather shank is attached to the halter for walking the horse. Also an expression used for claiming a horse deriving from the fact that when the representative of the new owner takes the horse he must have with him his own halter. A trainer who frequently claims horses is called a halter man.
Hand: A unit of four inches by which a horses height is measured, placing one hand above the other from the ground to the withers, or the point where the saddle sits. A horse that measures 16 hands is 5 feet 4 inches tall at the withers.
Handicapper: One who assigns the weights to be carried in a handicap race. Also one who makes selections in a race based on a thorough study of the past performance of each horse.
Handily: A horse working or racing with ease, and without urging, is said to be going handily.
Handle: The aggregate amount of money wagered on a race, a day, a meeting or a season.
Homestretch: The straightaway leading to the finish.
Hot Walker: A stable hand who leads a horse around the shed row or walking ring in the cooling out process following a race or a workout. Walking hots is usually the first job given a novice stable employee.
Infield: The area within the inner rail of a race track.
Inquiry: An inquiry is an action taken by the track stewards following a race to check for a possible infraction during the actual running of the race. In the inquiry, stewards will replay the race on videotape and review the incident, deciding eventually whether or not punitive action needs to be taken.
In the Money: A horse finishing first, second or third is in the money.
Irons: The stirrups are referred to as irons.
Juvenile: A 2-year-old horse is called a juvenile.
Key Horse: A single horse used in multiple combinations in an exotic wager.
Lead Pad: A piece of equipment under the saddle containing thin slabs of lead used to bring a riders weight up to that assigned to the horse.
Length: The measurement corresponding to the average length of a horse and used to describe winning, or losing, distances. A horse can win, or be beaten, by a length or more, or by fractions thereof... 3/4 of a length, half-length, 1/4 length, neck, head or nose. These terms are more descriptive than scientific.
Minus Pool: When an outstanding entry is so heavily played that, after the deduction of the state tax and commission, not enough horse betting money remains in the pool to pay off the legally prescribed minimum, it is called a minus pool. The racing association makes up the difference.
Morning Line: The approximate gambling odds usually printed in the program and posted on the totalisator board prior to the betting. This is a forecast of how it is believed the horse betting will go in a particular race.
Mud Caulks: These are small cleats inserted on the back end of a horses shoe, or racing plate. The caulks are most often used when the track surface becomes muddy or sloppy. this will enable the horse to have better racing traction on an off surface.
Near Side: The left side on which a horse is led, mounted and dismounted.
Odds-On: Odds of less than even money ($1 to $1). A winner at a payoff of under $4.00 is odds on.
Off Side: The right hand side of a horse.
Overlay: An overlay occurs when a horse that is placed at a certain price on the morning line receives considerably more play than expected. That horse is said to be overlaid. It signifies there is money being played on this horse that was not anticipated and the payoff price will be smaller than originally expected.
Overnight: A race for which entries close 72 hours (exclusive of Sundays) or less before the post time for the first race on the day the race is to be run. Also, the (usually) photocopied sheet available to horsemen in the racing secretarys office showing the entries for the following day.
Overweight: Depending on conditions each horse carries an assigned weight. When the jockey cannot make the weight, overweight is allowed but not more than 5 pounds. The overweight is either posted on an information board or announced on the public address system prior to the race.
Paddock: The area at the race track where the horses are saddled and viewed prior to a race. A fenced off field on a farm.
Placing Judge: Officials from the Racing Secretarys Office are in charge of the official placing of horses during and after the running of a race. Two of the judges call the view of the race to a third judge who feeds the information by computer to the tote board. The judges determine the official order of finish by viewing a still negative film of each entrant reaching the finish line, proceeding to the last place finisher. Their viewing stand is located on top of the grandstand, at the finish line.
Plater: A term for a thoroughbred that runs in cheap claiming races. Also the farrier who makes or fits the shoes or plates.
Post: The starting point for a race.
Post Position: A position in the starting gate from the inner rail outward which is decided by a drawing at the close of entries the day prior to the race.
Post Time: The time at which all entries are required to be at the post and ready to start.
Preferred List: A group of entrants having priority in the event that a race draws more entries than can be accommodated.
Public Trainer: One who trains for more than one owner, usually on a per diem basis.
Quarterhorse: A type of steed recently established as a breed which is extremely fast at short distances. While so-called quarterhorse racing was popular in Colonial times it has, in recent years, had a renaissance in the West.
Quarter Pole: On a one-mile track, the pole at the turn into the stretch a quarter of a mile before the finish.
Racing Secretary: The official who makes up the conditions for the races and assigns the weights for handicap races.
Ridgeling: A colt with one, or both, testicles undescended.
Route: A race of more than one and one-eighth miles is considered a route.
Scratch: There is a deadline for scratches after which permission must be obtained from the Stewards.
Set Down: A jockey who has been suspended has been set down.
Sex Allowance: In all races other than handicaps or where conditions state otherwise, fillies and mares are allowed weight below the scale, usually 3 pounds for 2-year-old fillies and 5 pounds for fillies and mares 3 and up, prior to September 1, and 3 pounds thereafter.
Shadow Roll: A thick noseband of sheeps wool used to prevent an entrant from seeing shadows directly in front of him which might cause him to jump or shy away.
Short: A thoroughbred that drops out of contention in the stretch or close to the finish is said to have been short, the inference being that with more work or preparation he might have lasted to the finish and perhaps have been the betting winner.
Silks: See colors. The jacket and cap worn by a jockey.
Sophomore: A 3-year-old thoroughbred is referred to as a sophomore.
Stayer: A thoroughbred that can run well at longer distances.
Stick: A jockeys whip.
Stickers: A type of shoe with caulks to provide better purchase under adverse track conditions.
Stud: A stallion used for breeding. Also a breeding farm.
Tack: The saddle and other equipment worn by a thoroughbred during racing or exercise.
Totalisator: An intricate piece of electronic equipment which records each wager in each betting pool as the pari-mutuel ticket is sold by a manually operated vending machine. This equipment calculates the odds on each betting entry, according to the amount wagered at given intervals.
Totalisator Board: A display board in the infield on which is posted electronically, data essential to the race goer such as approximate betting odds, total amount bet in each pool (on some boards), track condition, post time, time of day, result of race, official sign or inquiry or objection sign if a foul is claimed, running time and payoff prices after the race is declared official.
Track Variant: Track variant is a measurement of the speed of the thoroughbred according to how performances on the track measured up to one another during the course of an entire days racing program. There are a number of ways to calculate a variant and professional handicappers normally subscribe to one of these primary theories in order to get a feeling for how impressive a particular running time really was. It is clear that six furlongs in 1:10 on one day can be significantly more impressive than the same time on a different day. The track variant gives a player a chance to make those comparisons with some ease.
Under Wraps: A thoroughbred running under restraint is under wraps.
Washy: A thoroughbred that breaks out into a heavy sweat prior to the race is said to be washy.
Weight-For-Age: A type of horse betting race in which entrants carry scale weight or weight assigned arbitrarily according to age, distance and month of year. (See Scale of Weights.)
Work Tab: A list of morning workouts according to distance and time.
Yearling: A one year old colt or filly, just one year away from racing age.

If you’re new to racing, this basic Guide to Betting should help answer some of the questions you might have. If you’re not sure exactly what type of bet you want to have or don’t know what you should be looking for, we hope you’ll find the answers here.
Don’t forget though, having a little flutter on the horses should be fun and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes you’re as likely to have a winner by just deciding you like the name or the colours of the jockey!
Here we explore some of the basics to help you understand betting:
StakeWhen placing a bet, your stake is the amount of money you are willing to gamble - be it a cautious £1 or a rather more flamboyant £500.
If you're a winner, your winnings (also known as 'returns') are calculated according to your horse's odds.
OddsIn the world of betting, the odds (often referred to as the price) are a way of expressing the perceived probability of a horse winning a race and it's at this value which a bookmaker will lay his bets.
OK - so that's all relatively easy. Here's the more difficult bit. Prices can be odds against, even money or odds on.
Odds againstWhen the bookmaker offers a return which is more than double the amount staked for a win bet. If your stake is £1, a winning bet at 2/1 (pronounced two-to-one bet) will return you £2 plus your original stake of £1, making a total of £3.
Even money (or Evens)When the bookmaker offers a return which is double the amount staked on a win bet. If your stake is £1 the bookmaker will return £1 plus your stake, making a total of £2.
Odds onWhen the bookmaker offers a return which is less than double the amount staked for a win bet. A successful £1 bet at 1/2 (pronounced two-to-one-on), will return just 50p plus your stake, making a total of £1.50. The word 'on' indicates that the odds are reversed.
Long Odds or Short Odds? Sometimes, instead of a horse's odds being expressed as a fraction, you might hear that they are simply 'long' or 'short'. This isn't meant to refer to the horse itself - or even the jockey. Instead, odds that are said to be long (e.g. 50/1) point to the fact that a horse is very unlikely to win the race. Conversely, short odds (e.g. 2/1) indicate that a horse has a good chance of winning.

Make money in-play on the greatest basketball league with betting exchange Betfair, where you can get up to 20% better odds than a traditional sports bookmaker. NBA betting has never featured so many ways of making basketball pay.
Bet in-play with Betfair on the NBA and take a profit even if your original bet loses. For example if you were to back the L.A. Lakers to cover a handicap of 11.5 points with a traditional NBA sportsbook you would be forced to watch them bench Kobe Bryant and surrender a 20 point lead to a still cosy but financially useless 8 point victory. With Betfair you can lay off your bet to guarantee a profit regardless of the final outcome.
The NBA splits into the East and West Conference and then again to form six divisions of five teams. The top two teams in each division progress, while two more positions for each conference are decided by the wild card system. A more successful season achieves a fixture against a lesser team in the all important playoffs where 16 sides remain. It is at this point that the NBA really heats up on Betfair.
NBA betting in the Western Conference market has been dominated in recent times by the L.A. Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. The Eastern Conference has been both less predictable and less successful since the Chicago Bulls odyssey ended in 1998. NBA Odds are available throughout the season and there will always be others waiting to match your bets from the first game right through to the finals.
Basketball betting is all about momentum and with Betfair it’s possible to capitalise on this with great effect. The 2004 contest between Philadelphia and Toronto saw 17 lead changes in the last quarter alone allowing a patient layer obtain maximum profits in-play.
The Seattle Supersonics were 100/1 to win the 2004/2005 NBA finals with one US Sportsbook and while this sounds impressive one punter availed himself to odds of 309/1 with Betfair.
The usual NBA betting markets such as money lines, handicap lines and points spreads are all available with Betfair and unlike some Sportsbooks you won’t be restricted if you win. Near 100% books mean even after the commission betfair punters regularly beat the odds available elsewhere.
With Betfair, NBA betting has never been so comprehensive.
The LA Lakers have been the most successful NBA team in recent history - below shows all NBA winners since 1973. Finding the next winner may not be an easy task, but using Betfair will help make your basketball betting more profitable than ever before.