Having a wager on a game.

If a team is 5-2 ATS, it means it has a 5-2 record against the point spread, or more commonly referred to simply as the “spread.”

When a team scores points at the end of a game to cover the spread unexpectedly.

Losing a bet you should have won. It’s especially used when the betting result is decided late in the game to change the side that covers the spread. Also used in poker, such as when a player way ahead in the expected win percentage loses on the river (last card).

Someone who places a wager for another person (aka “runner”).

Short for sportsbook or bookmaker; person or establishment that takes bets from customers.

A person who accepts bets illegally and charges vig.

Some bookies or sportsbooks will allow customers to alter the set line and then adjust odds. For example, a bettor might decide he wants to have his team as a 3-point underdog instead of the set line of 2.5. He has then “bought” half a point, and the odds of his bet will be changed.

The favorite in the game. People said to be “chalk” bettors typically bet the favorite.

A game for which the betting limits are lowered, usually because of injuries and/or weather.