Knowledge Base
Glossary
Plain-English definitions for the terminology used across Football Compass.
- Accumulator
- A single bet combining four or more selections where all must win; potential returns are much higher than individual bets but the risk compounds with each added selection.
- Ante-Post
- Bets placed well in advance of a tournament or match, typically offering better odds but carrying the risk that stakes are lost if your selection withdraws or is ruled out.
- Asian Handicap
- A betting format that assigns a fractional goal advantage or disadvantage to each team, eliminating the draw outcome and creating a two-way market with more balanced odds.
- Banker
- A selection in an accumulator or system bet that you consider a near-certainty; if the banker loses, the entire bet is lost regardless of other results.
- Both Teams to Score (BTTS)
- A market that pays out if both sides score at least one goal each during regulation time, regardless of the final scoreline.
- Cash Out
- A feature that lets you settle an open bet before the match ends, receiving a portion of potential winnings (or recovering part of your stake) based on the current in-play odds.
- Closing Line Value (CLV)
- The difference between the odds you locked in and the odds available just before kick-off; consistently beating the closing line is a key indicator of long-term betting skill.
- Correct Score
- A high-odds market requiring you to predict the exact final scoreline of a match; even one goal off results in a losing bet.
- Double Chance
- A bet covering two of the three possible match results — win or draw, win or loss, or draw or loss — at reduced odds compared to a single-outcome selection.
- Draw No Bet (DNB)
- A market that removes the draw as an outcome; if the match ends level your stake is refunded, while a correct win prediction pays out at reduced odds.
- Expected Goals (xG)
- A statistical model measuring the quality of scoring chances based on shot location and type; used to evaluate whether a team's goals tally over- or under-reflects their actual performance.
- First Goalscorer
- A bet on which named player will score the opening goal of a match; the stake is typically refunded if the selected player does not appear.
- Futures
- Long-range bets on outcomes that will be decided over weeks or months, such as which nation will win the World Cup or which player will finish as the tournament's top scorer.
- Half-Time/Full-Time (HT/FT)
- A market requiring you to correctly predict both the half-time result and the final result in a single bet; the combined probability makes odds significantly higher than standard match-result markets.
- In-Play Betting
- Placing wagers on a match after it has already started, with odds updating in real time based on current score, possession, and match events.
- Line Movement
- The change in a betting line or odds from when they first open to just before the event starts, often signalling sharp money, injury news, or public betting pressure.
- Outright Bet
- A wager placed on the winner of an entire tournament, group, or award — such as World Cup champion or Golden Boot — before or during the competition.
- Over/Under
- A market where you bet on whether the total goals scored in a match will be above or below a bookmaker-set line, commonly 2.5 goals.
- Price Boost
- A temporary promotion where a bookmaker increases the odds on a specific selection above the standard market price, offering enhanced returns for a limited time.
- Prop Bet
- A wager on a specific event within a match rather than the final outcome, such as the number of yellow cards, a particular player's shots on target, or the method of the first goal.
- Same Game Multi (SGM)
- A bet combining two or more selections from the same match — such as a player to score and the over 2.5 goals line — into a single multi-leg wager.
- Value Bet
- A bet where the odds offered by a bookmaker are higher than the actual probability of the outcome occurring, giving the bettor a mathematical long-term edge.
- Vigorish (Vig)
- The bookmaker's built-in margin, also called juice or overround, which ensures the house has a mathematical edge regardless of the outcome; lower vig means better value for bettors.
- Void Bet
- A wager that is cancelled and the stake returned, usually triggered by a match abandonment, player non-participation, or a specific event not taking place.