Glossary of Spread Betting Terms

ARBITRAGE- Using the different quotes offered by spread firms at the start of an event to buy with one firm and sell with another, so that they can guarantee themselves a profit no matter what the final result. See our TIPS page for an example.

BUY -A bet that the result of a sporting event will be higher than that quoted by the spread firm.

CLOSING- The closing of a current bet by placing a second bet of the same size in the opposite direction to the first. The effect is to finish the bet at the point when it is closed whether at a profit or a loss meaning that the gambler has no financial interest in that market for the duration of the event unless they decide to rejoin the market at a later time. Sounds complicated - but isn't! See our TUTORIAL page for an example.

CROSS GOALS- A very volatile bet offered by Sporting Index, mainly on a Saturday for each English football league division involving the games that kick off at 3pm. It is the total number of home goals in that division multiplied by the total number of away goals. There is no 'in-running' on these bets, once you're in, you're in!!

CROSS CORNERS- The total number of corners gained by the home team in a football match multiplied by the total number of corners gained by the away team.

FIRST, LAST, BLAST (FLB)- Refers to a Sporting Index bet, mainly in football and American Football where the scoring of the first goal/touchdown is awarded 25 pts and the scorer of the last goal/touchdown is awarded 25pts, but nothing is awarded for scoring goals/touchdowns in between.If only one goal/touchdown is scored, that player is awarded 50pts he has scored the first and last goal!

GOAL MINUTES- The cumulative total of every goal scored in a match by the minute it was scored. Ie - Score 3 -1 with goals timed at 10mins, 30mins, 70mins and 85mins the goal minutes index would finish at 195mins. This market is traded in running and it is also available for individual players.

HEAVYWEIGHTS- Refers to a horse racing bet of the racecard number ones in all of the races in a particular meeting. Points awarded are 25pts to the race winner, 10 for second and 5 for third.

HEDGING- Laying off a spread bet by making another bet on a fixed odds market.

HOTSHOTS- Goals scored by 4 nominated players in a football match - normally the 2 main strikers of each team. Each goal counts as 25pts, apart from with IG who award 20pts. A player who does not start is awarded 8pts (5pts with IG). This same market can also operate for Rugby and American football and can be refered to as SHOOTING STARS or NETBUSTERS

IN RUNNING TRADING- Betting on an event whilst it is taking place. The markets are constantly updated. See our IN RUNNING page for further information and example.

LIMITED LOSS ACCOUNTS-An increasingly popular account with all of the spread firms to attract new custom. The accounts allow for smaller stakes and impose a stop loss to avoid massive losses.

LONG TERM BET- A spread bet that involves a long term market - for example a trade on the number of points for a team in a particular football season, number of runs in a cricket series etc.

MAKE UP- The final results for all markets for a particular game or long term market.

MARGIN- Payment required by the spread firms for spread bettors to keep a long term position open. Usually called for when a bet has turned against a client and a running position exceeds the client' credit limits.

MARKET MAKERS-The traders in a firm who are responsible for setting the quotes and trading games in running. The market makers are specialists in different sports.

MATCH BET-- A specific bet on the head-to-head performance of two horses, individuals or teams in an event, regardless of how well they do against all of the other competitors in that event.

MAXIMUM MAKE UP- The limit set by the spread firms before the bet is struck on the maximum figure that a particular market can finish at.

MULTI CORNERS-The total number of corners in a football match in the first half of the game multiplied by the total number of corners in the second half. The total number refers to those gained by both teams. This market can usually be traded in running.

OPEN POSITION- A bet that has not been closed by a client and is still running.

SELL- A 'down' bet on a spread. The bettor is betting that the result will be lower than the quote offered by the firm.

STOP AT A WINNER-Usually a horseracing bet on how many races on a race card will elapse before a fav. wins. The Make Up is 10 times the number of the race on the race card. If there's no. fav winning on the card the make up is the total number of races on the card plus 10 -ie 6 races - 6 x 10 + 10 = 70

STOP LOSS-A limit on the maximum make up of the bet. Applies to certain markets for all clients and nearly all markets for clients with a limited risk account.

STAKE- The amount in pounds per point bet by a client.

SUPREMACY-A bet of how much one team will beat the other. Popular in all sports -particularly football

TON UPS-Largely for cricket and snooker bets. It is based on the cumulative scores of all players who score over 100 in a particular event. Ie a player in the World Snooker Championships who gets a 147 will contribute 47 points to that market. Same for cricket.

YOUR CHOICE- A quote where both teams or individuals are thought by the spread firms to have an equal chance of winning. Which ever team the bettor supports gives away a small start which is the firms' margin.