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Reference

Sports market glossary

Plain-language definitions for the vocabulary of odds, prediction markets and sports analytics. One term per page, each linked to the terms it depends on.

Standing

Last ReviewedEditorial review 2026-08-01

21 terms published across 15 letters. Definitions are first-party editorial, so each one publishes only after review.

A

American odds
A price format quoted relative to 100 units: negative for favourites, positive for underdogs.

C

Closing line
The final price before an event begins; the standard benchmark for price quality.

D

Decimal odds
Total return per unit staked, stake included. The most direct format for probability work.

E

Expected value
The average outcome per unit staked implied by a probability estimate and a price.
Edge
The gap between an independent probability estimate and the market's no-vig probability.

F

Fair price
The price at which a stated probability estimate has zero expected value.
Favourite
The outcome a market prices as most likely, shown by the shortest price.

H

Hold
The share of staked money a venue retains, in theory or in realised terms.

I

Implied probability
The probability a quoted price corresponds to, before the operator's margin is removed.

L

Line movement
A change in a posted price over time, reflecting new information, flow, or risk management.
Liquidity
How much size a market absorbs before the price meaningfully moves.

M

Market efficiency
The degree to which posted prices already reflect available information.

N

No-vig price
A price restated after the margin is removed, so the market's probabilities sum to 100%.

O

Overround
The amount by which a market's implied probabilities exceed 100%. Also called vig, juice, or hold.
Order book
The standing bids and offers that define an exchange-traded contract's price.

P

Prediction market
An exchange where contracts on real-world outcomes trade between participants and settle at a fixed value.

R

Resolution criteria
The written conditions under which a market pays out, voids, or is postponed.

S

Steam move
A fast, correlated price move across multiple venues in the same direction.
Spread
The gap between the best bid and best offer — the immediate cost of transacting.
Settlement source
The named authority whose result determines how a contract or market resolves.

V

Variance
The dispersion of outcomes around an expected value, and the reason short records prove little.