Sports Betting 101: Betting terminology, or getting the lingo down

How do moneylines work? — Moneyline bets are the easiest type of wager you can make. If you're new to sports betting, moneylines are likely the best place to start. While other types of wagers, such as totals, spreads, parlays or propositions, are pretty simple when you understand how they work, moneylines are intuitive and easy to calculate.

What are prop bets? — Prop bets are short for proposition bets - a speculative wager placed on a particular event happening during the game. For instance, it might be a prop bet on a player scoring a certain number of points in an NBA game or being the first to score a touchdown in an NFL game.

What is a parlay bet? — A parlay is a sports bet that combines several individual wagers into one single bet. In most cases, for the parlay to payout, you need all of the separate wagers to be successful.

Over/under explained — Also known as a total points bet, an Over Under bet is one of the most popular types of wagers around. What makes it so great? These bets are simple to make, yet completely unique in nature. Unlike other wagers, Over/Under bets are centered around the grand total of points scored during the game rather than which team wins.

And there's much, much more to learn! Just click here for OddsChecker's Complete Guide to Betting Terminology. It's just one part of OddsChecker's series of Betting Guides, all designed for you to have the absolute best and most productive sports betting experience possible.

Meanwhile, if you're new to sports betting, here are some handy tips that can help you stay on the right track.

• Be disciplined - Don't get carried away, set a budget and stick to it. Don't chase losses and just make small bets to start with until you're more familiar with how it all works
• Track your bets - Make a note of all the bets you place and their outcomes. You may want to do this with a spreadsheet, a piece of paper or an app. Once you have enough data, it'll help you understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie
• Find picks - While you're getting to grips with how sports betting works, you may want to take advantage of the experience, knowledge, and insight of professional handicappers who offer picks and predictions that you can use when making your bets.
• Find free bets - Free bets can help you get more for your money by taking away some of the risk. Most sportsbooks offer free bets to new customers, so check out our list of the latest free bets to find the ones that are right for you.
• Compare odds - While most sportsbooks offer odds on most sports, they won't all be equal. Placing a bet with the best odds means you'll receive more if you're successful. We make this easy by comparing the odds of all the leading bookies in the US, helping you to always get the best value from every wager you place.