Football betting terms glossary

If matched betting itself is new to you, start with what matched betting is, then come back here when a word trips you up.

Match result markets

1X2 is the match result market. It has three outcomes: 1 is a home win, X is a draw and 2 is an away win. Bookmakers tend to call it "match result" or "full time result", and on an exchange you'll usually see "match odds". It's the market our 2UP and B90 alerts are built around.

Draw no bet means you pick a team, and if the match is drawn your stake comes back. It's two outcomes instead of three.

Double chance covers two of the three results in one bet, such as "home or draw". The odds are shorter, because you're covering more.

Half time/full time (HT/FT) asks you to predict the result at half time and at full time, for example "draw/home". There are nine possible combinations.

Goals markets

Both teams to score (BTTS) is a yes or no market. Yes wins if both sides score at least once. No wins if at least one side doesn't score. When you lay BTTS on an exchange, check you're laying the same side, Yes or No, that you backed.

Over/under goals is a bet on the total number of goals. The line is usually a half goal, such as 2.5, so there's no tie. Over 2.5 needs three or more goals.

Correct score is the exact final score. Rarer scores are usually grouped together, as in "any other home win".

Handicaps

An Asian handicap gives one team a head start or a deficit in goals, so the market has two outcomes. Rovers +1.5 wins unless Rovers lose by two or more. Rovers -1.5 needs Rovers to win by two or more.

On a whole line like +1, your stake comes back if the handicap makes the result level. On a quarter line like -0.25, your stake is split across the two nearest lines, 0 and -0.5. If the match is a draw, you get half your stake back and lose the other half.

A European handicap is a three-way handicap, where the handicap draw is a separate outcome. Don't lay an Asian handicap bet with a European handicap market, or the other way round. They don't cover the same results.

Timing and settlement terms

A 90-minute market counts regular time plus stoppage time. Extra time and penalties don't count. Markets such as "to qualify" do include them, and in a cup tie that difference decides how your bet settles. Stoppage time is the time added at the end of each half, and goals in it count towards a 90-minute result.

In-play means betting after kick-off. Prices move fast and markets pause often, so matched bettors usually place both bets before kick-off.

A suspended market is paused, and nobody can bet on it. On Betfair's exchange, a goal, a penalty or a red card is a "Material Event". Unmatched bets are cancelled at that point unless you set them to "Keep". At the off you can also set an unmatched bet to "Take SP", so it turns into a bet at the starting price.

Void means the bet is cancelled and the stake returned. That can happen when a match is abandoned and the market's rules say the bet is void.

Bets that combine selections

An accumulator (acca) puts several selections in one bet. Every leg has to win, and the odds multiply.

A bet builder puts several outcomes from the same match in one bet, such as "home win and over 2.5 goals". To lay one, you need an exchange market that covers exactly the same combination. Check it exists before you back.

2UP and B90 terms

2UP is an early payout offer. If the team you backed goes two goals ahead, the bookmaker pays your bet as a winner, whatever the final score. At Sky Bet you must bet on a separate market, "Full Time Result - 2UP". Bet365 pays on its standard Full Time Result market for selected competitions. Both settle on 90 minutes, and neither pays on the Draw. At Bet365, a bet you cash out loses the offer. At Sky Bet, a full cash out loses it. Our guide to how to do 2UP matched betting shows the full method, and the Bet365 early payout offer covers that bookmaker's version. The 2UP Calculator is our free tool for the lay stake and liability, and it needs no account.

B90 is a different offer. Betfair Sportsbook's 90 Minute Guarantee pays your bet as a winner if your selection is winning at 90:00 on its Match Odds 90 market. It's for pre-match bets, on singles, accas and Bet Builders. A team pegged back in stoppage time still pays. See the Betfair 90 Minute Guarantee explained for how matched bettors use it.

Full turnaround (FTA) is the 2UP case matched bettors wait for. Your team goes two goals ahead, so the bookmaker pays early, and then it fails to win, so your lay wins as well. A comeback is that team being pegged back. The bookmaker has already paid, so a comeback changes only your exchange position.

Lock in means backing the same team on the exchange after the early payout, to fix your result whatever happens next. It isn't cash out, where the bookmaker buys your bet back at its own price. It's optional and depends on the live price. Our guide to locking in a 2UP explains when it's worth doing.

Exchange terms

A back bet is a bet that something will happen. You place it at the bookmaker.

A lay bet is a bet that something won't happen, placed on a betting exchange, a site where you bet against other people. When you lay, you take the bookmaker's side. Our guide to lay betting covers it in full.

Liability is what the exchange takes from your balance to cover a lay. It's what you'd owe if the selection wins.

Commission is the exchange's cut of your net winnings on a market. Betfair's rate in the UK depends on your My Betfair Rewards package, and its Basic package charges 2%. Rates differ between exchanges and account types, so check yours.

Liquidity is the money actually waiting to be matched at a price. A market too thin to take your lay isn't a real option, however close the prices look.

A lay is matched once someone takes the other side. Until then it's unmatched, and you can cancel it.

Odds and maths terms

Fractional and decimal odds are two ways to write the same price. 5/2 in fractional odds is 3.50 in decimal, so you get £3.50 back for every £1 staked, stake included. Evens is 2.00. Our guide to betting odds has the conversions.

Implied probability is one divided by the decimal odds. 3.50 implies 28.6%, and 2.00 implies 50%.

Rating is how close the exchange lay price is to the bookmaker's back price. At 100% the pair of bets costs nothing to place. Anything less is the qualifying loss you pay to enter the offer.

Qualifying loss is what placing the back and lay pair costs you before the offer pays out. Most offers end in a small qualifying loss like this one, and results vary.

Football betting terms people mix up

Match odds, Match Odds 90 and a 2UP market are three different markets, even on the same match. Back on the one the offer names.

See the terms on real fixtures

The weekend 2UP list is a free page on our site. It names the weekend's qualifying fixtures and, for the top ones, shows the back and lay prices and the rating as they stood when the list was published on Friday.

See this weekend's 2UP fixtures

Checked against Bet365's, Sky Bet's and Betfair's terms on 14 November 2026.

18+ · GambleAware.org · 0808 8020 133