Bad Beats Glossary: Betting Tips & Terms To Know

Before we get too deep into the weeds about some of the other terms, it’s important to know what a bad beat is.

Like we said earlier, the term originates from poker when a stellar hand loses to a card that was pulled on the river, after you’ve spent the whole hand thinking you were going to win (and likely pushing more chips into the pile along the way).

That same logic applies to sports betting, as it’s losing a bet you thought was in the bag.

For example, say you take the Dallas Cowboys at -9.5 on the spread in an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys take an early lead and go up by two touchdowns, putting them on track to cover. But in the game’s final minute, Patrick Mahomes throws a touchdown pass that cuts the deficit to seven points.

The Cowboys still win, but they fail to cover and your bet is ruined.

Bad beats tend to occur with wagers on the spread and Over/Under, which can swing based on meaningless points scored during garbage time.

Bad beats are an inevitable part of sports betting. If you bet frequently enough, you’re going to experience one eventually. You can try to avoid them by cashing out bets early before they happen, but it’s usually not worth it as you’ll sacrifice potential winnings in the long run.

A moneyline bet is a simple wager on a team to win the game, regardless of the margin of victory.

A bad beat on the moneyline can happen if a team is leading for most of the game, only to blow their lead and end up losing. One of the most famous examples of this was when the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

One way to try to avoid a bad beat on the moneyline is by betting on a team to win the first quarter or first half. You can also bet on them to cover the spread, which sometimes provides protection in the event of an outright loss (see below).

In sports betting, the point spread is the number of points a team is expected to win or lose by. A favorite must win by at least that number of points to cover, while the underdog must keep the score within that margin or win outright to cover.

For example, say the Green Bay Packers are -6.5 favorites over the Detroit Lions. If the Packers win by at least seven points, they cover. If they win by fewer than 6.5 points or lose, they don’t cover.

Point spreads are susceptible to bad beats, as things can get wonky at the end of games. The winning team will usually take its foot off the gas and remove its starters, often allowing the losing team to score meaningless points that affect the spread.

Also called the total, the Over/Under represents the total number of points, runs, goals, etc., that will be scored in a game by both teams combined. A sportsbook sets the line for the Over/Under, and then you bet whether the total will be above or below that number.

For example, a college basketball game may have an Over/Under of 145.5 points. If both teams combine for 146 points or more, the Over hits. If they combine for 145 points or fewer, the Under hits.

Like spread bets, Over/Unders can go down to the wire, especially in basketball where a made or missed free throw at the end of the game can be the difference.

A backdoor cover is a bad beat that typically applies to spread bets. It usually involves a losing team scoring meaningless points late in a game – sometimes on the last possession – to cover the spread.

For example, say the New York Jets are +8.5 underdogs against the Philadelphia Eagles. Trailing by 10 points, the Jets get the ball with two minutes left. They march down the field and kick a field goal on their final drive, cutting the deficit to seven points and covering the spread at the last possible minute.

Backdoor covers are fairly common, but you can limit bad beats on them by wagering on the moneyline or a smaller alternate spread instead.

If you’ve suffered a bad beat before, there’s a good chance it happened during garbage time.

Garbage time is the final minutes of a blowout when the game has already been decided. Starters typically leave the game during this time and are replaced by backups, who are less talented and more volatile than starters.

Since neither team is giving 100%, weird things can happen during garbage time that swing bets. For example, maybe a bench player hits a 3-pointer that swings the Over/Under or a backup quarterback throws a touchdown that leads to a backdoor cover.

The game isn’t over until it’s over, and many spread and Over/Under bets have been ruined during garbage time. Accordingly, you may want to cash out during garbage time to avoid a flukey outcome.

Prop bets are wagers on specific outcomes within a game that don’t have to do with the moneyline, spread or total.

There are three main types of props: game props, team props and player props.

Game props have to do with specific game outcomes, like whether the match will go to overtime or how many total touchdowns will be scored.

Team props are team-specific, so wagers on markets like which team will score first or how many goals a team will score.

Player props often involve player stats, such as betting on a player’s number of rebounds or assists in a game.

All of these are susceptible to bad beats, especially player props. If a player gets hurt and leaves a game early or gets into foul trouble, that often scuttles his player props.

Another common bad beat on a prop bet happens in football when a player gets negative yards on a play, either by getting tackled in the backfield or taking a knee at the end of a game. That can cause a yardage prop to go from hitting the Over to hitting the Under, often on a meaningless play.

Parlays and same-game parlays are bets that combine multiple wagers (called legs) into one. Every leg must hit for the bet to win. If one loses, the whole bet loses.

Accordingly, parlays are more susceptible to bad beats than straight bets, as they need more outcomes to go right. If any leg is unlucky, it crashes your entire bet.

As such, we recommend smaller parlays with fewer legs to lessen the risk. It’s also better to give yourself more protection in parlays with alternate lines at shorter odds.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images.