Why do I hear the word “chalk” in betting conversations?
Sports betting is complicated and it can be intimidating as a new bettor. We’re here to help.
Chris: All right Doug it’s time for bet-ology betting terminology helping people understand some of the slang around betting one of the words you hear all the time is chalk what does it mean how is it used
Doug: Yeah it’s a tip of the cap to the old school days of the sports book when there was actual chalkboards now everything’s digital and pretty and computerized and then before that it was like the little kind of ticker sort of little light dubs but then before that was was actual blackboards with chalk and when you see a game listed it is you know let’s say it’s I don’t know Raiders on top Chargers on the bottom and you only have the point spread written next to the favorite right so it’ll be next to Chargers it’ll be minus 5 and a half we’re on our Graphics it’ll be in parenthesis things like that so chalk is always referred to as the favorite because in the old school chalkboard days only the favorite would have a number next to it so when you’re saying hey I’m on a lot of chalk this weekend meaning you’re laying a lot of points with favorites so chalk is just the favorite
Chris: Can bettors be referred to as chalk if you bet on the favorite all the time yeah you’re a chalk player a chalk player
Doug: Yeah instead of a favorite player you’re a chalk player so that means but chalk means the favorite it’s just and then but that’s translated over to horse racing too uh you know you’re trying to beat the favorite beat the chalk um but chalk doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing but you like out a college football Saturday you don’t want to lay like 30 points on three different team you don’t be laying combined 100 points on three teams probably not going to cover all three but so chalk players are are frowned upon they’re they’re labeled as more recreational players I have embraced the chalk component which my buddy calls me the betting bully like I’ll find a really bad team and just bet against him and like I have no like all tickets cash the same like I’ll bet against a team that’s just terrible and if they’re historically bad I think there’s value like the market doesn’t correct in time and hasn’t adjusted um the Oakland A’s were horrendous to start the season and I didn’t think the market had adjusted enough and I so I was he likes to call me the betting bully like I’ve been betting against Michigan State the last couple weeks they have a lot of turmoil obviously with the Mel Tucker situation but last week I also bet against Arizona State and heck they they were floting with a 35 point upset win outright and I laid the 35 with the USC now they turned into a high school offense with halfback pass fake punt all this kind of nonsense is what you have to do when you’re outmanned and they had so many injuries but I’m not afraid to lay lay Lumber it’s like I don’t need to take the ugly dog plus seven and a half meaning this a team that’s been terrible and just take them as plus the points that’s an ugly dog they do exist but only in the betting world
Chris: That’s getting smarter one term at a time that’s bet-ology
