Glossary
Every term used across SharpSharks, in plain language. If you remember nothing else, remember EV%, CLV, and devig.
Core math
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| EV% | Expected value as a percent of stake. EV% = (fair_prob × payout_multiplier) - 1. A +5% EV bet returns $1.05 per $1 staked on average. |
| CLV | Closing line value. The difference between the price you got and the price at game close. Positive CLV is the gold standard of sharp betting. Full guide. |
| Devig | De-vigging. Stripping the bookmaker's vig out of a price to recover the no-vig fair probability. Full guide. |
| Fair Value | The vig-free price. The price you would expect at a fair market with no bookmaker margin. |
| Vig / Juice | The bookmaker's margin baked into prices. -110 / -110 is ~4.5% vig. |
| No-vig Price | The fair price after stripping vig. If a book quotes -110/-110 (52.4% / 52.4%), the no-vig price is 50/50. |
| Hold % | Total bookmaker margin on a market. 1/odds_a + 1/odds_b - 1. |
| Implied Probability | The probability of an outcome implied by its price. -110 = 52.4%, +150 = 40%. |
| Blended Probability | Our weighted average of multiple sharp books' fair probabilities. The v4 anchor. |
Books
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pinnacle | Offshore sportsbook with the lowest vig and highest accepted limits in the industry. Their lines are the closest thing to truth. |
| Circa | Las Vegas book. Sharp on NFL/NBA spreads. Posts opening lines early and aggressively. |
| LowVig | Sharp offshore book with very low hold. Good cross-check for Pinnacle. |
| BetOnlineAG | Offshore book that takes sharper action than most US books. |
| Sharp Book | A book whose prices are well-calibrated and that accepts large bets without limiting (Pinnacle, Circa, sometimes Bookmaker, BetCRIS). |
| Soft Book | A book whose prices lag the market and that limits winning players quickly (most US retail books to varying degrees). |
| Consensus Pricing | The fair value derived from multiple sharp books, weighted by calibration. Our v4 method. |
Edge categories
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| +EV Bet | A bet with positive expected value. Long-run profitable assuming the fair value estimate is correct. |
| Tier (A/B/C) | Our internal confidence rating. A: multi-book sharp confirmation, model agreement, calibrated book. B: solid but missing one element. C: speculative. |
| Arb | Arbitrage. Two opposing bets across books that lock in profit regardless of outcome. Full guide. |
| Middle | Two-sided bet where both can win if the result lands in a specific window. Full guide. |
| Scalp | A near-arb. Both sides at small loss in worst case, large win in best case (e.g., line moved). Same idea as middle, narrower window. |
| Hedge | Placing the opposite side of a bet you already have, to lock in part of the profit (or cut losses). |
| Steam | A rapid price move, usually triggered by sharp action. Following steam can be an edge, but the line moves before you bet. |
Markets
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| h2h / Moneyline / ML | Pick the winner. No spread. |
| Spread | Pick a team to cover a points handicap. |
| Total / Over-Under | Bet on combined points scored over or under a number. |
| Team Total | Bet on a single team's total points. |
| Player Prop | Bet on an individual player stat (points, rebounds, assists, etc.). |
| Game Prop | Bet on game-level outcomes other than the main markets (first scorer, exact score, etc.). |
| Live / In-play | Markets offered after the event has started. |
v4 method codes
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| v4_full | All three primary sharp books contributed (Pinnacle 45%, LowVig+Circa 30%, BetOnlineAG 25%). Highest confidence. |
| v4_pin | Pinnacle was the dominant or only sharp anchor. |
| v4_consensus | Two or more sharp books contributed but not all three. |
| v4_single | Only one sharp book had a quote. Use with extra caution. |
| v4_fallback | No sharp books available, fell back to broader consensus or market median. Lowest confidence. |
See Reading the v4 enrichment for the full breakdown.
Bankroll
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Unit | 1% of bankroll, by convention. A 1u bet on a $10,000 bankroll is $100. |
| Kelly Criterion | Mathematically optimal bet sizing given edge and odds. f = (bp - q)/b. Most pros use 1/4 to 1/2 Kelly to reduce variance. |
| ROI | Return on investment. Profit divided by total wagered. |
| Variance | How much W/L bounces around expected value over a sample. High variance = need bigger samples to see the edge. |
| Drawdown | The largest peak-to-trough decline in bankroll. Even +EV bettors face long drawdowns. Plan for them. |
Why we don't push parlays
A parlay is a sequence of bets that all must hit. Books love them because the vig compounds: a 2-leg parlay with -110 legs hides about 9% hold, vs 4.5% on a straight bet. Even when individual legs are +EV, the combined parlay is usually negative EV after the multiplier.
Our position: parlays are entertainment, not edge. We do not surface them. If you want to bet correlated outcomes, use same-game-parlay (SGP) only when the correlation is priced incorrectly, and even then, treat it as the exception.
Props vs Game Lines
Game lines (ML / spread / total) are highly liquid, sharp, and tightly priced. Edges are smaller and rarer, but more reliable.
Player props are less liquid, slower to update, and more error-prone. Edges are bigger but noisier. Books also limit prop bettors faster than game-line bettors. Different game, different style.