How to Use This Glossary
Nine years of crypto baseball betting has left me fluent in a language that borrows from three different worlds: sports betting, blockchain technology, and baseball analytics. I wrote this glossary because I spent my first year confused by jargon that nobody bothered to define – and because the intersection of these three vocabularies creates terms that you will not find in any single reference guide. Use it as a lookup when you encounter unfamiliar terminology in any article on this site, or read it end to end to build a working vocabulary before diving into the technical guides. Terms are organised alphabetically. Where a term appears in both the crypto and baseball contexts with different meanings, I have noted both.
A – H
Action – a live bet. “Having action” on a game means you have money riding on it. In crypto contexts, action can also refer to total transaction volume on a sportsbook or protocol.
Alt line – an alternative line offered at different odds from the standard. In MLB, the standard run line is -1.5 / +1.5. An alt line might be -2.5 or +2.5, with adjusted pricing.
Bankroll – the total funds dedicated to betting. In crypto betting, your bankroll may be denominated in BTC, ETH, a stablecoin, or a combination. Managing it is a discipline unto itself.
Block confirmation – the inclusion of your transaction in a mined block on the blockchain. Most crypto sportsbooks require one to three confirmations before crediting a deposit.
Bullpen – the group of relief pitchers on an MLB team. Bullpen quality and availability heavily influence totals and late-game live betting lines.
Chalk – the favourite in a game. “Betting the chalk” means backing the team expected to win.
Closing line value (CLV) – the difference between the odds at which you placed your bet and the final odds at game time. Consistently beating the closing line is the strongest predictor of long-term profitability.
Cold storage – storing cryptocurrency offline on a hardware wallet, paper wallet, or other device not connected to the internet. Essential for protecting the majority of a betting bankroll.
Custodial – a platform that holds your funds on your behalf. Most centralised crypto sportsbooks are custodial. Decentralised protocols are non-custodial – you retain control of your keys.
dApp – decentralised application. In betting, a dApp is a sportsbook or betting protocol that runs on a blockchain through smart contracts rather than on a company’s servers.
Decimal odds – the total return per unit staked, including the original stake. 2.50 decimal odds means a 1-unit bet returns 2.50 units total. The default display format on most crypto sportsbooks.
DeFi – decentralised finance. The ecosystem of financial applications built on blockchain networks, including decentralised sportsbooks, liquidity pools, and yield protocols.
Dime line – a moneyline where the difference between the favourite and underdog prices is ten cents (in American odds). A tighter dime line indicates a lower sportsbook margin. Example: -130 / +120 is a dime line.
ERA – earned run average. The number of earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings pitched. A key input for totals and pitcher prop modelling.
Expected value (EV) – the average profit or loss per bet if the same bet were placed infinitely. Positive EV (+EV) means the bet is profitable over the long run.
F5 (first five innings) – a bet type that settles based on the game state after five complete innings, isolating the starting pitcher matchup.
FIP – fielding independent pitching. A metric that estimates a pitcher’s ERA based only on events the pitcher controls: strikeouts, walks, and home runs.
Gas fee – the transaction fee paid to process operations on the Ethereum network (and similar blockchains). Gas fees fluctuate with network demand.
Handle – the total amount of money wagered on an event or across a sportsbook. The US sports betting market exceeded $165 billion in handle during 2025.
Hedge – a bet placed to reduce risk on an existing position. Commonly used with futures bets during the MLB postseason.
Hot wallet – a cryptocurrency wallet connected to the internet, used for active transactions. Convenient but more vulnerable to hacking than cold storage.
I – P
Implied probability – the probability of an outcome as suggested by the odds. Calculated as 1 divided by the decimal odds. Includes the sportsbook’s margin.
Juice – another term for the vig or margin. The sportsbook’s built-in profit on a bet. Also called “the vig” or “overround.”
K/9 – strikeouts per nine innings. A core metric for pitcher strikeout prop evaluation.
KYC – know your customer. Identity verification required by some platforms. Crypto sportsbooks range from no KYC to full verification.
Layer 2 (L2) – a secondary network built on top of a primary blockchain (like Ethereum) that processes transactions faster and cheaper. Examples: Arbitrum, Optimism, Base.
Lightning Network – a Layer 2 protocol for Bitcoin that enables instant, near-zero-fee transactions through payment channels.
Liquidity pool – a pool of funds locked in a smart contract that provides the capital for a decentralised sportsbook’s payouts. Liquidity providers earn a share of the protocol’s net betting revenue.
Live betting (in-play) – bets placed after a game has started, with odds updating in real time based on the game state.
Moneyline – a bet on which team will win the game, with no point spread. The most common MLB bet type.
Mempool – the waiting area for unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions. During high network congestion, low-fee transactions can sit in the mempool for hours.
Non-custodial – a wallet or platform where the user controls their own private keys. Funds cannot be frozen or seized by the service provider.
Oracle – a service that delivers real-world data (like game scores) to a blockchain smart contract. Critical infrastructure for decentralised sportsbooks.
Overround – the percentage by which implied probabilities of all outcomes exceed 100%. A measure of the sportsbook’s margin. Lower overround means better value for the bettor.
Parlay (accumulator) – a single bet combining multiple selections. All legs must win for the parlay to pay out. Higher risk, higher reward.
Prop bet – a bet on a specific occurrence within a game, not directly tied to the final outcome. Pitcher strikeouts, batter hits, and inning-specific events are common MLB props.
Provably fair – a cryptographic system that allows bettors to verify that a bet’s outcome was not manipulated by the platform.
Q – Z
RBF (Replace-By-Fee) – a Bitcoin transaction feature that allows you to rebroadcast a stuck transaction with a higher fee to speed up confirmation.
ROI (return on investment) – net profit divided by total amount wagered, expressed as a percentage. A 5% ROI means five pounds of profit per 100 pounds wagered.
Run line – MLB’s version of the point spread. Always set at -1.5 for the favourite and +1.5 for the underdog. The odds on each side adjust based on the matchup.
Sabermetrics – the empirical analysis of baseball through advanced statistics. Key to informed betting on pitcher and batter props.
Seed phrase – a sequence of 12 or 24 words that serves as the master backup for a cryptocurrency wallet. Anyone with the seed phrase can access the wallet’s funds. Store offline, never digitally.
Sharp – a professional or highly informed bettor whose action moves lines. “Sharp money” refers to bets from these individuals or groups.
Smart contract – self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement. The foundation of decentralised sportsbooks.
Stablecoin – a cryptocurrency pegged to a fiat currency (usually the US dollar). USDT and USDC are the most common stablecoins used in crypto betting. Stablecoins account for approximately 60% of all crypto wagers.
SwStr% (Swinging Strike Rate) – the percentage of pitches that result in a swing and miss. A key early-season indicator of pitcher strikeout potential.
Total (over/under) – a bet on whether the combined score of both teams will be over or under a number set by the sportsbook.
UKGC – United Kingdom Gambling Commission. The regulator responsible for licensing and overseeing gambling in Great Britain. No UKGC-licensed operator currently accepts crypto deposits.
Unit – a standard bet size defined as a percentage of your bankroll. Typically 1% to 2% for crypto MLB betting, depending on volatility tolerance.
Vig (vigorish) – the sportsbook’s commission on a bet, embedded in the odds. On a standard -110 / -110 market, the vig is approximately 4.5%.
Wallet address – a unique string of characters representing a destination for cryptocurrency transfers. Always verify the address before sending funds – transactions are irreversible.
Whale – a bettor who places very large wagers. Whale action can move lines significantly on crypto sportsbooks with thin liquidity.
wOBA (weighted on-base average) – a batting metric that assigns different values to different ways of reaching base. More predictive than traditional batting average for evaluating hitter quality.
Zero-confirmation deposit – a deposit credited to your sportsbook account before the blockchain transaction is included in a mined block. Faster but carries a small risk of the transaction being reversed if it fails to confirm.
