Sports Betting Terms Starting with P: Complete Glossary and Definitions

The letter P includes sports betting terms tied to core wagering mechanics, player performance markets, and major sporting events. These definitions help clarify how odds, bet structures, and game situations are presented across different sports.

From parlays and point spreads to prop bets and playoff formats, these terms reflect how sportsbooks structure markets and how bettors evaluate risk, value, and outcomes.

This glossary section covers all P-related terms in this entry, preserving the original definitions while organizing them into the updated article layout.

P – Betting Terms Starting with P

Many P-related terms are foundational to understanding how bets are priced, structured, and settled across multiple sports. Learning these concepts can significantly improve how you interpret betting lines and market movement.

Browse the full glossary of betting definitions in our complete gambling terms guide.

Par

Golf | Par means scoring even (E).

Parlay

A type of bet that allows players to place multiple bets (at least two) and ties them together, you need multiple events to all win for higher payouts. This is a risky proposition, but also a highly lucrative betting type.

Past Post

To make a bet after an event has started.

Pass Interference

Football | In American and Canadian gridiron football, pass interference (PI) is a foul that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver’s ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass. Pass interference may include tripping, pushing, pulling, or cutting in front of the receiver, covering the receiver’s face, or pulling on the receiver’s hands or arms.

Penalty Flag

Football | The penalty flag (or "flag") is a yellow cloth used in several field sports including American football and lacrosse by game officials to identify and sometimes mark the location of penalties or infractions that occur during regular play. It is usually wrapped around a weight, such as sand or beans so it can be thrown accurately over greater distances.

Penalty Shootout

Soccer | If at the end of the game still tied after extra time, players take alternating shots from the penalty mark.

PGA

Acronym for Professional Golfers Association.

Photo Finish

A close race where the use of a photograph is required to determine the result.

Pick and Roll

Basketball | Also called screen and roll or shortened to screen roll, the pick and roll is an offensive play in which a player sets a screen (pick) for a teammate handling the ball and then slips behind the defender (rolls) to accept a pass.

Pick ‘Em

An instance in which neither team is favored. A game with no favorite or underdog. The point spread is zero, and the winner of the game is also the spread winner.

Pick 3

Horse Racing | Type of horse betting wager that includes picking the first place finishers of three consecutive races. If one leg of the pick 3 is a loss the entire wager will be deemed a loss.

Pick 4

Horse Racing | The first place finishers of four consecutive races must be picked in order to win this wager. The wager must be placed before post time of the first race. If one leg of the pick 4 is a loss the entire wager will be deemed a loss.

Pinch Hitter

Baseball | Term referring to a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football, or ice hockey, baseball does not have a "free substitution rule" and thus the replaced player in baseball is never allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player they replace.

Pitch Count

Baseball | In baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher in a game.

Plate Appearance

Baseball | In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting.

Playoffs

The postseason stage where top teams compete for a championship. Betting markets expand during playoffs, offering futures, series bets, and player props across the MyBookie sportsbook.

• NFL Playoffs Betting
• College Football Playoffs Betting
• NBA Playoffs Betting
• MLB Playoffs Betting
• NHL Playoffs Betting

Point Spread

The handicap assigned by sportsbooks to balance betting action between teams. Favorites must win by more than the spread, while underdogs can lose within the margin or win outright. Point spreads are most commonly used in football and basketball betting, but also apply to hockey (as the puck line) and other sports.

• Football (NFL & College) – Core betting market alongside moneylines and totals
• Basketball (NBA & College) – Primary way games are priced due to scoring volume
• Hockey (NHL) – Known as the puck line (typically ±1.5 goals). Learn more in this NHL betting guide
• Baseball (MLB) – Referred to as the run line (typically ±1.5 runs)

Pole Position

Auto Racing | The front starting position on the grid, awarded to the fastest qualifier. Pole position can influence race betting outcomes and driver props.

• Formula 1 (F1) – Most prominent use, with qualifying sessions determining the grid
• NASCAR – Pole position set by qualifying laps or metric-based systems
• IndyCar – Determined through multi-round qualifying formats
• MotoGP – Motorcycle racing equivalent with Q1 and Q2 qualifying sessions
• Endurance Racing (e.g., Le Mans) – Pole determined for multi-class race grids

Preakness Stakes

Horse Racing | American flat thoroughbred horse race held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the second leg of the Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and three weeks before the Belmont Stakes.

Price

Betting odds.

Prop Bet

Proposition Bet | A bet on something other than the outcome of a game. Common prop bets include an over/under on points scored, passing yards, or strikeouts by an individual. Type of bet on which specific sub-outcomes occur during a game in which multiple sub-outcomes normally have the same value, for example: Number of strikes, strikeouts, hits, errors, etc.

Public Betting Percentage

Also referred to as public betting trends, we offer real betting percentages from seven contributing sportsbooks. These numbers represent real bets placed at real sportsbooks. These percentages are integral for our betting against the public philosophy.

Pucks

A slang word used to indicate the game of hockey.

Puck line

In hockey, if you bet against the spread, you are betting on the Puck Line.

Punt

Football | A punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground.

Push

When a contest ends without a winner. In a moneyline sport this would happen if the game ended in a tie. In a spread sport, this would happen if the favorite wins by the exact spread.

Bet smarter with MyBookie Sportsbook and Online Casino. Access expert insights and strategy guides to better understand concepts like pricing, wager structure, market movement, and betting risk management in modern betting environments.

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About the Author

D.S. Williamson

Since 2008, D.S. Williamson has written about sports and sports handicapping. His philosophy is value-based, meaning stats and other handicapping factors are only worth something in comparison to wagering odds. He believes money management and making value-based wagers is the single more important factor that distinguishes successful sports bettors from non-successful sports bettors.

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