Alan Kendall joined Basketball Insiders in January, 2023 with over fifteen years of experience writing about online sports betting. He is an experienced writer with a strong interest in the NBA, NFL, NHL and UFC. Alan brings a wealth of knowledge to every piece he contributes to and has written for many publications including Augusta Free Press and The Sports Daily.
All posts by Alan Kendall
Neil is a gambling industry veteran with over 15 years experience as a content writer, editor and speaker at events. He has a Masters degree in English Literature and Philosophy and has combined this analytical inquisitiveness with a passion for sports betting and casino gaming. Neil started his career with Bettingpro.com and helped build not only that site but various others such as LiveTennis.com, LiveDarts.com and numerous other sports informational sites, including GG.co.uk and RacingTips.com He then made the transition to the North American market, working both in the UK and in New Jersey to launch various sports betting and casino sites, including AmericanBettingExperts and NewAmericanCasinos. Working with regulators, Neil has helped to review sports betting sites and also test the regulated betting apps in a professional capacity. He now works almost exclusively in the US market and is one of the main reviewers and fact checkers on SportsLens gambling content. He also speaks at various gambling conferences including ICE, iGB Live and SBC Americas and has contributed to GamblingInsider, EGR Magazine and a number of others in a consulting capacity.
All posts by Neil RoartyChalk in sports betting means that the prediction is a strong favorite in a game or event. It often refers to the team that is extremely likely to win, but is also used to describe horses and individual players.
Betting the chalk is not just about backing favorites. For a competitor to be in the chalk category, it must be an absolute firm favorite with very little doubt about the outcome. Also known as a ‘dead cert’, chalk has been around for many years and provides a very high probability outcome that can be identified using the bookmaker’s odds.
Where Did the Term ‘Chalk’ Come From?
Chalk bets originated decades ago in the days of horse racing betting, when sportsbooks would display the odds on a chalkboard at a local betting venue or racetrack. The sports betting favorites of the day often received the most attention from bettors, so the chalked odds were constantly rubbed-out and updated as the wagers flowed in. The term was not just used for horse racing and often included other sports such as baseball and soccer.
Recently, the modern equivalent of chalk at retail sportsbooks and betting venues is the digital odds board, or whiteboard, which you can see on the wall that presents information about the current day’s sporting action.
Examples of Chalk
Odds that are considered chalk typically refer to sports betting lines or point spreads that heavily favor the expected winner. You can use top online sportsbook sites to browse sporting markets and identify odds that are considered chalk. Ultimately, to be considered chalk the odds tend to be around the -400 market for the moneyline and -8.5 on the point spread depending on the sport. Let’s take a look at a few examples of heavy favorites across multiple sports.
Image source: betonline.ag Football Betting Chalk
In a football game between the heavily favored New England Patriots and the underdog Miami Dolphins, a chalk betting example would be if the point spread is set at -9.5 for the Patriots, indicating that they are expected to win by at least 10 points.
Soccer Betting Chalk
In a soccer game in the English Premier League, where Nottingham Forest go on the road to firm favorites Arsenal, a chalk bet would be to back Arsenal at -500 in a moneyline bet. A $100 bet on Arsenal will return a profit of around $18, whereas the same stake would make a huge $1400 profit if the underdog were to win depending on the odds.
Baseball Betting Chalk
In baseball, where the Los Angeles Dodgers were playing against a struggling team like the Arizona Diamondbacks, the chalk would be set by oddsmakers to favor the Dodgers to win by several runs such as -5.5 on the run line.
Horse Racing Betting Chalk
During the Kentucky Derby, a chalk betting example is if a horse with a fantastic track record and exceptional form has odds of 10-11, indicating that it is heavily favored to win the race, particularly when the second favorite is priced at longer odds of 7-1 in comparison. It can be known as the heavy chalk.
Difference Between Moneyline Chalks and Spread Chalks
The main difference between chalk betting in moneyline and point spread is that in moneyline sports betting, chalk refers to the heavily favored team to win outright. In spread betting, chalk refers to the team favored to cover the point spread set by the sportsbook.
Image source: everygame.eu Moneyline
When you bet the chalk on the moneyline, you will find that the odds are very short due to it being the most likely winner in a match-up between two teams. Meaning you will have to risk a larger stake in order to make a decent profit.
Spread
If you cover the spread in sports betting, the team is expected to win by a certain number of points, but the odds on the margin of victory are generally not too far from the odds on the margin of defeat. This encourages equal wagering on both sides. Point spread chalks are also available in ice hockey and baseball as puck line and run line chalks.
Is Betting on ‘Chalks’ a Profitable Strategy?
Chalk betting can be used as part of a profitable long-term sports betting strategy for professional gamblers depending on the sport and market. It involves consistently betting on the firm favorites with high probability, which can provide a higher chance of winning, but may also result in smaller payouts.
However, it’s never a good idea to jump in and be a blind chalk eater, without having an understanding of the teams and individuals you are backing. Even when betting the chalk, it’s good practice to do so on the sports you are most knowledgeable about, due to the fact that bookmakers do still get it wrong from time-to-time, or may overvalue a particular pick.
Under the correct circumstances, chalk betting can be classed as lower risk as the favorites are often considered more reliable and consistent. Therefore, more frequent sports betting payout opportunities are available when betting on favorites in multiple games or events.
Even when betting on chalks, it’s important to analyze the favorites in a given event or game and make informed decisions based on usual betting factors, such as team reputation, performance, form and statistics to increase the chances of a successful bet.
What is a Chalk Bracket?
A selection of teams or competitors that are heavy favorites are considered as the chalk bracket. It contains the best seeds from a particular sport, such as basketball, which are the top ranked in the league. The term is most commonly used in college basketball betting during March Madness when bettors predict the Final Four – the last four teams remaining in the tournament, an increasingly popular pastime with over 60 million Americans filling out a March Madness bracket per year.
The tournament brackets are not random, but instead selected by the committee members to balance the play. This ensures that the top seeded teams do not match-up until the later rounds. However, unlike some other sports, the event is popular due to the high level of competition, unpredictability and potential for upsets.
FAQs About Chalk Betting
In this section we aim to briefly answer some of the most commonly asked questions about chalk betting.
Why is sports betting called chalk?
What is chalk slang for?
What does eating chalk mean in betting?
Expert Guides
More
