Chalk
What does "chalk" mean in sports betting?
Chalk is slang for the favorite. Betting the chalk means backing favorites, and a chalky slate or bracket is one where the favorites mostly win.
The term comes from the days when odds were written on chalkboards. One common explanation is that books wrote the spread only next to the favorite, so the chalk marked the favorite.
Chalk can also be used as a knock on a bettor who always backs favorites without checking the price.
Example
A four-leg parlay of -200 favorites is a chalk parlay. Each leg is 1.5 in decimal, so the parlay pays 1.5^4 = 5.0625, about +406. Even if every leg wins 66.67% of the time, the ticket hits only 19.75% of the time.
Related terms
Parlay
A parlay combines two or more bets into one ticket. Every leg has to win, and the payout is the odds of each leg multiplied together.
Underdog
The underdog is the side the market expects to lose. On a moneyline it usually has a plus number, and on a spread it gets points.
Favorite
The favorite is the side the market expects to win. On a moneyline it has a minus number, and on a spread it gives up points.
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