Scout Betting Term Meaning

Scout is a fairly common word in sports. Most clubs will have a scout whose job it is to find up-and-coming talent. Given its role in the sporting world, it’s fair to assume that a scout in betting is someone that goes looking for the best value bets. 

The betting term ‘scout’ refers to a punter who will wait patiently for a very strong wager (in their opinion) and then bet big. They will ‘scout out’ the best value bets but only put their money down when they find one that they really like.

Being a scout is similar to being a sharp or a wise guy, in that most will specialise in only a few sports and learn all they can about them. Many will also have a small number of teams or players that they are particularly fond of betting on, and will diligently analyse their performance statistics.

Internalising that information will make it easier for them to spot a great value bet, and so increase their chances of winning big.

Scouts differ from sharps and wise guys in the fact that they won’t risk their money on every good opportunity; they will wait for a great opportunity. Sharps and wise guys will usually be professional gamblers, so they have to bet pretty often to make a living, whereas a scout maybe just a regular person with a regular job who has a deep knowledge of a particular team. 

Punters often become scouts through their love of the sport and a bit of early luck. Most bettors will adopt a particular style of betting, and for scouts, this may develop with just a single decent wager at good odds. 

It may have been a tip from a friend on a ‘sure thing’, or seeing a bookmaker advertise some big match odds and thinking “that’s definitely mispriced…” 

Whatever the reason, when they place that big bet and it comes in, they will often see that style of betting as the one for them. They are happy to wait for another equally-big opportunity to arise before they place their next bet, which could be months in the future. 

Like sharps and wise guys, scouts are often monitored by online bookmakers. If you only place a handful big bets a year at long odds and most of them are winners, the bookmaker will take notice. Your betting patterns, along with those of other scouts, sharps, and wise guys, will be used by the bookmaker to see which odds need to be adjusted.