What Does ‘Mush’ Mean in Sports Betting?

A “Mush” is a funny (but dreaded) slang term for a bettor who is notoriously unlucky.

It refers to a person who loses so consistently that they are considered a “cooler” or walking bad luck. The running joke is that if a “Mush” bets on a team, that team is instantly doomed to lose.

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The “Mush” Strategy (Fading)

Believe it or not, some bettors actually use this as a strategy. If they find out a known “Mush” loves a specific team, they will purposely bet the opposite side (this is called “fading”). The logic is simple: “If he’s always wrong, then doing the opposite must be right!”

Where Did It Come From?

The term was made famous by the classic 1993 movie “A Bronx Tale.” The character “Eddie Mush” was such a loser that the local bookies loved him, and nobody wanted to sit near him at the racetrack because his bad luck was contagious. As the movie says: “Everything he touched turned to Mush.”