Casino Gaming Terminology

Michigan Gaming Control Board authorizes Four Winds Casinos, provider partner Pala for Feb. 15 online gaming and sports betting launch; Detroit casinos report $90.84 million in revenue for January while operating at limited capacity; Michigan Gaming Control Board authorizes online gaming and sports betting for Odawa, online gaming for Greektown. Pit: Area behind specialty game tables at a casino where supervisory personnel stand and monitor the games. Shill: Casino employee who goes around to empty tables and pretends to be a player in order to get a game going and attract other players. Soft Count: Activity in which paper currency, charge slips, and bank checks are counted. It is usually done in a special room under tight security.

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GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Skin gambling; Skin in the game (phrase) Sporting man culture; Spread betting; Sweepstakes parlor. Gambling vocabulary for the best odds on betting line. Grand Salami - The Total of goals scored in all hockey games played on the same day. Grading - After you bet and the event has been decided, this is when the amount is put into your account. Half a Dollar - Another piece of gambling slang for a $50 wager. Half Time Bet (2H).

Action: Sum total of your winnings.

All in: In poker, to put your last remaining chips into the pot.

Ante: In poker, a small portion of the minimum bet that each player is required to put into the pot before a new hand starts.

Any craps: A one roll bet in craps totaling 2, 3, or 12.

Any seven: A one roll bet in craps totaling any 7.

Baccarat: A card game where the winning hand totals closest to 9 discounting all units of 10.

Bankroll: Amount of money an individual or a casino has to gamble with.

Basic strategy: In blackjack, the set of plays that you should make to maximize your advantage.

Betting limits: In a table game, the minimum and maximum amounts of money that you can wager on one bet. You cannot wager less than the minimum or more than the maximum amount posted.

Black: $100 casino chip.

Blackjack: A card game where players try to beat the dealer by getting closest to 21 without going over.

Blind: A bet that certain poker players are required to make because of their betting positions.

Bluff: In poker, players bluff when raising with a weak hand in hopes of driving out players with stronger hands.

Board: In poker, the community cards dealt face-up in the center of the table are referred to as on the “board.”

Boat: In poker, another term for a full house, a pair and three of a kind.

Book: The room where sports and race bets are made.

Boxcars: Rolling two sixes (12) in craps.

Boxman: The craps dealer who sits over the drop box and supervises bets and payoffs.

Bring-in: In seven-card stud, the bring-in is a mandatory bet made by the player with the lowest upcard in the first round of betting.

Burn card: In card games, the card temporarily removed from play. After a shuffle and cut, one card is placed on the bottom of the deck or in the discard tray, which is called burning the card.

Bust: To exceed a card total of 21 in Blackjack.

Call: In poker, when a player matches the current bet on the table.

Card counting: Keeping track of all cards that have been played since the shuffle.

Caribbean Stud: A five-card poker game where all the players are playing against the house.

Carpet joint: A casino catering to high rollers.

Casino advantage: The edge that the house has over the players.

Check: In casino gambling, a check is another term for a chip. In poker, a player can check in order to stay in the game but not bet.

Chips: Round tokens that are used on casino gaming tables in lieu of cash.

Color up: When a player leaving a game exchanges smaller denomination chips for larger denomination chips.

Come Bet: In Craps A wager placed on the come line.

Come-Out Roll: In Craps, the first roll of the dice or the first roll after a point has been made. This roll establishes the point.

Comp: Short for free or complimentary.

Coupons: Redeemable for nearly everything from a free meal to a free pull on a slot machine. (Ask the hotel whether it has a coupon book.)

Cover: A wager where the point spread is met for a win.

Craps: A game involving dice and the establishing of points to wager on. or, Dice term for a roll totaling 2, 3, and 12.

Crossroader: A casino cheat.

Croupier: The French word for dealer, used in the games of baccarat, craps, and roulette.

Cut card: A card of different color that is used to cut a deck of cards.

Cut: When the dealer divides a deck into two parts and inverts them after they have been well shuffled.

Dark: No show; as in Dark Sundays means no shows on Sunday.

Deal: To give out the cards during a hand in blackjack and poker.

Designated dealer: In poker games like Texas hold ‘em, the player to the left of the dealer bets first. In a poker room where each game has a resident dealer, a different player serves as the designated dealer for each hand.

Deuce: A two card or on a die.

Dice: Two identical numbered cubes.

Discard tray: A tray on the dealer’s right side that holds all the cards that have been played or discarded.

Double down: In blackjack, it is the player’s option to double their original bet in exchange for receiving only one more card. To do this the player turns over their first two cards and places an equal bet alongside the original bet. Some casinos limit this to card totals of 10 or 11, others allow it on any first two cards.

Draw: In draw poker, the second round of cards that are dealt.

Drop box: A locked box located on live gambling tables where dealers deposit paper money.

Drop: Total cash traded for chips at the gambling table.

Edge: The casino's advantage often referred to as the house advantage. An advantage over an opponent.

Even money: A bet that pays you back the same amount that you wagered, plus your original wager. Shown as a ratio of 1:1.

Exotic wager: Any wager other than a straight bet or parlay (also referred to as a proposition or prop).

Expected win rate: A percentage of the total amount of money wagered that you can expect to win or lose over time.

Eye in the Sky: One-way mirror surveillance in the casino area.

Face cards: The jack, queen, and king of any suit of cards

. First base: At the blackjack table, the position on the far left of the dealer is considered to be first base and is the first position dealt with.

Fishing: A player who stays in a poker game longer than advisable generally is fishing for the card or two that will make the hand a winner.

Flat top: A slot machine whose jackpot is always a fixed amount, as opposed to a progressive.

Fold: In poker, when a player declines a bet and drops out of the hand.

Folding money: Greenbacks, dollars, dineros.

Form: A tabloid used for horse racing data.

Front money: Cash or bank checks deposited with the casino to establish credit for a player who bets against that money.

George: A casino patron who is a big tipper. Antonym: Stiff.

Getting down: Placing a bet.

Green chips, Greens, Greenys: $25 casino chip.

Grind joint: Casino that caters to low rollers . See also Sawdust Joint.

Grinder: Low roller.

Hand: Refers to the cards that you hold, or to everything that happens in a card game between shuffles of the deck.

Hard count: Counting the change from slot machines.

High roller: A customer with the reputation of wagering large sums of money in the casino.

Hit me: A phrase used by blackjack players who want another card from the dealer. Usually used in connection with a hand signal.

Hold: House profit from all the wagers.

House advantage: Mathematical edge for winning that the casino gives itself.

In red: A comped customer's name usually appears 'in red' on a maitre d's reservation chart.

Juice: Refers to the amount of money you pay over and above your sports bet, insuring that the casino makes money whether you win or lose.

Junket: A group of high rollers flown in on a chartered plane by the casino.

Ladderman: A baccarat supervisor.

Laying a price: Playing a favorite.

Layoff: Money bet by a house with another bookmaker to reduce its liability.

Limit: The least or maximum bet accepted at a gaming table.

Line: The odds on a game (also referred to as price).

Lock: A surefire winner (there really is no such proposition).

Loose: Slot machines are loose when they are paying off and giving the house only a small advantage over the player.

Low roller: A player who makes small bets; a grinder.

Marker: An IOU owed the casino by a gambler allowed by the hotel to play on credit.

Marryin' Sam: Wedding chapel minister.

Matador: A cover that occurs in the waning moments of a game (also referred to as a back door cover)

Mush: A bettor who is bad luck.

Odds: Ratio of probabilities. Chances of winning expressed in terms of currency.

Off the board: A game on which bookmakers are not accepting wagers (generally because of injuries).

One-Roll Bets: Wagers that will win or lose depending on the very next roll.

Open: In poker, the player who bets first.

Pair: Any two cards that have the same rank.

Pallette: The flat paddle used on baccarat tables to scoop the cards.

Parlay: One bet ticket written with at least two wagers (all must win for the ticket to cash).

Pass Line: The area where a pass line bet is placed.

Pass: To not bet, to fold.

Pastposting: The act of increasing or decreasing your bet after the hand/roll/spin has completed. Cheating.

Payoff: Your payback; the return you see on a wager.

Pigeon: A gambler who chases his/her losses. See also Plunger and Steamer.

Pit boss: A casino boss who oversees numerous table dealers.

Pit: The casino employee area behind the table games.

Plunger: A gambler who chases his/her losses. See also Pigeon and Steamer.

Pot: In a poker game, the amount of money that accumulates in the middle of the table as each player antes, bets, and raises. The pot goes to the winner of the hand.

Punter: One who gambles in the casino – the player.

Puppy: The underdog.

Rack: Simply the device that holds the chips on gaming tables.

Raise: In poker, a player raises by matching the previous bet and then betting more, to increase the stake for remaining players.

Rake: The money that the casino charges for each hand of poker. It is usually a percentage (5-10%) or flat fee that is taken from the pot after each round of betting.

RFB Comp: Room, Food and Beverage complimentary from the hotel.

Roulette: The roulette wheel features the numbers 1 through 36 in alternating red and black, and two green spaces including “0” and “00.” Players can be on a single number, a row or column of numbers, red or black, odd or even, or 1 through 18 or 19 through 36. Players place their chips on the betting layout. Betting continues until the dealer signals, “No more bets.” When the ball comes to rest on a number, all wagers are settled. Odds range from even money to 35 to 1.

Rundown: A list of odds on a particular day's games.

Runner: One who places bets for another.

Sawdust Joint: Casino catering to low roller. See also Grind Joint.

Scalper: Someone who bets both sides of a game.

Score: A big win.

Sharp: A sophisticated or professional sports bettor.

Shill: An employee of the gaming establishment that starts a game.

Shoe: A container from which several decks of cards are dealt on the Baccarat and blackjack tables which prevents the dealer from holding cards.

Shooter: A gambler who is rolling the dice on a craps table.

Shuffle: Before each hand the dealer mixes up the order of the cards.

Soft Count: Counting the folding money.

Spoon: A device used by slot machine cheaters.

Square: A novice sports bettor.

Steal: In poker, to win the pot by bluffing.

Steamer: A gambler who chases his/her losses. See also Pigeon and Plunger.

Stickman: The dealer who moves the dice around on a craps table with a hook-shaped stick.

Stiff: A casino player who never tips or tokes regardless of how much they win.

The Cage: Where a casino keeps its money.

The Pencil: Authority. For example, pit bosses have the pencil to grant players free rooms and authorize markers.

Tip: Same as a toke.

Toke: Gratuity or tip.

Turkey: A gambler who is unpleasant to the dealer.

Underlay: A bad bet; an event that has more money bet on its happening than can be justified by the probability of it happening.

Vigorish: The fee, or commission taken by the house.

Whales: Gamblers who are so wealthy that they routinely lose millions without batting an eye. There are an estimated 250 whales in the world.

Wise guy: A professional sports bettor.

A Glossary of Gambling Terms

For beginners, the gambling terms and phrases that get thrown around can be incredibly overwhelming, and it’s necessary to get a firm hold of these to begin to master your particular game of choice. Even for the professionals among us, rehashing these essential gambling phrases can only help your game.

All-in

A term you will primarily come across in online poker, going all-in means that a player wagers all of their remaining chips on the current hand. In games of No-Limit Poker, you can always go all-in, no matter the current bet.

Ante

Ante, coming from Latin meaning ‘before,’ signifies the bet that a player makes before dealing has begun. Usually, antes are mandatory. You will see these bets in casino poker games.

Baccarat

Baccarat is a popular casino table game where a player can choose the hand they want to play. This simple but hugely popular card game, especially with high rollers, originates from 19th century France, or even 15th century Italy, depending on who you ask.

Bankroll

Here’s a useful one to remember for all you responsible gamblers – a bankroll is the money that a gambler has set aside for the sole purpose of gambling. It’s important to draw the line at some point, and it’s best before you feel the heat.

Bet

A bet is a single occurrence of wagering money on a casino game. You can bet on a horse and bet on a roulette spin. In a game of poker, everyone will place many bets.

Betting Limits

Casinos sometimes establish limits to how much a player can bet on certain games. There can be a minimum and a maximum that players must adhere to.

Blackjack

Blackjack is the popular table game where bettors play against the dealer to try to get as closest to 21 as possible without going over. Blackjack is a form of the game Twenty One, that originates from the English Pontoon, and the European Vingt-et-Un.

Blinds

Similar to an ante, a blind is a bet that players are forced to make at the beginning of a hand. In Hold’em, there is a rotating big and small blind of different values that go around the table after each round.

Bonus

Welcome bonuses are incentives given by online casinos to usually new players to open an account or make a deposit at that casino. They are a means of promotion for online casinos, so it’s good to keep that reality in mind and closely check the terms of the bonus.

Call

Mostly a poker term, to ‘call’ is to match the current high bet that has already been wagered.

Casino Advantage

Casinos are businesses first and foremost, and the casino advantage refers to the edge on odds that the casino has in any given game. Casinos are more likely to make money than lose money, meaning that for players, the opposite is true.

Chips

Chips are the currency of the casino that players use to make wagers and win. They are the tokens that represent real dollar values, and come in a range of casino-specific denominations.

Craps

Craps is a table game that is played with dice rather than cards. In a casino format, players roll against the house and place wagers on the outcome of a pair of dice. Due to its ease of play and lack of equipment, a common street variety exists.

Croupier

A croupier is a fancy word for dealer. It is French, and ties the modern-day casino back to 18th century France where its origins lie.

Dealer

A dealer is the employee of the casino that represents the casino’s stake in the game. They officiate games, dealing cards and moving chips, and control the games’ flow.

Deuce

Another term for the number two. It can refer to the value of, or the specific card of two in games of cards, and can also refer to dice.

Double Down

To double down is to place another bet of equal size to the total sum of your placed bets for that specific hand. It’s a common strategy in blackjack, where players double down when they’re confident that one more card can win the hand for them.

Expected Value

The expected value of a casino game is the average return on a player’s investment that they can expect to see over the long run. Expected value is usually expressed in a positive or negative, depending on if the player can expect to see any winnings, or lose.

Face Card

A face card is any of the picture cards in a standard 52-card deck. That’s the jack, queen or king – the ones with faces.

Flop

The first three of five community cards dealt out in a game of Texas Hold’em.

Fixed Odds

Many games in casinos and online have fixed odds, meaning that the chances of winning and the payouts are fixed ahead of time, so the casinos have some security in their business model. Games where players are against each other, such as poker and sports betting, don’t have fixed odds.

Gambling

Back to basics for this one. Gambling refers to the act of wagering on an event for a specific, uncertain outcome.

Hit

To hit is to receive another card from the dealer after the initial deal of cards. It is most commonly used in blackjack, and is one of the few acts a player can do.

Hold

The hold is the percentage of money bet from a player’s bankroll that the casino expects to keep after a session of gambling. The longer a player spends at the casino, the more money that will go to the casino and the greater the hold.

Hole Card

The hole card (or cards) is a card that remains face down during play so that nobody can see their value. In blackjack, the dealer has one hole card that is revealed at the end of play to determine if the house wins, busts, ties or loses.

House Edge

The house edge is the average amount that the casino can be expected to make from a player in the long run, and it is expressed as a percentage. If the house edge on a game is 2%, then the longer the gambling session, the more likely a player will lose 2% of what they bet.

Jackpot

A jackpot is the name of the largest prize available on slots and certain games. Often these are specific to the game and progressive and build with each loss until they are eventually won.

Keno

Keno is a lottery-type game where players select numbers from a wide range, and hope that the numbers that the casino draws matches theirs.

The Martingale Strategy

The Martingale Strategy is a simple gambling strategy of French origin, where a player doubles their bet after each loss. It’s considered air-tight mathematically, but not realistically feasible.

Optimal Strategy

Casino Gaming Terminology Download

The name given to a mathematically-calculated set of plays that will ideally result in the best possible return for a player. It’s most commonly used in video poker and blackjack, but can be used for when a player makes any strategic decisions with mathematical calculations.

Pay Table

The paytable is a layout of all the games a casino offers with the payouts for the various outcomes. Players can select their preferred game by closely inspecting the paytable.

Pot

The pot is the money that is wagered in a hand of a card game, that is won by the player with the strongest hand at the end of the round.

Random Number Generator (RNG)

Online Gaming Terminology

An RNG is a device that is used to create a random, unpredictable string of numbers through combining (random yet predictable) algorithms with (unpredictable) outside factors such as air pressure, air temperature, and mouse movements on a website.

Random number generators are used on:

River

The last of five community cards dealt in a game of Texas Hold’em.

Roulette

A game of French origin where players bet on the outcome of a single ball spinning on a wheel, with many pockets where it can end up.

Turn

Casino Gaming Terminology Games

The second last of five community cards dealt in a game of Texas Hold’em.

Casino Gaming Terminology Meaning

Video Poker

Video Poker is an electronic poker game that simulates 5-card poker games. Players are paid out if they make the minimum hand required to win.

Wagering Requirements

They refer to the minimum amount the player must wager from their bankroll before they can claim bonus funds. They are designed to prevent the player from claiming and withdrawing too early.

Frequently Asked Questions

There’s bound to be a term that we’ve missed, so don’t hesitate to follow us up with a question of your own. You can get in touch via our contact page. We have also answered one of the most commonly asked questions about casino terminology below. We hope it helps you out.

What are some gambling terms?

Where to begin? The modern casino experience is a world of jargon and technical language. From ante to hole card and house edge, there are many words to get your head around. Of course, you don't need to know every single word before you can safely play at great real money sites, just make sure that you understand the games you are playing.