| Action |
The amount of money wagered. In poker, the placing of money into the pot. |
| Active player |
One who is still in the pot. |
| All In |
A player is considered to be all-in when he/she bets all his/her remaining chips. |
| Ante |
The initial bet before you receive your cards in Casino Stud Poker. |
| Bank Roll |
A total sum of money a player is willing to risk on a given visit to a casino. |
| Banker |
In a card game, dealer or the players who books the action of the other bettors at the table. |
| Bankroll |
Also known as 'roll' or 'wad' (colloq.) This is gambling money or risk money, as opposed to the money you live on. |
| Basic Strategy |
This is the name given to the mathematically correct play for every match-up of dealers hand against players hand in Blackjack. See House Edge&Basic Strategy |
| Bet |
The player's wager. |
| Bet the limit |
Wagering the maximum amount a player is allowed to risk in any game. |
| 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. |
| Bingo marker |
A crayon or ink dauber that is used to cover the numbers on a bingo game card. |
| Black |
The most common colour used for $100 chips. |
| Blackjack |
A two-card total of 21 consisting of an ace and a 10-value card. |
| Blind Bet |
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 centre of the table are referred to as on the board. |
| Boat |
Another term for a full house. |
| Break/Bust |
When the dealer or player's hand exceeds a total value of 21. |
| Break/Bust Card |
The card received which causes the dealer or player to exceed 21. |
| Break-even point |
The break-even point is the point at which if you played forever, the bets you made would approximately equal the payoffs you'd receive. |
| 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. |
| Buck |
A $100 wager |
| Bug |
A joker |
| Bump |
To raise |
| Burn Card |
The top card of the deck, which is placed face down in the discard pile after the shuffle and cut. |
| Bust |
In blackjack, to go over twenty-one. If you bust you lose |
| Button |
In poker, a small plastic disc used as a marker that is moved from player to player after each hand to designate the dealer position. |
| Call |
In poker, when a player matches the current bet on the table. In keno and bingo, to draw the numbers for each game. |
| Caller |
In a bingo game, the person who is responsible for choosing the game pattern, drawing each bingo ball and reading each number clearly. In poker, someone who has called a bet. |
| Card counting |
Keeping track of all cards that have been played since the shuffle. |
| Card sharp |
A person who is an expert at cards. |
| Carousel |
A group of slot machines that are positioned in a ring, enabling a change person to stand in the centre. |
| Case money |
Emergency money. |
| Cashiers cage |
The place in a casino where players may redeem their casino chips for cash. |
| Casino advantage |
The edge that the house has over the players |
| Casino rate |
A reduced hotel-room rate that the casinos offer good customers. |
| Catch |
In keno, to catch a number means that a number you have marked on your keno ticket has been drawn |
| 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. |
| Chip tray |
The tray in front of a dealer that holds that tables inventory of chips. |
| Chip |
Casinos in the UK require you to use chips to denote money. They are purchased at the gaming tables and exchanged at the cashier's booth. |
| Cold |
A player on a losing streak, or a slot machine that isn't paying out. |
| Colour up |
When a player leaving a game exchanges smaller denomination chips for larger denomination chips. |
| Combination way ticket |
In keno, a ticket in which groups of numbers are bet several different ways, allowing the player to spread money over more combinations. |
| Come-out |
The first roll of the dice in craps that establishes the point. |
| Comps |
Complimentary gifts used by casinos to entice players to gamble. Typical comps include free room, food and beverage. |
| Copy |
In pai gow poker, when a player and the banker have the same two-card hand, or the same five-card hand. The banker wins all copies. |
| Crapping-out |
In craps, having a bet on the pass line and losing by rolling a 2,3, or 12 on the come-out. |
| Credit button |
In slot machines or video machines, the button that allows players to bank coins in the form of credits. |
| Croupier |
The French word for dealer, used in the games of baccarat and roulette. |
| Cut Card |
A black (usually) plastic card placed in a pack of cards to separate top from bottom. |
| Cut |
Casino Stud Poker and Blackjack. Players are required to place the 'cut card' in the pack of cards. Cards below this are moved onto the top of the pack. Its an extra shuffle for security. |
| Deal |
To give out the cards during a hand |
| Dealer |
Employee of the casino who deals the game. |
| 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. |
| Dice |
Two identical numbered cubes |
| Die |
Singular for dice, a cube with numbers 1-6 on each side. |
| Dime bet |
a $1000 wager |
| Discard tray |
A tray on the dealers right side that holds all the cards that have been played or discarded. |
| Dollar bet |
a $100 wager |
| Double Down |
Placing an additional wager up to the amount of the original on the first two cards of the hand (the player is only allowed one card). |
| Double Zero |
American roulette (not in the UK) uses a wheel that has 38 numbered slots. Zero to 36 and a slot marked "00" and known as 'double zero'. Edge against the player is 5.4%. |
| Down to the felt |
Totally out of money, broke. |
| Draw |
In draw poker, the second round of cards that are dealt. |
| Draw button |
In video poker this button allows the player to draw up to five new cards. |
| Drop box |
On a gaming table, the box that serves as a repository for cash, markers, and chips. |
| Drop |
Money lost. |
| Edge |
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. |
| Expected win rate |
A percentage of the total amount of money wagered that you can expect to win or lose over time. |
| Face cards |
In a deck of cards, any jack, queen, or king. |
| Family pot |
In poker, when everyone at the table decides to enter a pot |
| Fifth street |
In seven-card stud, the third round of betting is called fifth street because players have five cards. In hold'em , fifth street is the fifth card on board and the final round of betting. |
| 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 is always a fixed amount, as opposed to a progressive. |
| Flop |
In a game of hold'em, the three cards dealt face-up in the centre of the table. |
| Flush |
In poker, a hand consisting of five cards of one suit. |
| Fold |
In poker, when a player declines a bet and drops out of the hand. |
| Foul |
In pai gow poker, a hand is fouled when the two-card low hand is set higher than the five-card high hand, or when the hands are set with the wrong number of cards. A fouled hand is a losing hand. |
| Four of a Kind |
In Poker, four cards of the same denomination. |
| Fourth street |
In seven-card stud, the second round of betting is called fourth street because players have four cards. In hold'em, fourth street is the fourth card on board and the third round of betting. |
| Front money |
Cash or bank checks deposited with the casino to establish credit for a player who bets against that money. |
| Full House: |
A five card hand consisting of 'trips' and a 'pair'. |
| Gambling |
The voluntary risking of a sum of money on the outcome of a game or other event. |
| Green |
The most common colour used for $25 chips. |
| Hand |
Refers to the cards that you hold, or to everything that happens in a card game between shuffles of the deck. |
| Hard Hand |
Any hand without an ace or a hand where all aces are, is counted as one. |
| High poker |
Standard poker, as compared to low poker or lowball. In high poker, high hands win. |
| High roller |
A big bettor. |
| Hit |
To receive an additional card at the player's request. |
| Hold'em |
A class of poker games |
| Holding your own |
Breaking even |
| Hole Card |
The dealer's unexposed down card. |
| Hot |
A player who is on a winning streak, or a slot machine that is paying out. |
| House edge |
The percentage of each bet that you make that the house takes in. Winning bets are paid off at less than the true odds to generate income for the house. |
| House Rules |
Set of rules established by the casino for the player's and dealer's to follow. |
| Inside bets |
A roulette bet placed on any number, or small combination of numbers. |
| Inside straight |
In poker, four cards of a straight where the straight can only be completed one way. |
| Insurance |
The player bets that the dealer has a blackjack when the dealer's up card is an ace. |
|
In Poker, a pair that pays off only if the cards in the pair are Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces. Lower pairs do not pay off. |
| Jacks Or Better |
In Poker, a pair that pays off only if the cards in the pair are Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces. Lower pairs do not pay off. |
| Joker |
The 53rd card in a deck, sometimes used as a wild card. |
| Juice |
(U.S) See 'Vig'. Money taken as the rake in a game. |
| Keno board |
A large electronic board that displays the winning keno numbers. |
| Keno lounge |
The main area within a casino where keno is played. |
| Keno runner |
A casino employee who shuttles your keno bet from wherever you are to the keno writer, and also delivers payment for winning tickets. |
| Kicker |
In a draw poker game, an odd high card held that doesn't contribute to a straight or a flush, usually an ace or a king. |
| Ladies |
Queens. |
| Layout |
Cloth on a gaming table. Markings tell you where you can place your bets. |
| Limit |
In poker, any game that has a fixed limit on how much you can bet or raise in each round. |
| Load up |
To play the maximum number of coins per spin that a slot machine or video game will allow. |
| Loose |
Slot machines are loose when they are paying off and giving the house only a small advantage over the player. |
| Low poker |
Also called lowball, is poker in which the pot is awarded to the hand with the lowest poker value. |
| Marker |
A check that can be written at the gaming tables by a player who has established credit with the casino |
| Mini-baccarat |
The scaled-down version of baccarat, played with fewer players, dealers, and formality but following the same rules as baccarat. |
| Money Management |
Determining the minimum bet one can afford to make based on the bankroll available (money you have to play with). |
| Muck |
The act of throwing your cards away because you cannot or did not win the pot. They are ineligible to win the pot if they are mucked. |
| Natural |
Blackjack: A two-card total of 21 consisting of an ace and a 10-value card. Baccarat: A two-card total of 8 or 9. Craps: Player rolls a 7 or 11. |
| Number pool |
The range of numbers from which you select the ones you want to play. A typical lottery pool ranges from 1 to 60, and the keno pool is 1 to 80. |
| Nut |
Either the overhead costs of running a casino, or the fixed amount that a gambler decides to win in a day. |
| Odds |
Ratio of probabilities |
| On tilt |
Going 'on tilt' is a bad reaction to an unlucky hand. The result is wild play. |
| Open |
In poker, the player who bets first. |
| Outside bets |
Roulette bets located on the outside part of the layout. They involve betting 12 to 18 numbers at one time. |
| Overlay |
A good bet where you have an edge over the casino. |
| Paint |
A Jack, Queen or King. Picture card. Face card |
| Pair |
Two cards of the same rank. |
| Pass |
To not bet, to fold. |
| Pat |
In draw poker, a hand that does not need any more hands. In blackjack, an unbusted hand worth at least 17 points. |
| Pay cycle |
A theoretical expression that reflects the number of plays required for the machine to cycle through all possible winning and nonwinning combinations. |
| Payline |
The line on a slot machine window on which the symbols from each reel must line up. Slot machines can have as many as eight payline's, although most have only one. |
| Payoff |
Your payback; the return you see on a wager. |
| Payout percentage |
Also referred to as the payback percentage, the percent of each dollar played in a video or slot machine that the machine is programmed to return to the player. Payback percentage is 100 percent minus the house edge. |
| Payout table |
A posting somewhere on the front of a slot or video poker machine, that tells you what each winning hand will pay for the number of coins or credits played. |
| Pit |
An area of a casino in which a group of table games are arranged, where the centre area is restricted to dealers and other casino personnel. |
| Pit boss |
The person who supervises all the games and casino personnel associated with a pit during a particular work shift. Pit bosses are in place to watch for cheating, settle disputes, and give comps to big bettors. |
| Playing Strategy |
A self-imposed set of rules designed to give the player the best odds for defeating the dealer. |
| Pocket |
Your first two down cards. Hold'em players tend to call them pocket cards,stud players tend to call them hole cards. |
| 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. |
| Pressing |
A player is pressing the bet when they let winnings ride by wagering them along with the original bet. |
| Probability |
A branch of mathematics that measures the likelihood that an event will occur. Probabilities are expressed as numbers between 0 and 1. The probability of an impossible event is 0, while an event that is certain to occur has a probability of 1. |
| Progressive |
A slot machine whose potential increases with each coin that is played. When the progressive finally hits, the amount resets to the starting number. |
| Push |
When the dealer and player tie (no money is won or lost). |
| Quads |
Four of a kind. |
| Qualifier |
In poker, the minimum standard a hand must meet in order for it to be eligible for part of the pot. |
| Rack: |
Plastic, wooden or metal tray to place rows of poker chips. |
| Railbirds |
Spectators. Kibitzers. |
| 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. |
| Rank |
The worth of a set of cards. |
| Red |
The most common colour used for $5 chips. |
| Red-black bet |
In roulette, an outside wager on whether the next spin will be a red or a black number. This bet is played off at even money. |
| Reel |
A wheel inside a slot machine window on which the slot machine symbols are printed. The number of reels per slot machine may very but are usually three. |
| RFB |
High rollers are comped with free room, food, and beverage. |
| River |
In poker, the final card dealt in a hand of stud or hold'em. In seven-card stud, staying in until the fifth and final round of betting is called going to the river. |
| Royal Flush |
In Poker, five consecutive denomination cards of the same suit, starting from 10 and ending with an ace. |
| Seconds |
Cheating by dealing the second card instead of the top card. |
| Session |
A series of plays at any gambling game. |
| Set |
In pai gow poker, players set their seven cards into two separate hands of two and five cards each. |
| Seventh street |
In seven-card stud, the fifth and final round of betting is called seventh street because players have seven cards. |
| Shoe |
The box from which the cards are dealt. |
| Showdown |
In poker, after the last betting round, the players who remain in the pot must show their hands in the showdown to determine the winner. |
| Shuffle |
Before each hand the dealer mixes up the order of the cards. |
| Shutter |
A window covering a number on a reusable bingo card. The shutter can be pulled down to mark each number as it is called. |
| Single Zero |
Roulette wheels in Britain only have one 'zero' as opposed to roulette in America and elsewhere where you may find 'double zero'. Zero is always green. |
| Singleton |
In poker, a card that is the only one of its rank. |
| Sixth street |
In seven-card stud, the fourth round of betting is called sixth street because players have six cards. |
| Soft Double Down |
Doubling down when one of the two cards is an ace. |
| Soft Hand |
A hand containing an ace where the ace is counted as 11 (total must be 21 or less). |
| Split |
Option to play each of two like cards as a separate hand ( a separate bet equal to the original wager must be made). |
| Spot |
Any number from 1 to 80 that a player selects on a keno ticket. It also refers to the number of numbers that are marked on a ticket. |
| Stack |
20 chips in a column, frequently used in Roulette. |
| Stand |
The decision to not receive another card. |
| Standing Card |
Term used when the dealer has a 7 or greater showing. |
| Standing Hand |
Hand requiring the dealer to stand. |
| Steal |
In poker, to win the pot by bluffing. |
| Stiff |
In blackjack, a hand that is not pat and that may bust if hit once. Stiffs include hard twelve through sixteen. |
| Straight |
In Poker, five consecutive denomination cards of different suit. |
| Straight Flush |
Five consecutive cards of the same suit. |
| Straight keno |
The basic keno game, played by marking individual numbers on a keno ticket. |
| Surrender |
In blackjack, to give up half your bet for the privilege of not playing out a hand. In roulette, you effectively lose only half on an even-money bet when the ball lands on 0. |
| Third base |
In blackjack, the spot nearest the dealer's right hand, which will be played last before the dealer's hand is played. |
| Third street |
In seven-card stud, the first round of betting is called third street because the players have three cards |
| Three of a Kind |
In Poker, three cards of the same denomination. Two Pairs In Poker, two sets of pairs of the same card denomination. |
| Toke |
Toke is short for 'token'. A tip given to the dealer in the form of money or chips. Unlike tokens, tokes are more specifically the tips that the game dealers receive from the players. A player who is known to toke the dealer heavily is sometimes referred |
| Touch wand |
A pointing device used on some video keno machines to select numbers. |
| Trey |
In poker, three cards of the same rank. |
| Trips |
In poker, three cards of the same rank. |
| Trips |
Three cards of the same rank. |
| True odds |
The real odds of something happening. Actual odds taking into account the casino edge. The ratio of the number of times one event will occur to the number of times that it will not. The odds posted in a casino are usually not the true odds. |
| Two pair |
In Poker, two sets of pairs of the same card denomination. |
| Underlay |
A bad or unfavourable bet. An event that has more money bet on its happening than can be justified by the probability of it happening. |
| Upcard |
the first card the Blackjack dealer deals himself that he places face-up for all players to see before they play their hands. The player's decision to draw or stand involves some consideration of the dealer's up card. |
