Glossary of Casino Terms

Casino Glossary
  • Action – a bet or wager, or a player’s move in a gambling game
  • All or nothing (Keno) - ticket that pays when all or no picked numbers are drawn
  • Aggregate limit - payout on a single game
  • Ante – minimum bet for all players before a hand begins
  • Any craps (Craps) – bet placed totaling 2, 3, or 12
  • Any seven (Craps) – bet placed on any 7
  • Arm (Craps) – skilled dice thrower able to alter conventional game odds
  • Banker – dealer or player who books action of other bettors in card games
  • Bankroll – amount of money a person has to gamble with
  • Barber pole – betting with different colored and value chips
  • Bones – gaming dice
  • Cap – maximum bet allowed in a game
  • Card counting (Blackjack) – analyzing the percentage of high/low cards to predict outcome of future hands
  • Chips – tokens used in casino games that carry a cash value
  • Combination way ticket (Keno) – betting same group of numbers in multiple ways
  • Comp – free chips or bonuses as gambling reward
  • Copy (Pai–gow) – same two–card or five–card hand
  • Credit (Video Poker) – money already won but not yet cashed out by player
  • Croupier (Baccarat, Roulette) – dealer
  • Cut – splitting deck of cards after shuffling
  • Deposit – transfer of money to online gambling account
  • Double down (Blackjack) – doubling an original bet to receive one extra card
  • Edge – advantage that the player or casino has
  • Encryption – online casino software security measure to protect transactions and bets
  • Even money bet – 1:1 odds that pays the value of the original bet plus the same amount in winnings
  • E-wallet – online bank account to manage transactions
  • Face cards – jack, queen, or king
  • Flash technology – the tech behind no–download gambling software clients
  • First base (Blackjack) – first position dealt to far left of dealer
  • Foul (Pai-Gow) – lost hand when two–card hand is set higher than five-card hand
  • High Roller – player who bets large amounts of money
  • Hit (Blackjack) – player’s request for another card
  • Hole card (Blackjack) – dealer's face–down card
  • House – the casino or gaming establishment
  • Inside bet (Roulette) – bet place on a number or small combination of numbers
  • Insurance (Blackjack) – extra player bet as insurance against dealer's blackjack hand
  • Jacks or Better (Video Poker) – winning hands start with jacks or higher
  • Lobby – online casino homepage with all available games listed
  • Martingale – A betting system where you double your bet after each losing spin or bet
  • Natural (Blackjack, Baccarat) – A term used when a player is dealt a winning hand
  • Number pool (Keno) – range of numbers used for betting
  • Odds – player's probability of winning or losing
  • Outside bets (roulette) – betting 12 or 18 numbers, Red/Black or Odd/Even
  • Pass – player’s choice to not bet]
  • Payline (Slots) – line on which symbols must land for a win
  • Point (Craps) – number established on the come–out roll
  • Press a bet – add winnings to current bet
  • Progressive (Slots) – jackpot increases with every bet
  • Punto Banco (Baccarat) – European name for Baccarat
  • Push (Blackjack) – tie hand between the dealer and player
  • Random Number Generator – online casino program to randomly assign cards or spins to ensure fairness
  • Set (Pai-Gow) – separating hands into two–card and five-card hands.
  • Show (Blackjack) – box that holds and dispenses cards
  • Soft hand (Blackjack) – A hand containing an ace counted as one or 11
  • Stack (Roulette) – A column of 20 chips
  • Stand (Blackjack) – A term for when a player requests no more cards
  • Straight keno (Keno) – marking individual numbers on a ticket
  • Upcard (Blackjack) – A face–up dealer card
  • VIP – big bettor or high roller. Also see Whale.
  • Wager – bet
  • Whale – high roller or big bettor
  • Wild card – joker or other card as substitute to make winning hand