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Rohit Parmar Last Updated by on February 14, 2022

Comprehensive Gambling Terminology & Glossary Guide

Finding it difficult to understand the casino terms? Well, it’s obvious if you are new to the online casino world; these casino jargons can cause confusion. In this glossary guide, we have explained almost all the casino words and phrases used while betting on sports games or playing casino games.

Isn’t it a great idea to know the slangs, before you take any real money action. It’s always better to be pre-prepared to avoid any losses. Our main objective is to help our players knowing all the terms, definitions and chat abbreviations in the gambling world. 

We keep on updating this glossary guide on regular basis. If you got any new casino jargons, feel free to suggest us!

A

Action: It is a casino or sports betting term that refers to the total amount of bet placed on any casino table by you and others.
ACS: Acronym for Automatic card shuffler.

All or Nothing: It’s a bingo or keno term where a player wins if all the numbers are drawn or nothing.

Active Payline: The term is used for slot machines where the current line in the play is referred to as active playline.

Add-On: it refers to adding more chips to the bankroll during the tournament.

Affiliate: It refers to the commission earned by promoting other brands to increase revenue.

Aggregate Limit: It refers to the maximum pay-off amount paid by casino operators to winners.

All-In: It’s a poker term that refers to wagering all the chips in one go.

Ante: Bet placed before a game round begins.

Arm: A player with outstanding dice throwing skills.

Advantage Player: A term used for professional players that are able to count cards in blackjack or have exceptional dice rolling skills in a craps game and who knows how to utilize bonuses and comps.

ATS: Acronym for Against the spread. It’s a sports betting term.

Annuity: a Lottery jackpot that is paid in instalments for a long time.

Arbitrage: A variation in available odds that guarantees player’s winning.

Aggressive: A poker term used for players raising bets frequently.

B

Banker: It also refers to the dealer who is responsible for winning payouts and owns the lost bets.

Buy-In: When players buy chips in exchange for cash.

Bankroll: Casino wallet or a fixed amount of money used while gambling.

Betting Layout: The area of the casino table where gamblers move their chips to place bets.

Basic Slots: Slot machines with a single pay line.

Betting Limits: refers to the minimum and maximum bets.

Bonus symbols: The symbols used for free spins or bonus games.

Barred: Used for a player with a banned IP address.

Beard: A Fake player in the casino.

Beef: A dispute between casino and player.

Burn card: A card picked from the top of the deck and discarded after a reshuffle or before a new round of cards is dealt.

BB: A casino jargon for blind Bet i.e.the bet placed without even seeing the cards.

Blinds: A term used for Forced bets.

Break-Even Point: When a player wins the amount equal to their placed wagers.

Breaking the Bank: When players win jackpots or big amounts in casinos.

BritBrag: A poker variant when a player uses 3 cards to play against the casino.

Bug: A poker term refers to the wildcard used only for creating flushes and straights.

Behind: When a player’s hand value is unlikely to beat the opponent’s hand.

Big bet: Sic Bo term; that predicts the sum of three dice outcomes will be between 11 and 17. Payout is 1:1.

Betting Wrong: It’s a crap term that refers to betting against the shooter.

Blocker: A card that a player holds required by an opponent player.

C

Canadian line: Combination point in hockey between the point spread and money line.

Cage: Refers to a casino bank where a lot of money is stored.

Capping a bet: adding wager to bet secretly after the game has begun.

Card Counting: A technique to keep track of the cards in Blackjack.

Camouflage: When players try to camouflage their current hands, playstyle and identity.

Capping: It’s a cheating trick to add or remove chips after result declaration.

Card Sharp: A term used for skilled card players.

Card Washing: Card-shuffling technique mostly used by the dealers.

Caribbean Stud Poker: It’s a five-card stud poker game.

Cascading/Collapsing Reels: A bonus feature offered every time on wining combination.

Cashback: Players get some refund amount on losing bets or a bonus amount.

Cash-Out: The withdrawal process from online casinos.

Casino Advantage: When house-edge is higher and the chances of casino winning are higher.

Casino Rewards: The additional bonuses or prizes offered by the casino.

Chase: To keep placing bets to recover losing bets

Chalk Player: Who plays only for favoured teams.

Chemin de fer: The french version of Baccarat.

Chips: Refers to casino currency.

Chip and chair: When a player with one chip still wins the bet.

Chop the Blinds: When only big and small blinds are left and they agree to take back the blinds to end the game.

Coat-Tail: The opponent player who chooses to place the same bet as chosen by winning player.

Coins: Another type of casino currency.

Cold: When players are likely to lose or on a losing streak.

Colouring Up: When players exchange smaller valued chips for higher value denominations

Comp Points: Casino reward points to claim prizes or payouts in casinos

Cracking the Nut: Term used for players who manage to recover their bet losses with profits.

Crossfire: The dealer’s chat about random things in front of players except for the game.

Chip Tray: Tray used for holding chips from house and players.

Croupier: French term for The Dealer.

D

D’Alembert Martingale System: The oldest betting strategy in gambling.

Dog Player: Used in sports betting for under-dog players.

Dollar: A 100$ bet.

Dozen bet: A bet on three consecutive dozens on the roulette table.

Dealer: The one who handles bets and cards.

Degenerate Gambler: A gambler who place excess and frequent bets.

Deck: A single Deck refers to 52 cards.

Deuce: It means ‘two’ in online casino games.

Dime: The bets that are placed online as well as land-based to casinos.

Dime Bet: A $1000 bet in poker.

Dolly: A doll shaped marker is placed in winner’s square to help identify the winner.

Double or Nothing: When double of the previous wager is placed for breaking the even.

Dragon Hand: Hand dealt on an empty seat by player.

Draw: In the blackjack card game, draw indicates asking for extra cards.

Drop: To surrender the hand and keeping half of the initial stakes.

Drop percentage: The portion of player’s bet that casino wins due to house-edge.

Duo: A craps bet that two numbers will show on three outcomes of dice.

E

eCOGRA: Acronym for e-commerce online gaming regulation and assurance.

Edge: The term used for advantage in casinos.

Eighty-Sixed(86’d): It means being banned by the casino for foul play.

Encryption: Technology used for protecting casino transactions and software.

En Plein: It means the placement of single bets or single number bets in roulette.

En Prison Rule: French term for bonus rules in roulette.

Expanding Wilds: the term used in video slot machines for the bonus feature.

Eye in the Sky: Term used for overhead cameras to monitor gaming tables.

Equity: The expected amount a player is about to win based on winning odds.

Exotic: Also known as prop or proposition in horse betting. It refers to any bet other than straight or parlay.

Exposure: A sports betting term that refers to the total amount a sportsbook can lose.

F

Face Card: Any king, queen or jack in the deck of cards.

Flash Casino: Also known as instant casino.It’s an online casino where you can play from a web browser.

Flat Betting: When the amount of betting is the same each time.

Flat top: A jackpot slot with fixed amount.

Flat call: A player calls the bet instead of raising.

Flashboard: A device used in keno games to display keno draw.

Ficheur: Device used in roulette casino games.

Flea: The most irritating person on table.

Firing: A player who keeps placing large bets.

Fish: A player who loses often.

Foul: If cards are set with wrong number of cards

Forecast: It’s a bet that predicts 1st and 2nd places.

Flop: The first three community cards that a croupier deals

Fold: Players forfeit their hands in online casino games.

Free Spins : This is a bonus feature in video slots and slot machines.

FTW: It’s a casino jargon;for the win.

Futures: The bet is placed predicting the future outcomes.

Full ring: The terms refers to poker game table with maximum of 9 or 10 players.

Freeze-out: A tournament where you are not allowed re-buy.

Free-roll: An online tournament with no entry fee.

Fixed-odds: It’s gambling term used in sports betting.

G

Gambler’s Fallacy: It states that future outcome depends on previous bets.

Gambler’s Ruin : A strategy that can ruin or bankrupt the gambler.

George: The player who tips generously in an online casino.

Getting down: A gambling term used for making a bet.

Grease: It’s slang used for bribes.

Goose: It’s a keno term used to mix and draw keno balls.

Garbage Hands: The lower hand value that is unlikely to win.

GG: Acronym for good game!

GLA: Good luck all

Grand Salami: Combined score for all goals in a hockey game.

Gross Winnings: It denotes a series of winning bets.

Grid: A matrix that tells the status of different bets.

H

Hardway: It’s a bingo term that refers to a straight line pattern without any free space.

Heads Up: When a single player is playing at a blackjack table.

High Jack: The position to the right of the cut-off.

Hot Streak: Good Luck in Betting.

Home Field Advantage: The edge expected by home team.

Hot Table: Casino table where all players are winning.

High Roller: A player with high stakes bets.

Hit: HIt means to ask for an additional card in a blackjack game.

Hole Card: The dealer’s face down card.

Honeymoon Period: The winning streak of new players.

Hot: The players with high odds and ultimate winning streaks.

Hop Bet: The bet on the next outcome of dice in a crap game.

Horn bet: It’s a craps term and is placed on the next roll of dic to be 2,3,11 or12.

Hand: Cards owned by a player in his hand

Handle: The total bet amount on an event.

Half a dollar: A bet worth 50$.

Handicapping: A person who determines the point spread

Hard Count: Counting of winnings under supervision of cameras.

House: House refers to a casino.

House Edge: Advantage gained by the casino over the players winnings.

House Rules: Rules for particular casinos.

I

Inside Bet: It is a Roulette term that means to place bets on single numbers from 0-36.

Instant casino: Also known as flash casino where you can play games directly from a web browser.

Insurance Bet : This is a blackjack casino bet.

Insurance: Side Bets in Blackjack casino games.

Irregular Playing Patterns : This term is associated with online casino bonuses.

J

Jackpot: The biggest prize money awarded by any casino.

Jacks or Better: Jacks is a variant of a popular video Poker game.

Joker: The 53rd or 54th card in a deck. Sometimes used as a wildcard.

Juice: It is a slang used in casinos for fees charged by the casinos or bookmakers.

Junket: The complementary travel trips rewarded to the VIP & loyal casino players.

K

Keno: It’s a kind of lottery game where players place bets on numbers range from 1 to 80.

King ticket: it’s a keno ticket that a player buys for a single spot.This single spot is referred to as king which may be combined to form multiple keno tickets.

Kicker: A player with high hand value; but not considered for winning combinations.

L

Lady: A casino term for Queen.

La Grande: Combination of two cards worth 9 points.

La Petite: Combination of two cards worth 8 points.

Let it ride: To add previous bet amount in current bet in poker game.

Linesman: also known as oddsman;the person who sets the betting lines.

Little joe: it’s a crap term that means hard 4; also referred to as little joe from kokomo.

Lo: short-term for Low poker.

Lock: refers to an easy winner in gambling.

Long odds: odds with 10:1.

Line bet: it points to the activated paylines on multiple payline video slots.

Limits: The maximum bet limit that is allowed to be raised only by players.

Limp: It’s a term used in poker games to flat call the amount of big blind.

Ladderman: A person who oversees the baccarat game in traditional casinos.

Lay the Odds: Winning the amount less than expected wagered amount.

Layout : Surface of casino table where players can place the wagers.

Lobby: It refers to the casino lobby where different kinds of games are available.

Locals Casino: Term used for various brick and mortar casinos available for localities and tourists.

Low Poker: A Poker variant.

Long shot: An unexpected winner in a casino.

Low Roller : A person who likes to play on low budget or low stakes.

Loyalty Scheme/Program: The offers rewarded by casinos to players for wagering their amount multiple times.

Live Dealer Games : Online Live dealers are made available from dedicated casino studios or from traditional casinos.

Lump sum: A lottery winning amount paid as a single payment.

M

Marker: When a gambler marks checks or requests casino credit to play casino games.

Mechanic : The professional dealer skilled in cards handling.

Multiplier : A mechanism in online casinos used for multiplying payouts .

MVG : Acronym for Most valuable guest.

Mobile Slots: Online Slot machines/Video slot games that can be played on smartphones.

Maximum Bet: Maximum bets are highest stakes wagered by the players.

Maniac: An aggressive player who places loose bets in poker games.

Margin: A sports betting term that refers to the competitor amount finished in front of another competitor.

Martingale: It’s a casino strategy mostly used in Roulette, blackjack and other casino games.

Monkey: A face card or 10 in a poker game.

Money Line: A bet on the event of winner with no point spread.odds.

Monster: A quite strong hand in poker.

Muck: When a player folds a hand on the poker table facedown to discard the pile.

MTT: acronym for multi table tournament.

Multi-race ticket: It’s a keno term used for wagering multiple tickets.

Minimum Bet: Minimum bets are lowest stakes placed on casino tables.

Multi-Hand Games : the casino games where more than one player participates like blackjack, baccarat etc.

Multiplayer Games: The casino games where many players are playing simultaneously.

N

Natural: To Deal with the best hand value.

Net Winnings : Refers to amount obtained by deducting initial stake form winning payout.

Non-Negotiable Chips: The chips that are used only for promotions ad can not be exchanged for real cash.

Nut : It means a general and required cost to run a casino.

Nut-Nut: A player with both the best highest hand and lowest hand value.

Non-Sticky Bonus : Bonus amount that can be withdrawn at any point of time.

No-Limit: A casino game with no bet limit.

Nose Bleed: The bets or stakes already too high.

No Deposit bonus: The casino bonus that doesn’t require any initial deposit to play casino games.

Np: casino jargon for no problem or nice play.

N1: casino jargon for a nice one.

Nickel: A bet worth $500.

Nickel line: The sports wagering line where juice is 5%.

Nina from Pasadena: It’s a crap bet on the next roll of dice for the combination of 9.

NH: Nice hand.

O

Off the board: The game that is not being offered by a sportsbook or bookmaker any more.

Off-suit: the cards of different suits in poker.

Omaha: a special variant of poker that aims to get the best hand value with 5 cards.

Odds: The chances or probability of winnings.

Online Casino Games: the casino games that are played online.

On tilt: A player who can’t bear a loss and starts playing recklessly and aggressively.

Open : The first player who makes a bet in a poker game.

Open ended straight draw: A straight that is formed by any of two cards in poker.

Outside Bet: The various bets meant for roulette games

Outlaw line: The earliest line n sports betting and only a few of players are allowed to bet on this line.

Overdrawn: also called as hot. It represents a number that seems to be drawn frequently.

Over/Under: A bet on combined score or goals of two teams together that they will exceed or not the target score.

Overcard: A hole card that is higher than any other card on board.

Overdue: A number that is drawn less frequently.

Overlay: The odds with more benefits to players than houses than casinos.

Overbet: The bet is larger than size of pot in poker game.

P

Paint: The term refers to face cards including King, Queen and Jack.

Passive: A poker player who raises bets infrequently or with a little margin.

Paroli: This is a betting system used by roulette players.

Pineapple: A special variant of poker game where 3 cards are dealt along with community cards.

Point spread: the points allotted to a tea i.e, less likely to win.

Postage stamp: A 2×2 grid pattern formes on any of four corners in bingo.

Powerball: it’s a Lottery jackpot Variant where a players wins by matching five numbers and a bonus ball.

Puppy: sports betting term for underdog player.

Puckline: The line in sports betting where both goal spread and money line are played.

Pull tab: A lottery ticket where numbers are revealed by uncovering or pulling away something.

Pass: The decision taken by a player to forfeit the hands and says pass to stop accepting any card in that particular game round..

Pat: It refers to the total hand value of minimum 17 points.

Payline: It’s a combination of symbols or pattern whose outcome is a 100% win.

Payoff: It means the winning payouts given to players after placing successful bets.

Paytable: The Menu available for slot machines and video slots.

Pigeon: A naive or knowledge less casino player .

Pit Manager : The casino manager who manages multiple casino tables at a time.

Pit: An area designed specifically for casino games.

Plug: A card group isolated with a plastic card.

Pocket Cards: The face down cards dealt by the players.

Pot: The total amount of bets which is collected in the middle of the table.

Progressive Slots: different variants of video slot games.

Punto Banco : It’s a Baccarat casino game variant.

Provably Fair: It’s an algorithm used in online casinos for conducting fair casino games.

Payout Percentage : It is the overall or lump sum payout percentage paid to players by casinos on overall bets placed in casinos.

Payout Table : A game table consisting of payouts for different casino bets.

Penetration: A certain percentage of deck that is dealt before shuffling the deck.

Phantom Bonus: The bonus that is removed from the user’s account during cash-out.

Progressive Jackpot: The jackpot that keeps progressing over time.

Push: The casino term used for ‘A tie’ when neither the player nor the house wins the game

Q

Quads: This term refers to number 4 cards of same suit or rank

Quick Pick: Also known as lucky dip where numbers are selected automatically by computer instead of player.

Quarter Bet: It’s similar to corner bet in roulette where a player bets on four numbers with a single wager.

Qualifier : Players need to fulfil certain criterias for betting in casino or sports games.

Queer: Online casino’s anamalous money.

R

Racino : It’s a combination of casino and racetrack.

Rabbit hunt: Dealing the remaining cards after a player or dealer’s hand has ended.

Rack : It’s a tray that carries coins, tokens and hold chips.

Rag: A card of least value and hardly makes any difference to hand value.

Rake : Fees charged to players by traditional casinos for playing casino games.

Rail: To observe the casino games without participating.

Rapid Roulette: A variant of roulette casino game.

Rainbow: Three to four cards of different suits.

Rating: A process to rate the players and casinos as per their performance and services.

Rank: It denotes the number of card

Reload Bonus: When an old player adds money to his casino wallet, a reload bonus is offered to them by the casino.

Reverse Tells: the body language, actions and expressions that are repeated intentionally to give false information about the player’s cards.

Reel: The horizontal columns in slot machines are termed as reels.

RFB : This term is associated with complementary awards given to the VIP players in casinos.

River: The last community card dealt by the dealer.

Right Bettor: The player betting with the shooter.

Royal Flush : The best possible sequence or combo of player’s hand values excluding wild cards.

Royalties: Special bonuses that can be earned for playing pre-determined hand values.

RNG: RNG is a technique that stands for random number generator which is used by online casinos to conduct fair game plays.

Roulette : Roulette is a mini wheel game consisting of o to 26 numbers. The bets are placed on these numbers.

Runline: A spread is used instead of a money line in a baseball game.

S

Shill: The term used for professional players who get paid for playing.

Shiner : The mirror or small device used to reflect light to reveal card values of the opponent player.

Scalper: A player who gets profit by placing different bets and pointing the differences in odds from different sports books.

Shuffle Tracking: It’s a technique of card counting in blackjack.

Scare Card: A community card with the opponent with a better hand value.

Shutter: It’s a board or card consisting of the bingo balls..

Scaring Money: A bankroll that a player can’t afford to lose.

Silver Mining : When players analyze different slot machines that are unused to find coins.

Shark: An expert or veteran casino player.

Semi Bluf: To pretend you have strong hand value and in actual your hand value is weak.

Sic Bo: A casino game where three dice are rolled together and bet is placed on the outcome of the dice.

Sixth Street: Fourth stage of betting is called Sixth street.

Skimming: An act of stealing money during gambling.

Skin: term used for money in the casino banks.

Slots: A popular and one of the oldest casino games.

Spinner: The player on the winning streak.

Shoe: It’s a box used by the dealer to deal the cards in casinos

Sign-Up Bonus: The bonuses given to users for registering on casino for first time. Also known as welcome bonus.

Stake: The total amount wagered on the outcome of any casino game.

Sticky Bonus: The bonuses that can’t be withdrawn and are for gaming purposes only.

Snake Eyes: Two 1’s on the dice in craps game.

Spooking: A person in the casino who peeks into hole cards and usually stands behind the dealer.

Smooth Call: A poker term for flat call.

Stacked Wilds : Bonuses offered in the video slots or slot games.

Staggered players: A pay table in casinos that pays more to players who wagered more.

Standing Hand: The total hand value of cards indicating the players/dealers to stop hitting.

Suited Connectors: Cards of same suits and consecutive numbers.

Sticky Wilds: A slot machine term that is quite similar to wild symbols. The difference is the sticky wilds are fixed at grids.

Suit: The term represents different suits of casino cards like spade, diamond, club and hearts.

Surrender: It’s a bet placed in Blackjack and Roulette variants.

System: The rules set to form betting strategies.

STT: acronym for single table tournament.

T

Table Hold : The casino money made after an 8-hour long shift from a single game table.

Tai Sai: Another name for Sic bo.

Table Limit: The minimum and maximum bet limit on a particular casino table.

Tank: Time taken to think before making any decision.

Table Stakes: The rule set of casinos that states players are not allowed to remove or add chips during the play.

Teaser: The bets on two or more teams where the bettor is likely to win.

Tells : The dealer and player’s instinct actions.

Texas Blackout: It’s a bingo variant where all even/odd numbers are considered depending on the first number.

Third Street: The term used in Seven stud poker indicates the first betting round of a game.

Texas Hold’em: A poker Variant with multiple betting rounds where players share community cardas and are dealt with two hole cards.

Three of a Kind: Hand value with three cards of the same rank.

Toke: To tip the dealer.

Tap Out: When the player’s whole bankroll is finished or is lost.

Time Cut: The money charged by casinos to play in their poker rooms.

Trey: Represents a 3.

Trips: A hand value with three cards of the same rank.

Turkey: A player who acts disrespectfully to the dealer.

Tronc: A Box in traditional casinos to tip the dealers by players.

Turn: It’s a poker term that represents four or five community cards have been dealt.

Twenty-One: Another name of Blackjack casino game; with the aim of getting hand value closer to 21.

U

Underplay: A method a player adopts when he has strong hand value and has high odds of winning.

Under the gun(utg): It tells about the position of the player sitting to the left of blinds in poker.

Unit: Smallest bet amount in an online casino.

Up Card: The term refers to the Face-up cards of the dealers.

V

Variance: A measure of winning and losing probability in poker.

Vigorish: It refers to the commission or fees charged by the house to play casino games.

Viking Poker: Another name of Caribbean Stud Poker.

Virgin: The Combination of numbers that has never been drawn before.

VIP: High rollers players that get exclusive prizes and special bonuses.

Virtual Casino games: The casino games that operate on software and RNG technology.

W

Wager: The bets placed in traditional and online casinos.

Wagering Requirements: To get benefits and to claim bonuses in online casinos, a certain amount has to be wagered for a number of times.

Weak Bet: It’s crap bet on single number that appears on single dice.

Wise Guy: A knowledgeable bettor.

Welcome Bonus: Also known as sign-up bonus; offered to new users who register for the first time.

Whiff: A player who misses the draw.

Washing: the term used for croupier actions..

Wheel: A straight from ace to 5.

Web Wallet: This term refers to the online wallets in casinos.

Whale: High roller players placing large bets with no budget issues.

Wild Symbols: Slot machines and video slots have some matching symbol requirements, these special symbols are referred to as wild symbols.

Withdrawal: A process to withdraw money from a casino account.or cash out their chips.

Wrong Bettor: A player betting against the shooter.

Y

Yhs: A slang for your hand sucks.

YW: you are welcome.

Yo: Denotes 11 number.

3Bet: when a player raises the bet when another player places the bet.

4Bet: When a player raises the bet when another player places the 3bet.