Gambling Facts/Glossary
Action
The amount of money wagered. in poker, the
placing of money into the pot.
Active player
One who is still in 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.
Bankroll
A player’s total available gambling money.
Banker
In a card game, dealer or the players who books
the action of the other bettors at the table.
Basic strategy
In blackjack, the set of plays that you should
make to maximize your advantage.
Bet
Wager.
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 color used for $100 chips.
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 center of the table are referred to as on the “board.”
Boat
Another term for a full house.
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
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
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 center.
Cashier’s 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.
Chips
Round tokens that are used on casino gaming
tables in lieu of cash.
Chip tray
The tray in front of a dealer that holds that
table’s inventory of chips.
Cold
A player on a losing streak, or a slot machine
that isn’t paying out.
Color 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.
Comps
Complimentary gifts used by casinos to entice
players to gamble. Typical comps include free room, food and beverage.
Copy
In paigow poker, when a player and the banker
have the same two-card hand, or the same five-card hand. The banker wins
all copies.
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
When the dealer divides a deck into two parts
and inverts them after they have been well shuffled.
Cut card
A card of different color that is used to cut a
deck of cards.
Deal
To give out the cards during a hand.
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 dealer’s right side that holds
all the cards that have been played or discarded.
Dollar bet
A $100 wager.
Double down
In blackjack, it is the players 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.
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.
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
The jack, queen, and king of any suit of cards.
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 jackpot 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 center of the table.
Flush
In poker, a hand consisting of five cards of
one suit.
Front money
Cash or bank checks deposited with the casino
to establish credit for a player who bets against that money.
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
Four cards of the same rank, also known as
quads.
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.
Full house
In poker, a hand consisting of a three of a
kind and a pair.
Green
The most common color 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
In blackjack, any hand that does not contain an
ace valued at eleven.
High poker
Standard poker, as compared to low poker or
lowball. In high poker, high hands win.
High roller
A big bettor.
Hit
In blackjack, to take another card. The card
received is also called a hit.
Hold ‘em
A class of poker games.
Holding your own
Breaking even.
Hole card
In blackjack, the facedown card that the dealer
gets. In stud and hold ‘em poker, the facedown cards dealt to each
player.
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.
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
In blackjack, a side bet that the dealer has a
natural. Insurance is offered only when the dealers up card is an ace.
The insurance bet wins double if the dealer has a natural, but loses if
the dealer does not.
Jackpot
A big win on a slot machine.
Joker
The 53rd card in a deck, sometimes used as a
wild card.
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.
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.
Natural
In blackjack, a natural is a two-card hand of
twenty-one points. In baccarat a natural is a two-card total of eight,
or nine.
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.
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.
Pair
Any two cards that have 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 un-busted 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 non-winning combinations.
Pay line
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 pay lines, 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 center 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.
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 jackpot
increases with each coin that is played. When the progressive jackpot
finally hits, the amount resets to the starting number.
Push
A tie hand between a dealer and a player; no
money changes hands. A push at blackjack occurs when both the player and
the dealer have a un-busted hands with the same total points.
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
A plastic container in which you can transport
and count large-denominational coins, slot machine tokens, and casino
plastic chips.
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 color 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 compensated 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, an ace-high straight flush; the best
possible hand.
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
A plastic or wooden box that holds multiple
decks of cards for dealing more than two decks of cards.
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.
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 hand
In blackjack, any hand that contains an ace
counted as eleven is called a soft hand.
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.
Stand
In blackjack, to stand is to refrain from
taking another card.
Stiff
In blackjack, a hand that is not pat and that
may bust if hit once. Stiffs include hard twelve through sixteen.
Steal
In poker, to win the pot by bluffing.
Straight
In poker, a hand consisting of five cards of
consecutive ranks.
Straight flush
In poker, a hand consisting of five cards of
consecutive ranks 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
Three cards of the same rank.
Toke
A tip given to the dealer in the form of money
or chips.
Touch wand
A pointing device used on some video keno
machines to select numbers.
Trey
A three.
Trips
In poker, three of a kind.
True odds
The ratio of the number of times one event will
occur to the number of times another event will occur. The odds posted
in a casino are usually not the true odds.
Two pair
In poker, a hand consisting of two sets of
pairs and a singleton.
Underlay
A bad bet; an event that has more money bet on
its happening than can be justified by the probability of it happening.
Upcard
In the blackjack dealer’s hand, the card that
is face-up for all the players to see before they play their hands.
Vigorish
The fee, or commission taken by the house.
VIP
A big bettor that is worthy of full
complimentary treatment.
Way ticket
In keno, a ticket that groups different numbers
to create more than one way to win.
White
The most common color used for $1 chips.
Wild card
A joker or other card that can be used as any
other card to complete your hand.
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