Gambling Terminology Dictionary

A term primarily used in table games to signify a move. The dealer might say “action” when it’s your turn to play, or you can sit at the table and “get in on the action.” You can also interpret it as the total amount of money you’ve wagered during a gambling session.

The Average Daily Theoretical is how a casino calculates the value they gain from a gambler in a day. They use this number to determine what sort of comps and VIP reward level they deserve.

When a player wagers all of the chips they have left. This term is most common in No-Limit Texas Holdem but may apply to other forms of poker.

To be backed off a game means the casino refuses to allow a player to continue. It usually happens if they suspect someone is up to something they disapprove of, like counting cards or cheating.

The amount of money a player has to spend during a gambling session.

It’s the theory that new gamblers somehow have better luck hitting wins even though they may make uneducated decisions when playing.

It is the minimum or maximum dollar amount a player can wager on a single round.

The person or place that handles the money in a casino. It is where people go to collect their winnings or refill their player cards in a land-based casino. In an online casino, it’s the page where you make a deposit or withdrawal.

Casino chips are small, color-coded, round tokens used as currency for some games. Different colors are worth various denominations. You must cash them out at the same casino from where you bought them.

Incentives a casino gives gamblers for free to encourage them to continue gambling and promote their loyalty to their establishment. Typically the more a player spends, the more generous the comps will be. They start with free drinks and can go up to comped meals and free nights in hotel suites.

The casino employee who passes out the cards during a game.

The deposit is the amount of money a player puts into their account to play at an online casino. Also, the action of putting money into an account or a gambling machine.

When a player wagers twice their previous stake for another shot to win, usually in an attempt to get back a loss. However, if they lose, they get nothing.

If a casino eighty-sixes someone, it means they are banned for a serious offense such as cheating. Depending on the violation, they may never be able to return.

The eye in the sky is the cameras, and facial recognition technology casinos use to watch players and keep everyone safe. They typically survey every corner of the casino 24/7.

The Jack, King, and Queen of any suit are the cards in the deck that traditionally have faces.

Free turns at a slot machine. They can occur as perks for hitting a bonus feature during gameplay or as part of an online casino bonus.

It is a poker hand made up of three of a kind and a pair of another value.

The Gambler’s Fallacy is the false belief that a win must be right around the corner after a string of losses.

A higher roller is someone who spends far more money at a casino than the average player, and because of this, they often receive the most lavish comps.

It is a percentage used to signify the casino’s mathematical advantage over the player.

A casino jackpot is a large cash prize in a game.

It’s a type of online casino game that you can play in real time with a human dealer over a live video stream. These live dealer casino games use actual cards, and felted tables for an authentic casino feel through your mobile phone or computer.

The home base at an online casino where you can find all the links to games, customer support, the cashier, and promotions. In a brick-and-mortar casino, it’s the waiting area outside of the casino floor.

A betting strategy where a player will continue to double their bet during a losing streak in hopes of winning all losses back, plus profiting when they hit a win. After winning, they will return their wager to their original amount. It’s not a recommended betting system as it takes a large bankroll to attempt.

A feature commonly found in slot games that multiplies a win by a certain amount.

If a game has no limit, it doesn’t have a cap on the amount players can bet.

Money a casino gives to you for gameplay without requiring a deposit. However, these no deposit bonuses often have terms and conditions attached, like high rollover requirements that make it virtually impossible to cash out winnings.

The probability that something will happen, such as winning a game. Usually, you find odds presented as a percentage or ratio.

A type of roulette wager is made outside the table’s central betting area. It carries a higher probability of winning than the inside bet.

Also called return to player percentage or RTP, this is the average amount a game pays out over time. For example, if a slot machine’s payout percentage is 98%, you would get back $98 out of every $100 you spun in the long run.

The list of winning combinations that give you a payout in a game. Slots, video poker, and many table poker games have pay tables.

The manager that walks around the casino floor and ensures everything is running orderly. He can decide to back people off games, kick them out, or 86 them all together.

A condition attached to an online casino bonus. It requires you to wager your deposit plus the bonus amount given to you a certain number of times before you can cash out any winnings.

A money prize that accumulates and grows larger as more people play a game is a progressive jackpot. With each non-jackpot-winning spin, a small amount of money goes into a prize pool. It will continue to grow until someone hits it, and then it will reset back to a preset minimum.

A term in blackjack that signifies a tie. It’s commonly used when weighing the dealer’s hand against the player’s.

A software device that continuously generates a string of numbers that do not follow any pattern. Online casinos use this technology to ensure the outcomes of games are truly random. When you spin a slot, for example, the game’s random number at that time corresponds to the way the symbols show up on the reels.

The columns in a slot game where the symbols fall. Traditionally these were round drums of spinning symbols.

A reload bonus is a type of online casino promo that rewards a player for depositing more money.

A lottery-style game where players scratch off a thin layer on a card to reveal symbols beneath. To win at Scratch Cards, you must find a winning combination.

A term used to describe an extremely skilled player.

A sign-up or welcome bonus is a reward an online casino gives you for making your first deposit.

A move in blackjack where you split a pair of cards into two separate hands and play each out individually as new hands.

When a player has spent all their bankroll and has nothing left.

To toke is to tip the dealer.

Any card that is dealt face-up and is visible to everyone at the table.

A type of poker played against the house rather than other players. Video poker games resemble slot machines and are usually played with five cards. These games can be computerized land-based consoles or online software machines.

The amount of money you stake on a single event happening. Also called a bet or stake.

A term used to describe a high-roller.

A card that can substitute for any other. It’s most commonly employed in poker and can be any card in theory, but it is often the joker.

A slang term for the joker card.

Cracking the nut means a player has won enough on their gambling excursion to cover the expenses and take home some extra. In other words, it’s the net profit.

Stems from the game craps. It’s used to describe something of an unpredictable nature.

To have a poker face means you aren’t making any expressions that would give away what you’re feeling. It’s used in poker to keep opponents from being able to read a player’s reaction to their hand.

A sawbuck is a $10 bill.