Glossary to Casino Terminology
Whether you are new to gambling or simply want to understand casino jargon, this comprehensive glossary explains familiar terms used across casino games.
Action: The combined value of every wager made during a playing session.
Active Payline: A payline in play where the symbols must appear in the required arrangement for a prize to be won.
Ante: A mandatory wager placed before a player receives cards in a casino card game.
Banker: Another term for the dealer who represents or oversees a table game.
Bankroll: The total funds a player has set aside and can use to wager on casino games.
Bet: A wager placed as part of a casino game.
Betting Limits: The lowest and highest amounts a player is permitted to bet.
Bonus: A special casino offer for new or existing players, intended to encourage sign-up, deposits or continued play.
Cage: In craps, this traditionally means the device used to shake the dice before a roll. It can also mean the cashier’s cage at a land-based casino, where money is exchanged for chips.
Cashback: A refund added to a player’s account at intervals, calculated as a percentage of gaming losses.
Chase: Continuing to gamble after losing because the player hopes to recover the money already lost.
Chips: Coloured, round discs used in land-based casinos as money-equivalent betting units at table games.
Cold Streak: A prolonged period in which gaming results produce losses.
Deal: The act of distributing cards in a card game.
Dealer: The casino employee who distributes cards to the players.
Deposit: Money paid into a player’s online casino account so that games can be played.
Double Down: In blackjack, to double the original bet and then receive one additional card.
Edge: An advantage held over another player or opponent.
Expanding Wilds: Symbols that land on a reel and enlarge until they cover the entire reel.
Eye in the Sky: The surveillance cameras in a land-based casino that monitor activity throughout the venue.
Face Cards: Cards showing a face from any suit: King, Queen, or Jack.
Flat Betting: Wagering the same amount on every hand without changing the denomination.
Fold: Leaving a round, commonly because the player has a losing hand or believes the opponent holds a strong one.
Free Spins: Spinning the slots reels for real money without wagering any of the player’s own funds.
Gambler’s Fallacy: The mistaken idea that a random process becomes easier to predict after being repeated.
George: Casino slang for a player known for tipping casino employees and table dealers generously.
Grind: Playing many smaller, stacked poker games for hours as a regular routine, with the aim of seeking a steady profit.
Hand: The cards currently held by a player.
Hard Count: The process of counting coin currency.
High Roller: A player who participates at high stakes and places large bets.
Honeymoon Period: A player’s opening casino experience when a winning streak occurs, sometimes called beginner’s luck.
House: The casino itself.
House Edge: The casino’s likelihood of winning, expressed through a calculated ratio comparing the player’s expected loss with the bet amount.
Inside Bet: In roulette, a wager placed on a particular number.
Instant Casino: Online casinos that let players play without downloading software.
Insurance: In blackjack, a side bet that the dealer will have a natural.
Jackpot: An unusually large prize, most commonly associated with slot games.
Layout: The marked surface of a gaming table showing where players should put their bets.
Line Bet: A wager made at the end of two rows, with three numbers in each row.
Live Casino: Online casino games hosted by human dealers, with play delivered through live-streaming video and live chat.
Load Up: Playing the maximum number of coins or spins in slots or video poker.
Martingale: A negative-progression approach often associated with roulette, in which the player raises the bet after each loss by adding one unit or doubling it.
Mobile Games: Casino games designed for play on a smartphone or tablet through an internet browser or mobile app.
Multiplier: A wild card that helps form a winning combination and often doubles or triples (or more) the resulting payout.
Net Winnings: The total payout after subtracting all bets placed.
Odds: The probability of a player winning, expressed as a percentage.
Online Casino Games: Games played over the internet, either instantly in a browser or after downloading them.
Outside Bets: Roulette wagers for which the chips are placed outside the number layout.
Payline: A sequence of reel symbols read from left to right.
Paytable: A display that lists details such as winning payline combinations and the values assigned to particular symbols.
Progressive Jackpot: A slot-machine jackpot that increases over time as more players use the game.
Random Number Generator (RNG): A casino tool that determines the winning and losing combinations produced by a spin.
Reel: The spinning part of a slot machine on which symbols are displayed.
Reload Bonus: Bonus funds awarded to a player after subsequent deposits.
Scatters: Symbols that trigger free spins when they land within a payline.
Shifting Wilds: Wild symbols that move around the reels during a spin whenever a winning combination occurs.
Soft Count: Counting paper currency, bank cheques and charge slips in a casino.
Stacked Wilds: Wild symbols arranged together that substitute for other symbols to help form a winning combination.
Sticky Wilds: Wild symbols that remain in place and substitute for other symbols to form a winning payline.
Twenty-One: Another term for blackjack.
VIP: A valued player who makes large bets, also described as a high roller.
Wager: A bet placed during a game.
Wagering Requirements: The amount that must be wagered before a bonus can be earned or withdrawn.
Welcome Bonus: Credits or free spins offered by a casino to a new player as an incentive to register or deposit money into an account.
Whale: A high roller who regularly wagers substantial amounts of money.
Wild Symbols: Symbols that substitute for symbols needed to complete a winning slot combination.
Withdrawal: A player’s request to take money out of their account.
Casino Terms & Lingo
Casino terminology and lingo take time to learn, but the effort can help anyone treating gambling as a hobby. Knowing these definitions makes different games easier to follow and helps explain strategies, none of which guarantee results.
