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| Casino Gambling Slang: A - O |
20.05.2003 |
| Dillon McNuggets Gamble Tribune | |
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The origin of Casino slang is often hard to trace back. But you have to know the meaning! | | |
| Action - The amount of money wagered (put into action) by a player during an entire playing session.
Active Player - In poker, one who is still in play.
Ante - The initial compulsory bet before you receive your cards in Casino Stud Poker.
Arm - A term used in the game of craps to denote a player who is so skilled at throwing the dice that they are able to alter the conventional odds of the game. Such a player is said to be 'an arm'. Whether or not such individuals actually exist or are simply the product of game legend is debatable. However, it is worth noting that the casino craps dealers are very adamant about the dice being thrown against the far wall of the table to ensure a completely random outcome.
Baccarat - Also called Punto Banco and Chemin De Fer (similar to Baccarat but requires skill). A table game using 6 or 8 decks of cards which does not require skill. See Baccarat on Gamble Tribune.
Banker - In card games, the dealer. In some card games, each player becomes a banker/dealer in turn.
Bankroll - Also known as 'roll' or 'wad' (colloquial). It pertains to the total money that either the player or the casino has on hand to back their wagering activities. A player's bankroll can be classified as existing on several different levels. At the highest level it pertains to all money specifically set aside to support all gambling activities. A subset of this bankroll is the players traveling bankroll, or the amount of money carried along to support gambling on a particular trip. The traveling bankroll can be further divided into a specific lesser amounts for each day of the trip, or into even smaller amounts called table sitting or session playing stakes which predetermine how much will be risked during any given session or table sitting. These different types of bankrolls often figure into the overall money management strategy the player uses to keep control over their gambling cash activity.
Barred - Same as Banned. Not allowed to enter the casino premises permanently.
Bet - Wager.
Betting Limits - In a table game, the minimum and maximum amounts of money that a player can wager on one bet. You cannot wager less than the minimum or more than the maximum amount posted. Some casinos, in special cases, may extend the maximum limit at a table on request by the player.
Black Book - The list of undesirable people who are forbidden to enter any casino in Nevada.
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 would receive.
Buck - A $100 wager.
Bug - A joker.
Bump - To raise.
Burn Cards - Remove cards from the top of the deck, not to be dealt, and place them in the discard tray after a shuffle and cut.
Buy in, Buy-in - Converting cash into chips. The amount of cash used to purchase casino chips before entering a table game: blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, etc.
Camouflage - Anything a skilled gambler does to conceal their activities from the casino. Camouflage can include mixing in playing and betting behavior that mimics typical gamblers, or using disguises, appearing to be drunk, or any number of other possible ploys intended to throw the casino's scrutiny off.
Capping - Referred to capping of bets. Placing extra chips on top of initial bet after the deal has begun. It is a serious form of cheating by a player.
Card Counting - Used in blackjack game. Recording (in memory) played cards (usually high cards) so as to establish a conditional probability advantage on the remaining cards against the dealer.
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 change bank-notes into coins) to stand in the center.
Carpet Joint - US slang for a luxury gambling casino.
Case money - Emergency money.
Cashier’s Cage - The casino cash desk for cashing in the chips.
Casino Advantage - The edge that the House (casino) has over the players.
Casino Rate - A reduced hotel-room rate (price) that the casinos offer to good customers.
Catch - In keno, to catch a number means that a number you have marked on your keno ticket has been drawn.
Chase - Having lost money on a bet, 'chasing' is having another bet simply to try and get back the loss.
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.
Chemin De Fer - (French) A table game using 6 or 8 decks of cards, similar to Baccarat but requires skill. See Chemin de fer on Gamble Tribune.
Chip, Chips - Round plastic discs. Casinos require that you use chips for betting. They are purchased at the gaming tables and exchanged at the cashier's booth or cage.
Chip Tray - The tray in front of a dealer that holds that table’s inventory of chips.
Chips - Round tokens that are used on casino gaming tables in lieu of cash.
Cold - A player on a losing streak, or a slot machine that is not paying out.
Color Up - When a player 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 given by the casino to entice players to gamble. Typical comps include free hotel room, meals and beverages.
Copy - In Pai-Gow Poker, when a player and the banker have the same two-card hand, or the same five-card hand. The banker wins all copies.
Cracking The Nut - Making enough money on a gambling venture to cover all expenses plus a reasonable net profit.
Craps - Casino dice table-game.
Credit Button - In slot machines or video machines, the button that allows players to bank coins in the form of credits.
Croupier - French word for Dealer, used in the games of baccarat and roulette.
Cut - In card games following a shuffle before the start of a new round of play, when the dealer or player divides a deck into two parts and inverts them, using a cut card (see below).
Cut Card - A faceless card of different color, usually red or black, that is used to cut a deck of cards.
D'Alenbert System - A staking plan where one unit is added for a losing bet and one deducted for a winning bet.
Deal - To give out the cards during a card game.
Deuce - A two in dice.
Dice - Two identical numbered cubes. (see Die below)
Die - Singular for dice, a cube with numbers on each side, 1 to 6.
Dime Bet - A $1,000 wager.
Discard Tray - A tray on the dealer’s right side that holds all the cards that have been played or discarded in card games like Baccarat, Blackjack and Poker.
Dollar Bet - A $100 wager.
Doubling Down - A betting option in blackjack where the player's opening two-card hand is turned face up and player's original wager is doubled. The player is then dealt one additional card only, to complete the hand. In the event that the player beats the dealer's hand or the dealer busts, then the player wins twice the amount of their original wager. If the player loses, then the player loses twice the amount of their original wager.
Doubling-up - The basis of some widely used systems. After a loss the player doubles the size of his previous bet hoping to win back the money lost and make a profit. Also known as the Martingale System.
Down Card - A face down card.
Down to the Felt - Totally out of money, broke.
Draw - Relates to the poker games. Basically it means to draw a card (e.g. if you need a card to make a straight, you are on a 'straight draw' or are 'drawing to a straight'. In 'draw poker' game, it means the second round of cards that are dealt. The word draw has slightly different meanings in different contexts, although generally it has something to do with receiving more cards, with the hope of improving your hand. Draw games are games where at some point during the hand you are allowed to discard some or all of your cards, to be replaced from the deck. Drawing two is thus exchanging two of your cards. 'The draw' is the point during the game at which players may do this. By default, when someone asks you if you want to play some draw, they usually mean five card draw. In other poker games, drawing simply means staying in the game with the hope of improving your hand when more cards come. When you stay in a hand with the hope of improving, you are said to be 'on a draw'.
Drop - Money lost.
Drop Box - On a gaming table, the box that serves as a repository for cash, markers, and chips.
Edge - An advantage over an opponent.
En Prison - (French word) The stake left on the table in roulette for another spin after backing an 'Even-money' bet and the outcome was zero or double zero. It is like a bonus, offered in some casinos.
Even Money Bet - A bet with odds of 1:1. A bet that pays you back the same amount that you wagered, plus your original wager.
Expected Win Rate - In slot machines, the percentage on the total amount of money wagered that you can expect to win back over time.
Eye in the Sky - Slang for video surveillance cameras used by casinos, usually placed on the ceiling above the gaming area.
Face Cards - The Jack, Queen, and King of any suit of cards.
Fifth Street - In seven-card stud, the third round of betting is called fifth street because players have five cards. In Texas Hold‘em poker, fifth street is the fifth card on board and the final round of betting.
Firing - Betting a lot. A player who is Firing is wagering large sums.
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.
Flat Betting - A way of betting where the same amount is bet on each wager. For example, if a player always bets $10 on each hand or spin and never raised or lowered their bet, they would be said to be flat betting.
Flat Top - A slot machine whose jackpot is always a fixed amount, as opposed to a progressive.
Flop - In poker games, such as hold'em and omaha, are played with five community cards. The first three of these cards are dealt all at once, face up, and are called the flop. Games with a flop can be called flop games.
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.
Fourth Street - In Seven-card Stud poker, the second round of betting is called fourth street because players have four cards. In Texas Hold‘em poker, fourth street is the fourth card on board and the third round of betting.
Front Money - Cash or bank checks/cheques deposited with the casino to establish credit for a player who bets against that money.
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 11. (You can value an Ace 1 or 11 to suit you).
High Poker - Standard poker, as compared to low poker or lowball. In high poker, high hands win.
High Roller - A player that wagers big bets.
Hit - In blackjack, to take another card. The card received is also called a hit.
Holding Your Own - Neither winning nor losing, just 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 - A casino or gambling center/centre. Also the operators of a gambling game.
House Edge - The casino in-built advantage, usually gained by paying less than the odds.
Inside Bets - A roulette bet placed on any number, or small combination of numbers.
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.
Jacks or Better - In videopoker games the payout starts at a certain level ranking of hands. When playing Jacks or Better, if you get a pair of Jacks or a higher ranking, you win. You don't win anything on a pair of tens or lower.
Joker - The 53rd card in a deck, sometimes used as a wild card.
Juice - (USA) Vig. or Vigorish. Commission taken by the house
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.
Laying the Odds - There are two fundamental forms of wagering, 'taking the odds' and 'laying the odds'. In most forms of sports betting, some odds are so high in favour of the likely winner that winning wagers get paid an amount less than the amount wagered by some percentage, and this is what is meant by 'laying the odds'. In most casino games the player is 'taking the odds' by wagering an amount that is less than they will receive if they win, that is; if you wager $1 you would win more than $1.
Layout - Cloth on a gaming table. Markings tell you where you can place your bets.
Load up - To play the maximum number of coins per spin that a slot machine or video game will allow.
Long Run - The number of rounds of play, hands or spins, needed for the ratio of wins to losses to reach a point where they are changed very little by the cumulative effect of outcomes.
Loose - Referred to slot machines that have a generous payout.
Low Poker - Also called lowball, is poker in which the pot is awarded to the hand with the lowest poker value.
Marker - A check/cheque that can be written at the gaming tables by a player who has established credit with the casino. An IOU.
Martingale - Betting system based on doubling-up after each loss. See the betting system known as Martingale System Gamble Tribune.
Match Play - The competition system used in tournaments (usually card games) in which two participants play a series of games which ends when one player accumulates a required number of points. Each game could be worth one, two, or more points.
Mechanic - Slang meaning a dealer who cheats.
Mini-Baccarat - The scaled-down version of baccarat, played with fewer players, dealers, and formality but following the same rules as baccarat.
Money Put In Action - This is not the actual dollar amount of money you bring to the table to play with. Suppose that you sat down at a roulette table with a $100 and proceeded to play 90 spins over, say, three hours, betting $10 on each spin of the wheel. If you multiply 90 spins by $10 totals $900. This would be the amount of 'money you put into action' even though your actual bankroll was only $100. This is one of the criteria some casinos use to assess your rating and eligibility for comps.
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. The casino's view of the chance of a player winning. The figure or fraction by which the casino offers to multiply a bettor's stake, which the bettor is entitled to receive (plus his or her own stake) if they win.
On tilt - Going 'on tilt' is a bad reaction to an unlucky hand resulting in uncontrolled wild play.
Open - In poker, the player who bets first.
Outside Bets - Roulette bets located on the outside part of the layout. They involve betting 12 or 18 numbers with one chip.
Overlay - A good bet where the player has an edge over the casino.
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