Casino Terminology Glossary
Whether you’re new to gambling or want to get to grips with casino jargon, this glossary explains common terms used across casino games.
Action: The combined value of all wagers made during a playing session.
Active Payline: A payline in play. Symbols must land in the required arrangement for a prize to be won.
Ante: A required wager placed before a player receives cards in a casino card game.
Banker: Another name for the dealer who represents or oversees a table game.
Bankroll: The total funds a player has set aside for wagering on casino games.
Bet: A wager placed during a casino game.
Betting Limits: The minimum and maximum amounts a player is allowed to wager.
Bonus: A special offer from a casino for new or existing players, intended to encourage sign-up, deposits or continued play.
Cage: In craps, this traditionally refers to the device used to shake the dice before a roll. It can also mean a cashier’s cage at a land-based casino, where money is exchanged for chips.
Cashback: A refund credited to a player’s account at intervals, calculated as a percentage of gaming losses.
Chase: Continuing to gamble after losing in the hope of winning back the money already lost.
Chips: Coloured, round discs used as money-equivalent betting units at land-based casino table games.
Cold Streak: An extended run of gaming results that produces losses.
Deal: The act of distributing cards in a card game.
Dealer: The casino employee who distributes cards to players.
Deposit: Money added to a player’s online casino account to fund gameplay.
Double Down: In blackjack, doubling the original bet and receiving one additional card.
Edge: An advantage over another player or opponent.
Expanding Wilds: Symbols that land on a reel and expand to cover the entire reel.
Eye in the Sky: 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, often because a player has a weak hand or believes their opponent has a strong one.
Free Spins: Spinning the slot reels for real money without wagering the player’s own funds.
Gambler’s Fallacy: The mistaken belief that a random process becomes easier to predict after it has been 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 a player currently holds.
Hard Count: The process of counting coins and other currency.
High Roller: A player who plays at high stakes and places large bets.
Honeymoon Period: A player’s early casino experience when a winning streak occurs, sometimes called beginner’s luck.
House: The casino itself.
House Edge: The casino’s mathematical advantage, expressed as the ratio of a player’s expected loss to the amount wagered.
Inside Bet: In roulette, a wager on a particular number.
Instant Casino: Online casinos that let players access games without downloading software.
Insurance: In blackjack, a side bet that the dealer has a natural.
Jackpot: An unusually large prize, most often associated with slot games.
Layout: The marked surface of a gaming table showing where players can place bets.
Line Bet: A wager placed at the end of two rows, with three numbers in each row.
Live Casino: Online casino games hosted by human dealers, with gameplay delivered via 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. The player increases their bet after each loss, either by adding one unit or doubling it.
Mobile Games: Casino games designed for smartphones or tablets, played through an internet browser or mobile app.
Multiplier: A wild card that helps create a winning combination and often doubles, triples or increases the resulting payout by more.
Net Winnings: The total payout after all bets placed have been subtracted.
Odds: The probability of a player winning, expressed as a percentage.
Online Casino Games: Games played over the internet, either in a browser or after downloading them.
Outside Bets: Roulette wagers placed outside the numbered section of the layout.
Payline: A sequence of reel symbols read from left to right.
Paytable: A display listing details such as winning payline combinations and the values assigned to particular symbols.
Progressive Jackpot: A slot-machine jackpot that grows over time as more players play 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 that displays symbols.
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: The process of counting paper currency, bank cheques and charge slips in a casino.
Stacked Wilds: Wild symbols grouped together that can stand in for other symbols to help create a winning combination.
Sticky Wilds: Wild symbols that stay in position and substitute for other symbols to complete a winning payline.
Twenty-One: Another name for blackjack.
VIP: A valued player who places large bets, also known as a high roller.
Wager: A bet made during a game.
Wagering Requirements: The amount you must wager before you can qualify for or withdraw a bonus.
Welcome Bonus: Credits or free spins a casino offers a new player to encourage them to register or deposit funds into an account.
Whale: A high roller who regularly bets substantial sums.
Wild Symbols: Symbols that stand in for the symbols needed to complete a winning slot combination.
Withdrawal: A player's request to take funds out of their account.
Casino Terms and Lingo
Casino terminology takes time to master, but learning it can be useful if gambling is a hobby. Understanding these terms makes games easier to follow and helps clarify strategies, though no strategy guarantees a result.
