Casino Terminology Glossary
Whether you’re new to gambling or want to make sense of casino jargon, this glossary explains familiar terms used across casino games.
Action: The total value of all wagers made during a playing session.
Active Payline: A payline in play on which symbols must land in the required arrangement to win a prize.
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 to wager 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 casino offer for new or existing players, designed to encourage sign-ups, 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 the cashier’s cage at a land-based casino, where money is exchanged for chips.
Cashback: A refund credited to a player’s account at set intervals, calculated as a percentage of gambling losses.
Chase: Continuing to gamble after losing in the hope of winning back the money already lost.
Chips: Colored, round discs used as money-equivalent betting units at land-based casino table games.
Cold Streak: A prolonged run of gaming results that leads to losses.
Deal: The act of distributing cards in a card game.
Dealer: The casino employee who distributes cards to players.
Deposit: Money added to an online casino account so the player can use it to play games.
Double Down: In blackjack, to double the original bet and receive one additional card.
Edge: An advantage over another player or opponent.
Expanding Wilds: Symbols that land on a reel and grow until they cover the entire reel.
Eye in the Sky: The surveillance cameras that monitor activity throughout a land-based casino.
Face Cards: The King, Queen and Jack cards in any suit.
Flat Betting: Betting the same amount on every hand without changing the denomination.
Fold: Leaving a round, often because a player has a losing hand or believes an opponent has a strong one.
Free Spins: Spinning the slot reels for real money without wagering any of the player’s own funds.
Gambler’s Fallacy: The mistaken belief that a random process becomes more predictable after repeated attempts.
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, aiming to make a steady profit.
Hand: The cards a player currently holds.
Hard Count: The process of counting coin currency.
High Roller: A player who takes part in high-stakes games and places large bets.
Honeymoon Period: A player’s first casino experience, when they go on a winning streak; sometimes called beginner’s luck.
House: The casino itself.
House Edge: The casino’s statistical advantage, expressed as a calculated ratio comparing the player’s expected loss with the amount wagered.
Inside Bet: In roulette, a wager placed on a specific number.
Instant Casino: Online casinos where players can play without downloading software.
Insurance: In blackjack, a side bet that the dealer has a natural.
Jackpot: An exceptionally large prize, most commonly associated with slot games.
Layout: The marked surface of a gaming table showing where bets should be placed.
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 and 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 strategy often used in roulette, where the player increases the bet after every loss by adding one unit or doubling the wager.
Mobile Games: Casino games designed for smartphones or tablets, played through an internet browser or mobile app.
Multiplier: A wild card that helps form a winning combination and often doubles, triples or further increases the resulting payout.
Net Winnings: The total payout after all wagers have been subtracted.
Odds: The probability of a player winning, expressed as a percentage.
Online Casino Games: Games played over the internet, either directly in a browser or after downloading them.
Outside Bets: Roulette wagers placed outside the number 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 specific symbols.
Progressive Jackpot: A slot machine jackpot that grows 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 where symbols appear.
Reload Bonus: Bonus funds awarded after a player makes a subsequent deposit.
Scatters: Symbols that trigger free spins when they land on a payline.
Shifting Wilds: Wild symbols that move around the reels during a spin whenever a winning combination lands.
Soft Count: 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 stand in for other symbols to form 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 claim or withdraw a bonus.
Welcome Bonus: Credits or free spins a casino offers a new player to encourage registration or an account deposit.
Whale: A high roller who routinely wagers substantial sums.
Wild Symbols: Symbols that replace symbols needed to complete a winning slot combination.
Withdrawal: A player's request to remove money from their account.
Casino Terms and Lingo
Casino terms and lingo can take a while to master, but learning them can be useful if gambling is your hobby. Understanding the definitions makes games easier to follow and strategies easier to discuss; no strategy guarantees results.
