Casino Terms Glossary

Action — is the total volume of bets you put into play, combining stake size, bet frequency, and time spent across casino games. This gambling term shows how much money ...

Active Pl — is shorthand for an active player: a gambler who regularly places bets and maintains frequent play across slots, table games, and live casino titles. This status signals ...

Active Player — a gambler who regularly places bets and plays frequently across slots, table games, or live dealer titles. This status reflects consistent wagering activity, shapes eligibility for bonuses ...

Add-on — is an optional, paid top-up of tournament chips available at a set time (often the first break) in casino or online poker events. This gambling term lets a ...

Aggregate Limit — is the maximum total payout, liability, or coverage a casino, sportsbook, or promotion will honour over a defined period, event, or offer. This term caps how much ...

All-in — is a wager where a player commits their entire chip stack on a single bet, most commonly in poker and some no‑limit table games. It puts all remaining ...

Ante — is a mandatory pre-deal bet each player posts in many poker variants and certain casino poker games. It seeds the pot, speeds up action, and nudges looser starting-hand ...

Ante Box — is the marked betting spot on table games where you place the required ante to enter a hand. Common in Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud, Mississippi Stud, ...

Any bar — is a classic slot term for line wins that pay when any combination of BAR symbols (single, double, or triple BAR) lands on a qualifying payline. Instead ...

Any position — is a slot machine pay rule indicating that a symbol pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, without needing a payline or left-to-right adjacency. Common for ...

Ass — the German-language casino term for the Ace card. In blackjack, poker, baccarat, and other table games, an Ass can be the highest-ranking card or a flexible low value, ...

Automat Club — is a small, regulated gaming venue centered on slot machines, video lottery terminals (VLTs), and electronic roulette. Unlike a full casino, it usually has no live tables, ...

Baccarat — a classic casino card game where you bet on the Banker, Player, or Tie to see which hand totals closest to 9. Popular in gambling halls and live ...

Bank — is the pool of funds used to accept wagers and pay winning bets in a casino game. It represents the house’s money behind a table or title, and ...

Banker — is the side of a table game that represents the casino’s bank (or the dealer/croupier managing wagers). In baccarat, Banker is also a betting option on the Banker ...

Bankroll — the total amount of money a player dedicates solely to gambling activities. This casino term sets the boundaries for stake size, session length, and risk tolerance across slots, ...

Beef — a dispute or conflict at the casino table or with the house, usually about rules, payouts, etiquette, or alleged mistakes. In gambling, this slang signals tension that can ...

Beginners’ Luck — is the perceived tendency for a new player to win unusually early in gambling, such as on first slot spins, first roulette bets, or a first poker ...

Bet — the amount of money or credits a player stakes on a single outcome in a casino game, such as a slot spin, roulette selection, or blackjack hand. In ...

Bet box — is the marked betting area on a table game layout where your chips must be placed to register a wager. Common in blackjack, baccarat, and poker-style tables, ...

Big blind (bb) — is the larger of the two forced bets in poker posted before cards are dealt. Set by the table stakes or tournament level, the bb seeds ...

Bingo — is a lottery-style casino game where players mark called numbers on cards to complete lines or patterns before others. In land-based halls and online gambling rooms, variants like ...

Black Book — is a casino-security and regulatory exclusion list naming people barred from entering or wagering at gambling venues. Originating with Nevada’s List of Excluded Persons, a Black Book ...

Black Jack — is a classic casino card game where you compete against the dealer to get closer to 21 without going over. The term covers core rules, strategy, payouts ...

Bones — is casino slang for dice, most commonly at the craps table, rooted in the old practice of casting knucklebones as randomizers. On the casino floor, “roll the bones” ...

Bonus — is a promotional reward from a casino that gives you extra funds, free spins, or cashback, usually with wagering requirements attached. In gambling, a bonus can extend playtime, ...

Bonus Hunting — is a gambling strategy where a player targets casino bonuses to extract value by completing wagering requirements on eligible games. In online casinos and slots, it means ...

Bonus Hunting (Bonus Whoring) — is the practice of targeting casino bonuses to extract maximum value. Players pick eligible, usually lower-variance games, manage bankroll and wagering efficiently, then cash out ...

Bust — in casino gambling, to “bust” means exceeding a permitted total in card games (most famously going over 21 in blackjack) or depleting your bankroll to zero in a ...

Buy-in — is the amount of money you commit to enter a casino game, table, tournament, or slot session. It’s your upfront stake that unlocks play, whether it’s a poker ...

Cancel credit — a slot machine command that immediately converts your remaining credits into a payout and resets the credit meter. Depending on casino setup, pressing Cancel Credit will print ...

Card — a rectangular playing piece used in casino games such as blackjack, baccarat, and poker. In gambling, the term refers to a single unit dealt from a deck or ...

Cash Bonus — is a casino promotion credited as real-money value, either instantly withdrawable or cashable after meeting wagering rules. Unlike sticky bonus funds, a cash bonus lets you keep ...

Cash out — is the act of converting casino credits, chips, or an online balance into real, withdrawable money. It covers printing a slot ticket, redeeming chips at the cage, ...

Casino — is a licensed venue or online platform where players place real‑money bets on games of chance or skill, such as slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, and live dealer tables. ...

Casino Advantage — is the built-in statistical edge a casino holds over the player in every gambling game. It comes from rules, paytables, and probabilities, and is the flip side ...

Chat Room — is a real-time text space in online casinos, live dealer tables, and slot streams where players, hosts, and support interact during play. It enables quick questions, game ...

Chip — is a small, standardized disc or token that represents money at casino tables and in poker rooms. Players buy chips with cash, use them to place bets, and ...

Chips — are the tokenized currency used at casino tables to place bets, track payouts, and improve security. They replace cash during play, come in color‑coded denominations, and help dealers ...

Coin — is the base betting unit in slots and some video poker, defining how many credits you stake and how payouts are calculated. Players set coin value (denomination) and ...

Coin Accepted — is a casino term printed on slot and video poker machines that tells you which coin denominations or tokens the machine will take and convert into credits. ...

Coins played — the number of coins you wager on a slot spin or video poker hand. It combines with denomination, lines, and bet‑per‑line to determine your total stake. This ...

Collect — is the action of taking your winnings or cashing out credits in a casino. On slots and video poker, the Collect button banks a payout or ends a ...

Color Up — is a casino term for exchanging many low-denomination chips for fewer higher-value chips at a table or the cashier. Dealers color you up to simplify stacks, speed ...

Column — is a common roulette wager that covers one vertical line of 12 numbers on the table layout and pays 2:1 when any of those numbers hit. In casino ...

Commission — is the fee or percentage a casino, poker room, or payment provider takes on certain bets, wins, or transactions. In gambling, it’s most visible as baccarat’s 5% on ...

Comp Points — are casino loyalty credits you earn for wagering real money on slots, table games, and live games. Casinos convert your action into points that you can redeem ...

Credit — is the unit of value and accounting used by casinos and slot machines. On slots, credits represent your balance and bet size in coin-denomination units (for example, 1 ...

Credit Button — is a control found on slot and video poker machines that lets you view your balance and place bets in credits instead of cash amounts. Pressing it ...

Croupier — is the casino employee who runs table games like roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. The croupier takes bets, deals or spins, pays winners, enforces rules, and keeps play fair ...

Dealer — is the casino staff member who operates table games like blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and some poker variants. They take and place bets, deal cards, spin wheels, announce results, ...

Deck — in casino gambling, is the standard set of playing cards used to deal hands in games like blackjack, baccarat, and poker. The number of decks in play directly ...

Deposit — is the money you transfer into your casino account to fund bets on slots, table games, or live dealer titles. It’s the starting point of real‑money play and ...

Deposit Bonus — is a casino promotion that awards bonus funds when you make a real-money deposit, typically as a match (for example, 100% up to $200). It expands your ...

Discard rack — is the transparent tray beside the dealer where used cards are placed after each hand in blackjack, baccarat, and similar table games. It separates discards from the ...

Double — is a gambling action or outcome where a wager or payout is increased to twice its original value. In casino play it most often refers to doubling down ...

Double up feature — a post‑win gamble option in many slots and some video poker where you risk your recent payout for a chance to multiply it, usually by 2x ...

Draw — a versatile casino term meaning to take one or more additional cards during play (as in blackjack hits, baccarat third‑card rules, or draw‑poker exchanges). In poker, a “draw” ...

Drop Percentage — is the share of table‑game buy-ins (the “drop”) that the casino retains as win, expressed as a percentage. Many operations use this casino term interchangeably with table ...

eCOGRA — is an independent testing laboratory and player‑protection body for online gambling. It certifies casinos and game providers for fair RNGs, accurate RTP, responsible gambling controls, and secure operations. ...

Eighty-Sixed (86'd) — is a casino term meaning a player is banned, refused service, or ordered to leave a gambling property, often via a formal trespass notice. Reasons include cheating, ...

Imagine sending a postcard versus a locked safe. A postcard (no encryption) can be read by anyone who handles it. With encryption, your message sits inside a locked safe; only ...

Even money — is a bet that pays 1:1: you win exactly what you stake. In casinos it describes wagers like red/black in roulette or the Pass Line in craps. ...

Expected Value — is the long‑run average result of a bet, showing how much you can expect to win or lose per wager after many plays. In casino gambling, EV ...

Eye-in-the-Sky — the casino’s overhead surveillance system: a network of ceiling-mounted cameras and a security control room that continuously monitors tables, slots, cash desks, and entrances. It helps detect cheating ...

Flash — is the now-retired Adobe browser plugin that once powered many instant‑play casino games, slot animations, and lobby interfaces directly in your browser. Older “Flash casinos” required Flash Player ...

Floorman — is a casino floor supervisor who oversees table games, enforces rules, resolves disputes, authorizes payouts and table fills, and supports dealers and pit bosses. The role safeguards game ...

FTW — shorthand for “For The Win,” a slang term players use to celebrate or endorse a winning pick, bet, or outcome in gambling. In casinos and online slots, FTW ...

Game Over — is the standard casino message indicating a wagering round has ended, most commonly on slots, video poker, and digital table games. It signals that the current spin, ...

Hand — is the set of cards dealt to a player or dealer, or a single round of play at a casino table such as blackjack, poker, or baccarat. In ...

Handle — the total amount of money wagered on a game, table, slot, or sports event over a period. It counts every bet placed, win or lose, and shows real ...

High Card — is a poker hand ranking and tiebreak rule used when no made hand (pair or better) exists. The highest single card in a five-card hand determines the ...

High Roller — is a player who regularly stakes large amounts in a casino, on slots, tables, or live games. This VIP-level gambler generates high turnover, qualifies for premium comps, ...

Hit — is a casino term for either a winning outcome or the action of taking another card. On slots, a hit is any winning spin or triggered feature; in ...

Hold — is the share of total wagers that a casino keeps as revenue over time. On slots, theoretical hold equals 1 minus RTP (payback). On tables, operational “table hold” ...

Hot — is a colloquial casino term describing a game, machine, dealer, or player that appears to be paying out or winning frequently within a short period. Players talk about ...

Hot Table — is a casino table (craps, blackjack, roulette, baccarat) that players believe is on a winning streak, with chips piling up and energy running high. This gambling term ...

House — is the casino operator that runs games, sets rules, and pays wins. In gambling terms, the house designs each game with a small built-in advantage (the house edge) ...

House Edge — the built-in mathematical advantage a casino holds over the player, expressed as the long-term percentage of each bet the house expects to keep. This casino term explains ...

Insert coin — is the on‑screen or cabinet prompt on slot machines telling you to add money or credits before you can place a bet. In casino gambling, it simply ...

Insurance — is a common blackjack side bet that pays if the dealer’s upcard is an Ace and the hidden card is ten-value (a natural 21). You may wager up ...

Insurance Line — is the marked betting area on a blackjack layout (or on‑screen button online) where you place the insurance side bet when the dealer shows an Ace. It ...

Jackpot — is the top prize in a casino game, usually a slot, awarded when a rare symbol combination, bonus feature, or random trigger hits. Jackpots may be fixed or ...

Jackpot, double progressive — a casino jackpot setup featuring two separate progressive prize pools that grow with every eligible bet across one machine or a linked network. Players can hit ...

Jackpot, progressive — is a casino prize pool on slots or table side bets that increases with each qualifying wager until someone wins it. Unlike fixed jackpots, progressive pots can ...

Junket — is a casino-hosted or operator-arranged trip that brings selected players (often high rollers) to a gambling venue with bundled flights, hotel, meals, and sometimes front money or credit. ...

Keno — a lottery-style casino game where you pick numbers and hope they match the randomly drawn results. In casinos and online gambling, Keno offers quick rounds, flexible bet sizes, ...

Ladderman — a casino floor supervisor seated on an elevated chair who oversees table games, most notably baccarat. The ladderman monitors dealers and players, verifies payouts, resolves disputes, approves high-limit ...

Live Dealer Games — casino games run by real human dealers and streamed in HD from a studio or casino floor while you place digital bets on your device. You ...

Martingale — is a progressive betting system where you double your stake after every loss so that a single win recovers all prior losses plus one base unit of profit. ...

Max bet — is the highest single wager a casino game permits on a spin, hand, or round. Set by the game or house, this ceiling shapes volatility, risk, and ...

Maximum Bet — is the highest amount you can wager on a single spin, hand, or round in a casino game. Set by the game, table, or bonus rules, it ...

Megalats Jackpot — is a large, progressive jackpot prize linked to a branded slot or casino network. A small slice of each eligible spin feeds a shared pot that can ...

Minilats Jackpot — is the smallest tier of a multi-level slot jackpot, paying modest but frequent prizes compared with Major or Grand levels. You’ll see it in many online and ...

Minimum — is the lowest permitted value a casino sets for a specific action, such as the smallest bet per spin/hand, the minimum deposit or withdrawal, or a table entry ...

Minimum Bet — is the smallest amount you’re allowed to stake on a casino game, whether it’s a slot spin, a blackjack hand, or a roulette round. This term sets ...

No-Deposit Bonus — is a casino promotion that credits free cash or free spins to new or existing players without requiring an initial deposit. It lets you try real-money slots ...

Odd — is an even‑money outside bet in roulette that covers all odd numbers (1, 3, 5 … 35), excluding zero pockets. It pays 1:1 when an odd number hits ...

Odds — the likelihood of a gambling outcome and the price the casino offers for it, usually shown as payout ratios or probabilities. In casino games, odds describe how often ...

Online Casino — is a licensed internet gambling platform where you play real-money slots, table games, and live-dealer titles on desktop and mobile. The term covers regulated sites, secure payments, ...

Only highest winner paid — is a casino term found on slot, keno, and video poker paytables meaning that when multiple wins occur on the same line, way, or ticket, ...

Payline — is a predefined path across slot reels that determines where matching symbols must land to create a win. Classic machines use straight horizontal lines, while modern video slots ...

Pays only when lit — is a slot machine instruction indicating that a symbol, payline, or feature pays only while its lamp or on‑screen indicator is illuminated (active). Common on ...

Pit Boss — is the senior floor supervisor who oversees a casino pit of table games, dealers, and player activity. They enforce game rules, verify payouts, resolve disputes, adjust table ...

Place your bets — a dealer’s prompt inviting players to put chips on the layout before a round begins. In casino gambling, this table-game call opens the wagering window in ...

Player — a person who participates in casino gambling by staking real or bonus funds on slots, table games, or live dealer titles. In casino terms, a player is the ...

Playthrough Requirement — is the total amount you must wager before you can withdraw bonus funds or winnings linked to a promotion. Casinos express it as a multiple (e.g., 30x ...

Press button — is a casino term for the physical or on‑screen control you press to execute an action, most commonly to start a slot spin. You’ll also see it ...

Press to return coin — is a label on coin-operated slot machines and gaming devices indicating the button or lever that ejects an unaccepted or jammed coin back to the ...

Progressive Prize — is a jackpot that grows with every qualifying bet placed across one or more linked slot machines or online games. Instead of a fixed payout, the prize ...

Punto Banco — is the most popular casino variant of baccarat where you bet on whether the Player hand (Punto), the Banker hand (Banco), or a Tie will win. You ...

Push to collect — an on‑screen prompt or button on slot machines and other casino games that asks you to confirm taking your current winnings. It finalizes a payout after ...

Rail — is the padded edge of a casino table and, in poker, the spectator area outside the playing surface. Players rest chips and arms on the table rail; spectators ...

Reload Bonus — is a promotional offer that grants extra funds or free spins when you deposit again after your first deposit. Casinos use it to reward ongoing play, boost ...

Roll — is a flexible casino term with three common uses: a single throw of the dice in craps, a single slot spin, or shorthand for a player’s bankroll (“roll”). ...

Service — the overall support and assistance a casino provides to players, online or on the gaming floor. It covers live chat, email and phone help, cashier processing, dispute handling, ...

Session — is a defined period of continuous gambling play, from your first wager to when you cash out or stop. In casino terms, it bundles spins, hands, and bets ...

Shark — a highly skilled, profit‑minded player who consistently outplays weaker opponents, especially in poker or other skill‑based casino games. In gambling slang, a shark identifies edges, picks soft tables, ...

Shill — is a paid participant or covert promoter who poses as a regular player to make a casino game, table, or slot seem popular and trustworthy. Historically, a house ...

Slot Machine — is a casino gambling game where players spin reels to match symbols for payouts. Outcomes are random (mechanical or RNG-based), and wins depend on the paytable, paylines/ways, ...

Split — is a casino term with two main uses: in blackjack, to divide a matching pair into two separate hands with an extra, equal bet; in roulette, a split ...

Stand — is a player decision in blackjack and some other table games to take no more cards or draws, locking in the current hand total. In casino gambling, “stand” ...

Stand off — is a tied outcome in casino games where neither the player nor the house wins the bet. Most common in blackjack (a “push”), a stand off means ...

Start — the button, touch control, or command that initiates a casino game round for the player. In slots it begins a spin; at tables it confirms your wager and ...

Stay — is a blackjack decision where you take no more cards and keep your current hand total. Also called stand, it locks your total and passes play to the ...

Sticky Bonus — is a casino promotion where bonus credits can be wagered but are never withdrawable; only winnings left after meeting wagering requirements may be cashed out. For players ...

Straight — is a gambling term with two main meanings. In poker and video poker, it’s a five‑card hand in consecutive ranks (e.g., 7‑8‑9‑10‑J) with mixed suits. In betting, a ...

Straight Flush — is a five-card poker hand made of five consecutive ranks all in the same suit, such as 5♥–6♥–7♥–8♥–9♥. In casino gambling it’s the second-highest standard hand (the ...

Table Stake — is the poker‑and‑casino rule that limits a player to betting only the chips already on the table when a hand begins. No mid‑hand top‑ups from your pocket ...

Tapping Out — is a casino and poker term for when a player has exhausted their chips or bankroll for the current session and can no longer place a bet. ...

Toke — is a tip given by a player to a casino dealer or staff, usually after a win or good service. In table games and poker rooms, tokes can ...

Token — a unit that represents value or access in gambling. In casinos, a token can be a physical substitute for cash (chips or slot tokens), a digital credit in ...

Tronc — is a pooled tips system used in casinos and hospitality to collect and distribute gratuities among eligible staff, usually overseen by a troncmaster under agreed rules. For players, ...

True Odds — are the real, probability‑based chances of an outcome occurring in a casino game, independent of the payout odds the house offers. They represent the fair price implied ...

Underlay — is a bet or game situation where the payout odds offered by a casino or sportsbook are lower than the true odds of the event. In gambling terms, ...

Virtual Casino Games — are digital versions of slots, table games, and live-dealer experiences you play online on desktop or mobile. In gambling, this term covers RNG slots, blackjack, roulette, ...