Glossary of Gambling Terms

Glossary of US Gambling TermsAction - A bet or player's turn to go in a game of poker.

Action Player - A bettor who always makes large bets.

All-in (Poker) - Betting all a player's chips in poker.

American Roulette - A roulette variation with two zero slots instead of one (0 and 00). Also see European Roulette.

Ante (Poker) - A forced bet for all players before action starts.

Any craps (Craps) - A bet placed totaling 2, 3, or 12.

Any seven (Craps) - A bet placed on any 7.

Bad beat (Poker) - An unlucky loss against the odds.

Banker - A dealer or player who books action of other bettors in card games.

Bankroll - Funds available to gamble with.

Big Blind (Poker) - Large forced bet posted before action starts.

Blind (Poker) - A forced bet placed before cards are dealt.

Bluff (Poker) - A bet or raise without the best hand to force a fold.

Board (Poker) - Five shared community cards in Texas Hold'em, a popular poker game named after the famous USA state.

Bottom pair (Poker) - A pair including a hole card and lowest community card.

Bounty (Poker) - Cash awarded for knocking out another player in a tournament.

Bubble (Poker) - A player knocked out one place before the money prizes start.

Burn (Poker) - Discarded card before flop, turn and river are dealt.

Button (Poker) - Mark showing who is in Seat 1 and is last to act.

Buy-in - Money needed to enter a gambling tournament.

Call (Poker) - Match another player's bet.

Calling station (Poker) - Player who matches majority of bets.

Cap - Maximum bet allowed.

Card counting (Blackjack) - Tracking the percentage of high and low cards emerging from decks in order to make bigger winnings.

Cash Game - A poker game with fixed blinds and unlimited rebuys.

Casino - An online site offering a suite of table games and slots to United States players.

Chasing Losses - Increasing your bets as you lose in order to make bigger wins and cover your losses.

Checks - See Chips.

Chips - Counters used to track a player's stack.

Comp - Free cash or bonuses as reward for gambling.

Continuation bet (Poker) - Wager made after the flop by the initial raiser.

Copy (Pai-gow) - Same two or five-card hand.

Credit (Video Poker) - Money already won but not yet cashed out.

Croupier (Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette) – Another word for Dealer.

Cut - Splitting deck of cards after shuffling.

Dealer - Croupier in a casino or the poker player sitting in the first seat.

Deposit - Transfer of money to online gambling or poker account.

Deuce - The 2 card.

Double down (Blackjack) - Doubling an original bet in order to receive one extra card.

Double Zero - The 38th pocket on an American Roulette wheel (00).

Edge – A player's or casino's gambling advantage.

Encryption - Software used by online casino to protect financial transactions.

En Prison - An insurance bet found in French Roulette which lets you win half your stake back in the event of the single zero (0) coming up.

European Roulette - A popular form of roulette featuring just one green zero slot (0).

Even money bet - A bet paying odds of 1:1

E-wallet - Online bank account to manage transactions, especially for gambling sites.

First base (Blackjack) - First position dealt to far left of dealer.

Fish (Poker) - Bad player who bets on too many starting hands and calls bad bets.

Fifth street (Poker) - River card.

Flop (Poker) - The first three community cards dealt on the board.

Flush (Poker) - A poker hand consisting of cards all the same suit in poker.

Fold (Poker) - Throwing away a hand into the muck.

Foul (Pai-Gow) - A lost hand when a two-card hand is set higher than five-card hand.

Freeroll (Poker) - A poker tournament free to enter.

Freezeout (Poker) - A poker game without a rebuy option.

French Roulette - A variant of European Roulette featuring two insurance bets: La Partage and En Prison.

Full house (Poker) - A hand consisting of three of a kind plus a pair.

Handicap - An advantage or disadvantage given to a team by a sportsbetting site.

Heads-up - A poker game between two players only, or a tournament that has whittled down to two players.

High Roller - A player who bets large amounts consistently.

Hit (Blackjack) - A request for another card.

Hole card (Blackjack) - A dealer's face-down card.

Hole cards (Poker) - Card/cards dealt face down to player, which only they can see.

House - A casino or gaming establishment.

House Edge - The disparity between the actual odds and the casino's payout on an outcome.

Inside bet (Roulette) - A bet place on a number or small combination of numbers.

Insurance (Blackjack) - An extra bet protecting player against dealer hitting blackjack.

Jacks or Better (Video Poker) - Winning hands start with jacks or higher,

Live Dealer - An online game where players can bet against a human croupier standing at a real roulette wheel or dealing real blackjack cards.

La Partage - An insurance bet in French Roulette which allows players to win half their stake back if the single zero appears.

Lobby - Online casino or poker homepage with all games and payment tabs listed.

Martingale - A betting system where you double your bet after each losing spin or bet.

MTT (Poker) - Multi-Table Tournament; a tournament with two or more tables of players.

Muck (Poker) - Area on the table where discarded cards go.

Multilines (Sportsbetting) - Betting on more than one game or outcome at a time.

Natural (Blackjack, Baccarat) - A player dealt a winning hand.

Odds - Player's probability of winning or losing.

Outside bets (roulette) - Betting 12 or 18 numbers, Red/Black or Odd/Even.

Pass – A choice not to bet

Parlay (Sportsbetting) - An accumulating bet across multiple games.

Payline (Slots) - A line on which symbols must land for a win.

Picture cards - Jack, Queen, King and Ace.

Play the board (Poker) - Player uses five community cards to make a hand.

Pocket pair - A pair of matching hole cards in poker.

Position (Poker) - Betting order in poker(the term is the same at USA and global sites).

Point (Craps) - Number established on the come-out roll.

Post - To place a bet.

Premier Roulette Diamond Edition - An online version of roulette featuring four colors as opposed to just red and black. It's available at many United States casinos.

Progressive Jackpot - A slots jackpot pooled from wagers across all casinos. Players from the USA and around the world feed the same jackpot, which makes it grow bigger, faster.

Punto Banco - A form of Baccarat.

Push (Blackjack) - A tie hand between the croupier and the player.

Push (Poker) - To bet or raise all-in.

Random Number Generator (RNG) - Software used by online casinos and poker sites to ensure fair game.

River Card (Poker) - Fifth and final community card.

Satellite (Poker) - A tournament awarding entry into larger live or online tournament.

Set (Poker) - Three of a kind including two hole cards.

Set (Pai-Gow) - Separating hands into two-card and five-card hands.

Show (Blackjack) - Box that holds and dispenses cards.

Single Zero Roulette - See European Roulette.

Small Blind (Poker) - A small forced bet in poker before action starts.

Soft hand (Blackjack) – A hand containing an ace counted as one or 11.

Stack – A column of chips.

Stand (Blackjack) – Turning down more cards from the dealer.

Systems - Strategies used by gamblers to increase their chances of winning.

Tilt - Losing concentration due to bad luck and making poor decisions.

Top pair (Poker) - A pair consisting of a player's hole card and the highest community card.

Trey - A three.

Trips (Poker) - A three of a kind including only one hole card.

Turn (Poker) - The fourth community card.

Under the gun (Poker) - The first player to act after the big blind (Seat 4).

Up card (Blackjack) - A dealer's face-up card.

Value bet - A bet made to induce a call.

VIP - A big bettor or high roller. Also see Whale.

Wager - A bet.

Welcome Bonus - Promotion by online casino which matches first deposit.

Whale - A high roller.

Wheel - Used in roulette. Contains 37 or 38 slots.

Wild card - A joker or other card used as substitute to make winning hand.

Zero - The 37th slot on a European Roulette wheel.

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