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Glossary of Terms
Casino and Gambling Jargon
A
Action: The money being wagered on
a particular bet.
Add-on:
In poker, being able to buy
additional chips in tournaments
All-in: In poker, if another player
bets more than you have you're still in the pot for the amount you have in
front of you. This is called "being all in". Similarly, if you
bet all your chips at once you are said to be "going all in".
Ante: In poker, a small wager,
usually the smallest chip denomination, which everyone has to put in at the
start of a hand. See "Blinds"
B
Bankroll: All the money you have
that is designated for gambling. NOT the same as "session bankroll"
Black chip: A casino chip worth
$100
Blackjack Rules:
A wide variety of Blackjack rules exist. Abbreviations are often
used to describe these rules. Here are some common ones:
H17 -- Dealer must take a hit on 17
S17 -- Dealer must stand on 17
DA2 -- Double down allowed on any two first
cards
DAS -- Doubling down after splitting is allowed
LS (NS) -- Late Surrender allowed (or Not)
RSA -- Re-splitting Aces is allowed
Blinds: In hold-em poker, blinds
are forced bets. Similar to an Ante, but are only placed by one or two
players to the left of the dealer button.
Boothling
Somewhat derogatory term. A person working in the
players club or slot club booth.
Bump: To raise the bet.
C
Cage (The Cage, Cashier Cage):
The place you go to exchange chips for money and do other financial
transactions
Checks (or Cheques): This
is what casino chips are officially called.
Coin In How much
money you are cycling through a machine in a period of time. For example, quarter video poker, 5 coins per hand, playing 500 hands
per hour. Your hourly coin in is $1.25 x 500 = $625.00. If you play like
this 5 hours, your coin in for the day is $3,125.00.
Coffee Shop
No, this isn't Starbucks. Most casino's have a restaurant that is open
24/7/365. It sometimes has a different name, but is generically
referred to as "the coffee shop".
Cold: A slot machine that's not paying
off, or a player on a losing streak.
Color up: Trading in smaller
denomination chips for larger value chips, usually when ending a session at
a table game.
Comp Short for
"complementary". Anything free given to you by the casino. Free drinks,
meals, show tickets, hotel room, etc.
Comp-ability: The ability to be
comped. Usually expressed in a dollar amount. See
Theo
Comped Given a complementary by the
casino. "I was comped a great steak dinner."
Croupier: Another word for dealer,
usually a roulette, craps, or baccarat dealer.
D
Dealer button: In poker,
Usually a round, white plastic disk with "dealer" written on it. In
many poker games this button rotates around the table and indicates where
play will start.
Donkey A derogatory term for a bad
poker player
E
Edge: An advantage, usually the casino
has the edge.
EV Expected Value What you
expect to win (or lose) on a particular game in the long term. Or, your advantage
on a particular hand. Expressed as a dollar amount, or some times as a
percentage.
Even Money Bet
A wager that is paid at 1 x your bet. For example, a $5 bet on
"Black" at the roulette wheel will pay you $5 if it wins, so you'll have $10
(your $5, plus the $5 you won). Also known as a "Flat Bet".
Eye in the sky: Casino security
surveillance cameras.
F
First base: In poker, blackjack, and
other card games, the first player on the left of the dealer. This player is
first to receive cards as they're dealt.
Fish: An inexperienced gambler.
In the poker room an easy target for profit.
Flat Bet: See "Even
Money Bet"
Full Pay A video
poker machine, having the best pay table that is widely available for that specific game.
Note that Full Pay is NOT necessarily 100%+. For example, 9/6 JOB is a
"Full Pay" but it pays less than 100%. Contrast this to Short Pay, a 8/5
JOB machine is Short Pay.
FPDW "Full Pay
Deuces Wild" the version of Deuces Wild video poker which has a 100.7%
payback.
G
George: A good tipper.
Dealers will tell each other you're a George if you tip well
Grinder: A gambler playing with
a small edge who is winning, but very slowly and over a long session.
"Grinding it out".
H
High roller: A gambler with a
big budget. Usually playing Dollar machines and higher, or betting
Black Chips or higher.
Hit: In blackjack, taking
another card; as in "Hit me." At poker, a loss "I took a hit of about
$150".
Hot: A player that's on a winning
streak.
House: The casino.
House edge: The casino's built-in
advantage. Also called "vigorish" or "vig" for short
J
JOB Abbreviation for "Jacks or
Better" One of the original, and still popular video poker games.
Available in Full Pay and a variety of Short Pay
versions.
JWKB "Jokers Wild, Kings or Better"
A video poker game.
L
Let it ride: Letting the winnings on a
bet roll over to the next bet. See also "parlay."
(Let It Ride is also the name of a casino table game)
Limp In Poker, as the first
player to act, to bet the minimum (calling the big blind)
Loose: A slot machine that pays out
more frequently.
Low Roller: Gambler on a small
budget. Definition varies from casino to casino. Usually playing
Penny, Nickel and Quarter machines, $5 to $25 bets at table games, probably
no more than 4 hours a day. Some places appreciate this level of
play (older downtown Las Vegas) and others could care less if you're there
(most Strip properties). Also see Mid Roller and High Roller.
M
Marker: An IOU. Once a player has
established credit with the casino they can sign a market to get more chips
while at a table.
Match Play Coupon: A coupon that
allows you to place a bet, usually $5 to $25, and if that bet wins your win
is "matched" or doubled.
Mid Roller: The average gambler.
Definition varies from casino to casino. Usually playing Quarter
machines for 6 to 10 hours a day, some Halfs and Dollars. Making
$25-$50 bets at table games.
N
Negative Expectation: A game
where you have a long-run disadvantage. Most casino games are negative
expectation.
Nuts: In poker, "the nuts" is
the best hand possible given the known cards.
NSUD: "Not So
Ugly Ducks" or "...Deuces". A video poker game, variation of Deuces
Wild that is not too awful, 99.7% payback. See complete info on the
vpFree web site.
O
On tilt: When a player, usually
at poker, loses a hand unexpectedly and gets mad, betting wildly on hands
that follow. See steaming.
P
Paint: A face card.
Parlay: In table games, adding a
win to the bet, see "let it ride". In sports betting, a wager on the
outcome of two or more events - for example, the at football, the picking a
winner and the over/under.
Payout Percentage: Also
referred to as "payback percentage", the percent of each dollar played in a
video poker or slot machine that the machine is programmed to return to the
player in the long run.
Pay Table: A posting somewhere
on the front of a slot or video poker machine that tells you what each
winning hand will pay for the number of coins or credits played.
Pit: The area of a casino between the
tables where the dealers and management works, it's a restricted area,
so don't walk into the pit
Pit boss: A table games supervisor in
a casino.
Players Club
(Players Club Card): Similar to a "membership rewards" program.
You register at the Players Club, and the casino gives you a Player's Club
Card. You use that card to identify yourself any time you play a
machine, or a table game. The casino tracks your play and awards you
with comps, free play, cash back, etc. Also known as "Slot Club".
Also see "Rated"
Pressing a bet: Increasing your
bet, often after a win.
Progressive: A slot or video
poker machine with a jackpot that grows with each play until it is won.
Push A tie between the house and a
player, usually in blackjack.
R
Rack The plastic trays used in
casinos to carry chips.
Railbirds Spectators in
the poker room.
Rake In the poker room, the
casino fee taken from each pot
Rated (getting rated, being
rated) A table games player can ask to be "rated" to by the casino.
The pit boss will track your wagers and the length of time you play.
This information player is put into the computer system and used to
determine your eligibility for comps.
RFB An abbreviation
for "Room Food and Beverage". If you're comped RFB you
get your complete stay free, hotel room, all food including room service,
and all drinks including bottled wine and call drinks (premium liquor).
Most casinos also have a limited version called RFL, where they comp you
buffets, mid-tier restaurants, and no bottled wine or champaign (by the
glass is covered).
Rush (Playing a Rush): In poker,
a player who has been on a short winning streak.
S
Session A period of play in a casino,
vague term, could be 4, 8, 12 hours.
Session Bankroll All the money
that you have designated for gambling during this period of play.
Short Pay A video poker machine with a
pay table set to pay less than optimal for this specific game. For
example, an 8/6 JOB machine is "Short Pay". 9/6 is Full Pay.
Silver mining When someone cruises
the slot area looking for coins left in unattended slot machines.
Generally frowned upon, some casinos will kick you out for doing it.
Slot Club See "Players Club"
Steaming A blackjack
term where a player has become frustrated with how badly they are losing.
At the poker table, a player is said to be "going on tilt" when steaming.
Stiff A winning gambler that stiffs
the dealer by not leaving a tip. Gambler who doesn't tip waitresses. Opposite of "George"
System A strategy for betting.
T
Taking a Bath Losing a lot
Tapped out Broke, a gambler who
has lost their bankroll is tapped out.
Theo Short
for "Theoretical Loss". It's the dollar amount you are expected to
lose playing a particular game, at a particular rate, for a specific time.
The formula is V x B x HPH x HP. Vig x
Your Average Bet x Hands Per Hour x Hours Played. It
is used to compute how much you can receive in casino comps.
Third base In blackjack, the
player sitting just to the dealer's right. To superstitious gamblers this
players actions are important because they are the last to play before the
dealer. To avoid catching grief for your decisions don't sit in third
base.
Tilt (Going on tilt) When a
player, usually at poker, loses a hand or series of hands unexpectedly and
gets mad, betting wildly on hands that follow. See steaming.
TITO
Pronounced "TeeToe". Stands for Ticket In, Ticket Out. Slot and
video poker machines that "cash out" on a printed, bar-coded ticket instead
of coins. These tickets can then be inserted into other machines, or
redeemed for cash.
Toke: Another name for a tip for
dealers.
Trips: Three cards of the same value,
such as three Kings.
V
Vigorish or Vig: The
casino's commission or edge, sometimes referred to as "juice."
W
Wager: A bet.
Whale: Mega high rollers.
They often wager $10,000 or more on each bet.
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