Gambling & Poker Terms

A

Act

- An act in poker means that players can choose one of five actions including call, raise, open bet, fold or check. However, in 3 card poker, players can only fold or continue playing.

B

Bank

- The financial host of the game, generally the house or the casino.

Blackjack

- The currently-accepted name of the game formerly known as "21". The name for a winning hand of two cards- an ace plus a ten-value card. See our complete blackjack glossary

Burn

- Cards or a card that is removed from the top of the deck before the dealing starts. Generally there are multiple burn cards after the deck is shuffled.

C

Chase

- Placing another wager to try and recover a loss.

Compare

- As soon as all players have finalized their Poker Dice rolls, they compare ‘hands’ to determine who the winner is; standard poker rankings apply in a limited 6 outcome format

Cut

- To divide a deck into 2 groups before they are dealt but after the deck has been shuffled.

D

Dealer

- An employee of the casino that manages the game and deals the cards.

Down to the Felt

- A vernacular term when a player is out of chips.

F

Freerolls

- Poker Dice players have come to accept – as standard lingo – that freerolls imply rolling the Poker Dice for free. This is achieved in a practice play mode in an instant-play flash game

H

High Card

- A hand that contains 3 non-sequential, non-suited cards. The value of the card is determined by the high card.

Hit

- In Blackjack a Hit is when a player receives another card from the Dealer.

House Edge

- The mathematical advantage that the house or the casino has over players – this is usually shown as a percentage.

House Rules

- The unique rules that a casino has for a particularly game including payout amounts, betting limits, etc.

Hustler

- A roulette cheater.

I

Insurance

- This player safety measure is a side bet resulting in the player being even if the dealer has Blackjack.

J

Joker

- The additional card in a 52-card deck. The wild card in a casino game.

L

Line Price

- The area on the scratch card game which shows how much you will spend on each line on the scratch card.

O

On the Finger

- A vernacular term for money received on credit.

P

Paint

- A vernacular term for face card.

Payback

- The payout of a slot machine relative to the money that has been put in the slot machine; defined as a percentage.

Progressive

- A version of slot machine where the jackpot increases with every coin that is played on it. After the jackpot is hit, the progressive machine begins to accumulate again from the beginning.

Q

Qualify

- The dealer must have a minimum hand ranking in order to be eligible to go to the showdown against the player. In 3 card poker, the dealer needs to have at least a Queen or better.

R

Real Money

- This type of scratch card game enables players to play games with cash for the chance to win real money prizes.

Roulette

- A highly popular casino game named after a French word which means little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors black or red, or whether the number is odd or even. See our complete roulette glossary.

S

Shuffle

- Changing the order of the cards between deals.

Spread

- This refers to the difference in absolute terms between the minimum and maximum that a player bets i.e. the betting range.

Stack

- The total number of a chips a player has in a game.

Streak

- A run of losing or winning hands

T

Tilt

- The tilt light indicates to the casino employees that there is a malfunction with a slot machine. If you did not receive your winnings from a malfunctioning slot machine, the casino employee will check the memory of the machine and give you your winnings.

Total Bets

- The area on the scratch card game which shows how much you have bet so far.

Total Wins

- The area on the scratch card game which shows your winnings so far.

V

VIP

- Very Important Person (High Roller)