Those new to the world of online gaming may be coming across industry-related terms they’ve not seen before. It’s kind of like a foreign language but not too difficult to learn, especially when you’ve got Casino Bloke, a pal that speaks it fluently.
Visiting online casino scene for the very first time can make one feel as if they have entered a foreign country. Wherever they turn, there will be familiar words which in this universe clearly have a different meaning or expressions that are never, ever used in everyday life. Being bombarded by terms such as ante, craps, flop, house edge, RTP and payline without understanding what any of them mean may be intimidating.
Don’t run away, though! Even seasoned players have felt lost and confused to start with, and look them now! We have compiled a glossary of common casino terms to help you learn the basics of this weird and wonderful language before you go out and continue learning on your own.
To avoid creating further confusion, explanations are kept short and written in plain language – hopefully fully understandable even to those with zero casino experience. If you find yourself baffled by some other expressions not included in this list, let Casino Bloke know and he will make sure to add it to his casino glossary asap (as soon as possible).
AGCC acronym for the Alderney Gambling Control Commission.
Ante a forced bet all players have to place to enter a poker game.
Auto Roulette a game of Roulette that uses a wheel spun by an automated device rather than a live dealer.
Banker one of the two hands in a game of Baccarat (the other being Player), usually paying 0.95:1.
Burn Cards one or more cards taken from the top of the deck and discarded after a shuffle / before a new hand; likely done to make card counting more difficult.
Bust an expression frequently used in a game of Blackjack when either the player or the dealer gets dealt a hand with a value of 22 or more.
Card Counting a strategy used primarily in Blackjack to evaluate the mix of the cards remaining in the deck and determine whether it's favorable for the player or the dealer.
Cashback when casino refunds a percentage of the money a player has lost over a specific period of time.
Cash Out transfer money from an online casino to the player's bank account or digital wallet.
Columns Bet an Outside Roulette bet placed simultaneously on 12 non-consecutive numbers displayed in one of three columns on the betting table; pays 2:1.
Comp Points loyalty points earned by placing real money bets, usually exchangeable for bonus or real cash.
Community Board five cards dealt face up in the center of Texas Hold'em table; all players can use them in combination with their own two cards to create the highest-value poker hand.
Contribution proportion of bets that count towards bonus wagering requirement; usually varies according to game type.
Craps a game played with 2 dice; also an outcome of 2, 3 or 12 rolled during the Come-Out (initial) Roll
Double Down double one's Blackjack bet after having been dealt the first two cards; only one additional card can be received after doubling.
Dozens Bet an Outside Roulette bet placed simultaneously on 12 consecutive numbers displayed in one of the three areas displayed on the betting table (1-12, 13-24 and 25-36); pays 2:1.
Download Casino an online casino that requires a piece of software to be downloaded in order to play.
eCOGRA acronym for E-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance, one of the leading independent testing agency specialized for certification of online gaming software.
Even-Money Bet generally a bet with 50:50 odds, though in Roulette it applies to Red/Black, Odd/Even and High/Low with odds of 47.4%; even-money bets pay 1:1.
E-wallet a digital wallet that facilitates online payments and is serviced by an intermediary such as PayPal, Skrill and Neteller.
Face Card a card which depicts a person – King, Queen and Jack.
Flash Casino an online casino accessible via web browsers.
Flop the first three face-up cards dealt to the community board in Texas Hold’em, followed by a turn and a river.
Flush a Poker hand consisting of cards of the same suit.
Fold discard a poor hand to minimize losses.
Freeroll a tournament with a free entry.
Full House a Poker hand consisting of three cards of one rank and two cards of another (e.g. three 9's and two Aces).
Hard Hand a Blackjack hand consisting of any two cards other than an Ace.
High Roller a player placing high value bets.
Hit ask for an additional card to be dealt in a game of Blackjack.
Hole Card a card which is dealt face down, either in Blackjack or Stud Poker.
House Edge a built-in advantage the casino (house) has in all games, usually resulting from paying at odds slightly below the true winning odds.
Inside Bets Roulette bets placed inside the numbered grid of the betting board.
Insurance an optional wager offered to players as insurance against the dealer's Blackjack; it's available in some games when the dealer's up card is an Ace.
Jackpot large potential win triggered randomly or by a specific game outcome .
Live Dealer Game online casino game played against a live dealer seated in a remote location; live video stream gives an impression of playing at a physical table in a land-based casino.
Lobby in online gaming, lobby is the section of the website that offers overview and access to available games.
Match Bonus casino bonus expressed as a percentage match of the player's deposit.
MGA acronym for the Malta Gaming Authority.
No-deposit Bonus casino bonus players can claim after registering and prior to making any deposits. More No Deposit Bonus informaction can be found here.
Odds the mathematical probability of a potential outcome; for example, a flip of a coin has two possible outcomes, heads or tails, each with a 50% or 1:2 odds.
Optimal Strategy math-based strategy that gives players the best winning odds; most frequently (but not exclusively) associated with Blackjack.
Outside Bets Roulette bets placed outside of the numbered grid displayed on the table and covering groups of 12 or 18 numbers.
Payline a winning line in slots; identical symbols need to land on a payline in order to pay a return.
Payout an amount returned to the player after they win a bet.
Pit Boss the croupier’s supervisor in a land-based or online live casino.
Playthrough Requirement see Wagering Requirement.
Progressive Jackpot a jackpot that keeps increasing in size until won.
Push a game outcome where opponents tie and all bets are returned to the affected player.
River the fifth and final card dealt to the community board in Texas Hold'em, after the flop and turn.
RNG acronym for Random Number Generator, a program that randomly generates game outcomes and ensures results can't be rigged.
Rollover an alternative term for wagering (play-through) requirement.
Royal Flush a Straight Flush which includes an Ace.
RTP acronym for Return to Player, a long-term theoretical payback percentage from all bets placed on a slot machine or any other casino game; for example, a slot with an RTP of 95% is expected to pay back €95 on €100 wagered.
Scatter a special symbol used in online slots, usually paying regardless of its position on the reels and often responsible for triggering bonus rounds.
Shoe a container that holds multiple card decks.
Side bet an optional wager available in different types of casino games (Blackjack, Baccarat and Poker), very often with a higher win potential than main bets.
Snake Eyes the outcome in a game of Craps when both dice show a one.
Split an option available in a game of Blackjack, allowing players to split the first two cards dealt in two separate hands, providing they are of the same value.
Stand declining the option to be dealt another card in a game of Blackjack.
Straight Flush a Poker hand consisting of five cards of sequential rank and same suit.
Straight Up Bet a Roulette bet on a single number.
Street Bet an Inside Roulette bet on 3 sequential numbers; pays 11:1.
Suit a family of playing cards; each standard deck has four suits - Clubs, Spades, Hearts and Diamonds.
Tournament a contest in which online players try to outscore other participants and win a prize.
Turn the fourth of five cards dealt to the community board in Texas Hold'em.
UKGC acronym for the UK Gambling Commission.
Up Card A card dealt facing upwards.
Variance a term used for describing the risk-to-win ratio; low variance games reward players relatively frequently with smaller amounts, while high variance titles deliver fewer but bigger wins.
Volatility an alternative name for variance.
Wagering Requirement a multiplier which represents the number of times one has to wager the credited bonus before being able to withdraw any winnings; it's applied either to bonus alone or both deposit and bonus amounts. Use our bonus calculator to determine how much you are required to wager.
Wild a symbol acting as a substitute for most or all other game icons (usually in slots).
Yo a roll of 11 in a game of Craps; the croupier calls “yo-leven” or “yo eleven” so that players don't confused it with “seven” which sounds similar.
Let us know and we will happily add this to our glossary list in our next update.
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