Online Gambling Glossary
Talk the Talk
A glossary of casino terms so you won't feel like you are in a foreign country when you visit an online casino.
Baccarat
Bankroll - A player’s total gambling money.
Carte - French for request a card be dealt.
Coup - French for a round of play.
Croupier - French for dealer.
Down Card - A face down card.
Face Cards - The Jack, Queen, and King of any suit of cards.
High Roller - A player that wagers big bets.
House Edge - The casino in-built advantage, usually gained by paying less than the odds.
Ladderman – Casino employee who oversees the baccarat game. Personnel working this game are two dealers seated together at the center of the table, a caller standing at the table across from the dealers, and the ladderman, supervising the action from a chair above the table.
Le Grande - French for natural 9.
Mini-baccarat - A smaller version table baccarat.
Natural - An 8 or a 9 with the first two cards.
Palette - The tool (usually a long flat wooden baton) used in the Baccarat game to move cards on the table.
Punto - Player.
Shuffle Up - Premature shuffling of playing cards by the dealer.
Standoff - A tie.
Upcard - A face up card.
Bingo
Admission - To be eligible to enter a bingo hall and/or participate in a bingo game.
After Game - The game played after the end of a regular session of play.
Basket Bingo - Bingo game where "basket" prizes are given.
Bingo Books/Booklets - A number of different colored bingo sheets/cards bound together to form a book/booklet to be played one for each game at a bingo session. They are usually bound in the order in which they will be played.
Bingo Card - A card containing 24 numbered spaces and one free space (blank), with which you play BINGO. The numbers are assigned at random on each card and are arranged in five columns of five numbers each by five rows (5 x 5 = 25 in total including the blank square). The numbers in the B column are between 1 and 15, in the I column between 16 and 30, in the N column (containing four numbers and the free space) between 31 and 45, in the G column between 46 and 60, and in the O column between 61 and 75. Players have thousands of unique (unduplicated) cards to choose from. Some manufacturers print unduplicated series of 6,000 cards. There are also series of 9,000 cards available. Hard cards and Flimsy cards have a series number printed on them. For example, card number 1252 will always have the same numbers in the same spaces.
Blackout - (Also, Coverall) A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win. Usually 50 to 60 of the 75 bingo numbers have to be called to cover all the numbers on a card. But blackouts in as few as 43 numbers have been recorded.
Bonanza Bingo - A progressive coverall Jackpot that is usually played as the 13th game of the session. Forty-five numbers are drawn before the session and players mark them on separate cards and set aside. There is an additional fee to play this game, usually $1. The countdown begins at 48 numbers or less and go up one number per week to 52 numbers or until won. The amount of the jackpot is determined by card sales for that game.
Breakopen - A multi-ply card, made completely from paper or paper products, with perforated breakopen tab or tabs. The game play area of the card is covered to conceal a number(s), letter(s) and/or symbol(s); some of which have been designated in advance as prize winners.
Caller - The person who calls out the bingo numbers as they are drawn.
Cash-In-Prize - A form of bingo where the prize is a cash payout. This is taken from the money paid in.
Casino Night - An event held for a specific period of time (generally beginning in the afternoon and ending by midnight) during which a qualified organization is entitled to hold casino-style gaming events. Games conducted include: Pulltabs, bingo, roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, gin rummy, five card stud poker, and merchandise wheels.
Chat Room - A handy monitor or screen where you can read and exchange messages with other players.
Coverall - A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win.
Dauber - Bingo dauber is ink-filled bottle/pen with a foam tip on it used to mark called numbers. When you touch the bingo card with the foam tip it marks the square.
Early Bird Game - A bingo game that starts earlier than another regularly scheduled game. But sometimes the Early Bird game is merely the first game of the session. The first game of a session is more commonly known as a Warm Up.
Face - Is the individual bingo sheet containing 24 numbers plus the free space in the middle.
Four Corners - A pattern where you must cover the corner numbers of the card. If you get those four numbers, you win.
Free Space - The center square of the card, which does not have a number assigned to it. It's like a Joker or a Wild square. You get it free every game and it counts towards your winning pattern.
Game Board, Gameboard - An electronic display that is attached to the bingo board to show the pattern needed to win that particular game. It looks like a bingo card and shows what variation of bingo you are playing on that particular game on the program. For example: four corners, chevron, regular, blackout, etc.
Game Room - Some online games divide the players into game rooms.
G.T.I., T.E.D. - An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.
Hard Card - A bingo card printed on heavy cardboard material usually with shutters to cover each number as it is called out.
Hardway Bingo (Hard-way Bingo) - Bingo in a straight line without the use of the free space.
Instant Bingo - A breakopen ticket which contains the letters B I N G O, bingo card faces, bingo numbers, and no other symbols. Winning tickets may incorporate letters spelling the word B-I-N-G-O, or contain a complete pre-designated bingo pattern, i.e., vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line.
Jackpot - A big prize usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern, such as a blackout, within a specified number of balls.
Main Stage Bingo - The main event of a session of bingo, and the one said to draw the most customers.
Money Ball - A number drawn before the game that will double a player's winnings if bingo is hit on that number.
Multiple Winners - Two or more players bingo at the same time. When this happens, the cash prize is divided among them. For example, if there are five winners on a $500 game, they each receive $100.
Pattern - The shape you need to cover on your card with called out numbers, usually it is in a straight line; horizontal, vertical and diagonal. See here examples of bingo patterns (link opens new window).
Payout - The percentage of sales paid out by the House. The average payout among all bingo halls is approximately 75 percent. This compares with a payout of approximately 45 percent on state lottery games.
Postage Stamp Pattern - Matching four numbers to form a postage stamp (a 2 x 2 grid) in any of the four corners.
Progressive Jackpot - A Jackpot that gets bigger until it is won. It builds daily, weekly, or monthly if it is not won in a specific number of calls. If there is no winner in X number of calls, consolation prize(s) of lesser dollar amounts are paid. Different variations of progressive games add dollars or numbers, or both, to the jackpot. There is usually a separate buy-in for Progressive Jackpot games.
Quickie - Numbers are called as quickly as possible & the card must be full to win Bingo.
Speed Bingo - A variation of regular bingo. Numbers are called very quickly and you can bingo in as few as three numbers. Usually played before or after a regular session.
Wild Number - Usually played on a double bingo that leads into a triple bingo. The first number out of the hopper determines the wild number; for example, if 42 is drawn, all numbers ending in 2 should be marked off.
Wrap Up - The name of the last game of a session.
Poker
Aces Wired - (Also, Bullets) Two Aces back-to-back (in the hole).
Action - A wager or bet of any kind. The placing of money into the pot (e.g. many bets and raises is described as 'a lot of action').
Add-on - To buy additional chips in a tournament that allows it.
Alligator Blood - (USA) A tough player is good under pressure.
All-in - When a player bets all his wagering money available on the table.
Ante - In poker, a small bet as the minimum bet that each player is required to put into the pot before a new hand starts. A compulsory opening or starting bet, applied in games with an ante, put up by players before each hand; e.g. Casino Stud Poker, 7-card stud.
Back Door - A hand made using the last two cards dealt in seven card stud or Texas Hold'em (e.g. 'a back door flush').
Bank - The financial backer of a gambling operation.
Banker - In a card game, dealer or the players who books the action of the other bettors at the table.
Bankroll - The total amount of money you have the intention of gambling with.
Base Deal - Dealing from the bottom of the deck. A form of cheating.
Behind - Before the last cards have been dealt, if you don't have the best hand you are 'behind'.
Berry Patch - (USA) An extremely easy game.
Big Bet - The largest betting amount in limit games.
Big Blind - In flop games, two bets are usually posted before any cards are dealt. The 'small' blind by the player to the left of the dealer and the 'big blind' (double the small blind) by the player to the left of the small blind.
Big Slick - Ace King as your hole cards in Hold'em.
Blank - A card that appears not to help anyone.
Blind Bet - A bet posted without the player sees any of his cards.
Blinds - A forced bet in Hold 'em.
Bluff - To bet strong with a weak hand, aimed at misleading the other players in the hope that they will fold.
Board - The community cards dealt face-up in the center of the table in a flop game (e.g. Hold'em) or the up cards in a stud game (e.g. seven card stud).
Bottom Pair - Making a pair with the lowest card on the flop.
Bracelet - Winning a championship event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) earns the player a Gold Bracelet. Highly prized amongst poker professionals.
Brick - A 'blank' in seven card stud (e.g. a card that appears not to help your hand).
Bring In - To 'bring it in' is to make the first bet on the first round of a hand. In
seven-card stud, the bring-in is a mandatory bet made by the player with the lowest upcard in the first round of betting.
Broadway - An Ace high straight.
Bullets - A pair of aces in the hole. (Also, Aces Wired)
Burn - A 'burn card' is a card discarded from the top of the deck at predetermined points in deals (in case a player has seen it). In card games after a shuffle and cut, one card is placed on the bottom of the deck or in the discard tray, which is called burning the card.
Bust - To run out of money. 'Busted out' in competitions where its final.
Busted Hand - A hand of less value than a pair (e.g. if you miss a straight, you have a busted straight).
Button - A flat disc called the dealer button. The player with the button is the last to receive cards on the deal.
Buy - To buy a pot is to make a bet large enough that other players would be unlikely to call.
Buy-in - The chips which players buy to gamble.
Call - To call is to match the current bet.
Calling Station - A player who calls too often.
Cap - The limit on the number of raises in a round of betting in limit games.
Catching Cards - Getting favorable cards.
Check - Pass the turn of calling the first bet in a betting round to the next player.
Checks - (USA) Poker chips.
Chop - To return the blinds to the players who posted them and move on to the next hand (when no-one wants to play the hand).
Cold Call - To call more than one bet (e.g. one player bets, the next raises and the next calls).
Cowboys - Kings.
Crack - When a powerful hand is beat it is 'cracked' (e.g. pocket aces).
Crying Call - A call by a player who is virtually certain they will not win the pot, and probably knows it.
Dead Money - An inexperienced player who has virtually no chance at winning a tournament. Their chips are said to be "dead money".
Deal - To give out the cards during a hand.
Designated Dealer - In a poker room where each game has a resident dealer, a different player serves as the designated dealer for each hand. In poker games like Texas hold‘em, the player to the left of the dealer bets first.
Deuce - Twos are sometimes called deuces.
Door Card - The first card dealt face up to each player in seven card stud poker.
Drop - (Also, Fold) To abandon your hand or throw away your cards without calling a bet.
Face Cards - The jack, queen, and king of any suit of cards.
Felt - The surface of most poker tables - A player who is running low on chips is said to be 'down to the felt'.
Fifth Street - The fifth card dealt in a hand of stud poker. In seven-card stud, the third round of betting is called fifth street because players have five cards. In
Texas hold‘em poker, fifth street is the fifth card on board and the final round of betting.
Fill - To draw a card that makes a five-card hand (straight, flush, full house, straight flush).
Flop - A number of games, such as hold'em and omaha, are played with five community cards. The first three of these cards are dealt all at once, face up, and are called the flop. Games with a flop can be called flop games.
Flush - Five cards of the same suit.
Fold - (Also, Drop) To abandon a poker hand. When a player declines a bet and drops out of the hand.
Foul - In pai gow poker, a hand is fouled when the two-card Low hand is set higher than the five-card High hand, or when the hands are set with the wrong number of cards. A fouled hand is a losing hand.
Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same rank, also known as Quads.
Fourth Street - The fourth card dealt in a hand of stud poker. In seven-card stud, the second round of betting is called fourth street because players have four cards. In Texas hold‘em poker, fourth street is the fourth card on board and the third round of betting.
Free Card - Seeing the next card without having to call a bet (e.g. if everyone checks).
Freeroll - When you have a hand that will at least share the pot but still has a chance of winning, you are said to be freerolling. Also used in online poker rooms in order to demonstrate a site's looks and feel to new players before playing for real money. When a site offers Freeroll it means you can sign up and play for free against other players who also requested Freeroll play.
Full House - A hand consisting of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank.
Glimmer - Money.
Going All-in (Also known as "All-in") - In cardroom poker, to call with (to bet) all your chips.
Grinder - A player who only aims to win a little money each day.
Sports Betting
Accumulator - (Also, Parlay) A multiple bet. A kind of 'let-it-ride' bet. Making simultaneous selections on two or more games with the intent of pressing the winnings of the first win on the bet of the following game selected, and so on. All the selections made must win for you to win the accumulator.
Action - A bet or wager of any kind is deemed Action if valid. Different rules apply in different sports in determining if a bet is action or no action (e.g. baseball bets are action when the game gets beyond 4½ innings).
Ajax - UK slang term for 'Betting Tax'.
All-In - With all-in betting there are no refunds given for scratched or withdrawn competitors or teams in an event where a bet is placed. Should an event be cancelled then the amount bet will be refunded.
All Up - (Also, Accumulator) This involves picking the winners of more than one event. A single wager amount is placed on more than one outcome, whereby the stake and winnings of the first selection will be rolled over into the second selection and so on.
Ante Post - (Also, Futures) Bets placed in advance predicting the outcome of a future event. Ante-post prices are those on major sporting events, usually prior to the day of the event itself. In return for the chance of better odds, punters risk the fact that stakes are not returned if their selection pulls out or is cancelled.
Arbitrage - Where a variation in odds available allows a punter to back both sides and guarantee a win.
Backed - A 'backed' team is one on which lots of bets have been placed.
Banker - Highly expected to win. The strongest in a multiple selection in a parlay or accumulator. In permutation bets the banker is a selection that must win to guarantee any returns.
Bar Price - Refers to the odds of the selections at the last quoted price and bigger. The bar price is the minimum odds for any of those selections not quoted. For example, in a large field, the Serie A outright markets may read Juventus 3/1, AC Milan 7/2, Inter Milan 4/1, Lazio 5/1, 8/1 Bar - meaning every other side is quoted at 8/1 or bigger.
Beard (US) - A friend or acquaintance or other contact who is used to placing bets so that the bookmakers will not know the identity of the actual bettor. Many top handicappers and persons occupying sensitive positions use this method of wagering.
Beeswax - UK slang term for betting tax. Also known as 'Bees' or 'Ajax'.
Betting Tax - Tax on a Bookmaker's turnover. In the UK this is a 'Duty' levied on every Pound wagered. Common methods of recouping this by the punter are to deduct tax from returns (winnings) or to pay tax with the stake/wager. In the latter case, no tax is deducted from the punter's winnings.
Bettor (US) - Someone who places or has a bet. A 'Punter' in the UK.
Book - A bookmaker's tally of amounts bet on each competitor, and odds necessary to assure him of profit. Running a 'book' is the act of quoting odds and accepting bets on an event and the person doing it is called the 'Bookmaker'.
Bookie - (U.K.) Short for bookmaker. The person or shop who accepts bets.
Bookmaker - Person who is licensed to accept bets on the result of an event based on their provision of odds to the customer. (Sportsbook US).
Bottle - UK slang, odds of 2 to 1.
Bridge-Jumper (US) - Bettor who specializes in large show bets on odd-on favourites.
Buck (US) - A bet of US$ 100 (also known as a 'dollar bet').
Burlington Bertie - The price of 100-30.
Buy Price - In Spread or Index betting, the higher figure quoted by an Index bookmaker.
Chalk - The favored team.
Closing Line - The final list of point spreads offered before game time.
Combination Bet - Selecting any number of teams/horses to finish first and second in either order.
Cover - To bet the spread by the required number of points.
Credit Betting - Betting using credit with a bookmaker.
Dead Hit - Finishing equal. Both win.
Deposit Betting - Betting with money deposited in advance with a bookmaker.
Dime bet - A $1000 wager.
Dividend - The agreed payout or return on any bet.
Dog Player (US) - A bettor who mainly wagers on the underdog.
Dollar Bet - A $100 wager.
Double(s) - A twin bet on two separate specified events or two parts of the same event. A form of parlay or accumulator.
Double or Nothing - An even-money bet, a bet that pays off exactly the amount wagered.
Even Money - A 1:1 odds bet. A $1 stake would return $2 dividend ($1 win plus $1 staked).
Flag - A bet consisting of 23 bets (a 'Yankee' plus 6 'Single Stakes About' bets in pairs) on 4 selections in different event.
Flash (US) - Change of odds information on tote board.
Fold - When preceded by a number, a fold indicates the number of selections in an accumulator (e.g. 5-Fold = 5 selections).
Goliath - A goliath is a multiple bet consisting of 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events. The multiple bet breakdown is 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70x4-folds, 56x5-folds, 28x6-folds, 8x7-folds and one 8-fold.
Layer - Another term for Bookie.
Lines - Odds offered to the punter.
Lucky 15 - A Lucky 15 consists of 15 bets involving 4 selections in different events, i.e. 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and 1 fourfold. As a consolation if you only have one winner it will be paid at double the odds. If you get all four winners, a 10% bonus will be added to your returns.
Lucky 31 - A Lucky 31 consists of 31 bets involving 5 selections in different events, i.e. 5 singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds plus 1 five-fold. . As a consolation if you only have one winner it will be paid at double the odds. If you get all five winners, a 20% bonus will be added to your returns.
Lucky 63 - A Lucky 63 consists of 63 bets involving 6 selections in different events, i.e. 6 singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds and 1
six-fold. As a consolation if you only have one winner it will be paid at double the odds. If you get all six winners, a 25% bonus will be added to your returns.
Margin - The amount a competitor in an event finishes in front of another competitor.
MLB - Major League Baseball.
Money Line - (Also, Action Line or Spread Betting) The amount that must be wagered to win $100, or the amount won for a $100 wager.
NBA - National Basketball Association.
NCAA - National Collegiate Athletic Association.
NFL - National Football League.
NHL - National Hockey League.
Odds - The sportsbook's or bookmaker's view of the chance of a competitor winning (adjusted to include a profit).
Push - A game that is tied when the point spread is factored in.
Round Robin - A bet consisting of 10 bets (3 pairs of 'Single Stakes About' bets plus 3 doubles and 1 treble) involving three selections in different events. (US, A series of three or more teams into two-team wagers).
Single - A Straight bet on one selection to win one race or event, also known as a straight-up bet.
Single Stakes About (or SSA) - A bet consisting of 2 bets on two selections (1 single on each selection any to come 1 single on the other selection reversed).
Sportsbook - The person, shop or website who accepts bets.
Spread - Point Spread.
Spread Betting - (Also, Action Line or Money Line) The amount that must be wagered to win $100, or the amount won for a $100 wager. A bet is won or lost according to whether you correctly predict the result of an event (also known as 'action line' or 'money line'). Returns or losses are calculated in proportion to how right or wrong the bettor is, and can lead to huge returns or losses.
Stanley Cup - Championship of Hockey.
Super Bowl - NFL Championship game.
Teaser (See also "In and Out Teaser" above) - A bet on two or more teams where the bettor can add or subtract points from the spread to make their bets stronger in return for reduced odds. All results must match the selections to win the teaser.
Tie - A push, stand-off or a draw.
Totals - Sports bet on whether the combined number of points or goals scored by the two teams will be over/under a given mark.
Tote - Short for Totalisator. A system introduced to Britain in 1929 to offer pool betting on racecourses.
Trebles - A triple bet on three events. A form of parlay or accumulator.
Trixie - A Trixie consists of 4 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. 3 doubles plus 1 treble.
True Odds - The real odds of something happening as opposed to what the bookies offer.
Two and Three Balls Betting - A golfing bet that involves predicting which player from either a group of two or three will shoot the lowest score over 18 holes.
WBA - World Boxing Association.
WBC - World Boxing Council.
Welsh/Welch - To fail to pay a gambling bet.
WNBA - Womens National Basketball Association.
World Series - Championship of Major League Baseball (MLB). The final seven games of the baseball playoffs between the two league champions to determine the world champion.
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