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| Action |
| The
amount of money wagered by a player during a playing session. In
poker, the placing of money into the pot. |
| Active |
| One
who is still in the pot. |
| Anchor |
| The
player sitting in the last position on a blackjack table before
the dealer. This is the person who makes the final decision, thereby
anchoring the game. |
| Ante |
| A
term usually used in poker to refer to the first money wagered on
a hand, or the minimum amount that each player is required to put
into the pot before a new hand can begin. |
| Any
Craps |
| A
one-roll dice bet covering the 2, 3, or 12. |
|
Any Seven |
| A
one-roll dice bet covering any 7. |
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| Baccarat |
| A
card game where the winning hand totals closest to 9 discounting
all units of 10. |
| Banker |
| In
Pai Gow, the player who books the action of the other bettors at
the table. |
| Bankroll |
| The
total amount of money a player has for a gaming session. |
| Bar
the 12 |
| In
craps, makes the 12 a push on the Don't Pass Bar. |
| Base |
| Area
on the dice table where the majority of bets are made and paid. |
| Base
Dealer |
| Dice
dealer in charge of one of the bases. |
| Basic
Strategy |
| The
mathematically correct way to play blackjack in order to maximize
your advantage. |
| Bet |
| Wager
or gamble |
| Betting
Limits |
| The
minimum and maximum that can be wagered on one bet. |
| Betting
Right |
| Betting
on the Pass Line or with the shooter. |
| Betting
Wrong |
| Betting
on the Don't Pass Line or against the shooter. |
| Big
Blind |
| A
bet that must be posted by the player two seats to the left of the
button. It is equal to the amount of the smaller betting limit in
a game, for example, in a 10-20 game, the big blind would be $10. |
| Blackjack |
| A
card game where the players try to beat the dealer by getting closest
to 21 without going over. Also known as 21. |
| Blackjack
Hand |
| A
hand whose first two cards total 21. |
| Blind
Bet |
| A
bet that certain poker players are required to make as a result
of their betting position. |
| Bluff |
| In
poker, players bluff when raising a weak hand in the hope of driving
out players with a stronger hand. |
| Board |
| Usually
used to refer to the visible cards on the table, e.g., "looking
around the board," means looking at the visible cards. In Hold
'em and Omaha, everyone shares the same board. In Stud games, each
player has his own board. |
| Box |
| In
craps, the area of the dice table controlled by the boxman, where
the center bets are placed. |
| Boxcars |
| In
craps, when you roll two sixes. |
| Boxman |
| The
casino dealer in charge of the craps table . |
| Bring-in |
| In
seven-card stud poker, this is the mandatory bet made by the player
with the lowest upcard in the first round of betting. |
| Bump |
| To
raise |
| Burn
Card |
| Any
card placed in the discard rack without being entered into play.
After the deck is shuffled and cut, one card is burned. |
| Bust |
| To
exceed 21 in blackjack, making it a losing hand. Also known as break. |
| Button |
| A
plastic disc used to represent the dealer position, in games where
a professional dealer is used, and position remains constant throughout
the hand (Hold 'em and Omaha). |
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| Call |
| To match a bet that has been made. |
| Card
Counting |
| A
system to keep track of the percentage of high to low cards since
the last time the deck was shuffled. The system can be used in blackjack
to reduce the house advantage. |
| Caribbean
Stud Poker |
| A
five-card poker game where all players play against the house. |
| Change
Color |
| To
exchange one-color denomination casino chip for another. All denomination
casino chips are different colors. |
| Check |
| To
possess the option to bet, but decline. A player cannot check once
someone else has bet; at that point, the player must call, raise,
or fold. But if no one has yet bet, a player can check, allowing
the betting option to pass to the next player. |
| Check-raise |
| To
check, indicating weakness, with the intention of raising after
someone else bets. Check-raises are allowed in all casino poker
games; in some home games, they are frowned upon. |
| Chips |
| Tokens
used at gaming tables in lieu of cash. |
| Cold |
| A
player on a losing streak or a slot machine that does not pay out. |
| Color
Up/Out |
| Exchange
smaller denomination chips for larger denomination ones. |
| Come
Bet |
| A
wager placed on the Come Line in craps. Same rules as the wager
on the Pass Line except it is placed after the point has been established. |
| Come
Line |
| The
area on a craps table where the Come Bets are placed. |
| Come
Out Roll |
| The
first roll of the dice or the first roll after a point has been
made in craps. This roll establishes the point. |
| Community
cards |
| Cards
that are turned face up in the middle of the table, and which belong
to all players still in the hand. Community cards are used in Hold
'em and Omaha. |
| Complete
Hand |
| A
poker hand that is defined by all five cards. That is a straight,
flush, straight flush, or a full house. |
| Craps
Out |
| Rolling
a Crap (2, 3, or 12) on the come-out roll. |
| Craps |
| Dice
term for 2, 3, or 12. |
| Credit
Button |
| A
button in video poker that allows the player to bank coins won as
credits and to use the credits to play without depositing more money. |
| Crew |
| Dice/craps
dealers assigned to the game. |
| Croupier |
| The
French word for casino dealers, mainly referring to roulette and
baccarat dealers. |
| Cycle |
| In
video poker it's the statistically predicted average number of hands
dealt per top jackpot, usually a royal flush. |
| Cut |
| The
dealer divides the deck of cards into two parts and then inverts
them after they have been shuffled. |
| Cut
Card |
| A
hard plastic card used to cut the deck or a card of a different
color. |
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| Dealer |
| A
casino employee who deals the various games. |
| Dice |
| Two
or more identical numbered cubes |
| Die |
| Singular
for dice, a cube with numbers 1-6 on each side. |
| Discard
Rack |
| Area
of the table where the used cards are placed. |
| Don't
Come Bet |
| A
bet placed on the Don't Come Bar. Same rules as the Don't Pass Line
except it is placed after the Come-Out Roll. |
| Don't
Pass Bet |
| A
bet placed prior to the Come-Out Roll that a seven will be rolled
before a point is repeated. |
| Don't
Pass Line |
| Area
of the table where the Don't Pass bets are placed. Also known as
the Back Line. |
| Double
Down |
| To
increase a wager after the first two cards are drawn, in exchange
for receiving only one more card, by placing an amount equal to
the original bet on the layout. Also known as Double Up. |
| Dozen
Bet |
| A
bet on twelve numbers in roulette, i.e. 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. |
| Draw |
| In
draw poker, the second round of cards that are dealt. |
| Draw
Button |
| Allows
video poker player to draw up to five new cards. |
| Drawing
Hand |
| A
hand that has the potential to become a strong hand but which without
improvement is relatively worthless. The most common types of drawing
hands are four card straights and four card flushes. |
| Drop
Box |
| On
a gaming table, the box that serves as a repository for cash, markers,
and chips. |
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| Edge |
| The
casino's advantage over the player in any game. Also known as house
edge. |
| Even
Money |
| A
bet that pays you back the same amount you wagered, plus your original
wager - a pay-off of 1-1. |
| Expected
Return |
| In
video poker it's the average amount paid back on a particular play
for a particular bet. |
| Expected
Win Rate |
| A
percentage of the total amount of money wagered that you can expect
to win or lose over time. |
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| Face
Cards |
| The
king, queen or jack of each suite. |
| Fifth
Street |
| The
fifth community card in Hold 'em or Omaha (in these games, 5th street
is more often called "the river."). Also sometimes used
to refer to the fifth card received in 7 card stud. |
| First
Base |
| The
first seat nearest the shoe in blackjack. This position is dealt
with first. |
| Five
Number Bet |
| A
bet only possible on the double zero roulette games which includes
00,0,1,2,3 and has the highest house edge of 7.89%. |
| Flat
Top |
| A
slot machine whose jackpot is always a fixed amount, as opposed
to a progressive jackpot. |
| Float |
| The
table bank. |
| Flop |
| In
Hold 'em or Omaha, the first three community cards, turned up all
at once. |
| Flush
draw |
| To
hold four cards of the same suit, for example, 3-4-8-10 of hearts,
and thus to be hoping to catch a fifth suited card (in this case
another heart) that would give you a flush. |
| Flush
In poker |
| A
hand consisting of five cards of one suit. |
| Fold |
| In
poker, when a player declines a bet and drops out of the hand. |
| Four
Of A Kind |
| Four
cards of the same rank. Also known as quads. |
| Fourth Street |
| The
fourth community card in Hold 'em or Omaha (in these games, 4th
street is more often called "the turn."). Also sometimes
used to refer to the fourth card received in 7 card stud. |
| Full
House |
| In
poker, a hand consisting of a three of a kind and a pair. |
| Full
Pay |
| In
video poker it's usually the best payoff schedule offered for a
particular game. |
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| Hand |
| Refers
to the cards that you hold, or to everything that happens in a card
game between shuffles of the deck. |
| Heads-up
play |
| When
a hand has been reduced to only two players. |
| High-Low
poker |
| Any
poker game where the highest and lowest hands split the pot. It
is possible to have a hand that wins both, for example, A-2-3-4-5
is a straight but is also (in most forms of high-low poker) also
considered the lowest possible hand. In some forms of high-low,
the lowest possible hand is A-2-3-4-6, and in others (although usually
this is true only in low-only games), the lowest possible hand is
2-3-4-5-7 (because this hand does not contain an Ace). |
| Hit |
| To
take another card. The card received is also called a hit. |
| Hole
Card |
| The
dealer's face down card. This card is unseen. |
| Horn
Bet |
| A
one-roll bet that combines the 2, 3, 11 and 12. |
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| Inside
Bet |
| A
bet in roulette on a single number including 0 or 00, or any combination
of numbers. |
| Inside
Straight draw |
| Four
cards that can make a straight by hitting one specific card, somewhere
in the middle, such as 4-6-7-8 (where only a Five could give the
player a straight). Compare this to an Open-ended straight draw,
where cards on either end could complete the hand. |
| Insurance |
| A
side bet in blackjack that's offered when the dealer's upcard is
an ace. If the dealer has a blackjack, the bet is paid 2-1. If the
dealer does not, the insurance bet loses. |
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| Kicker |
| 1)
A single card kept along with a pair, in draw, in an attempt to
make two pair. For example, someone might keep 3-3-K, drawing two
cards, in the hope that he might get either a Three (for trips)
or a King (making two pair, Kings-up). |
| 2)
The highest single card held by two players in Hold 'em who each
hold the same pair. For example, if the board in Hold 'em is A-10-8-5-2,
and Player One holds A-J as his hand, and Player Two holds A-Q,
each player has a pair of Aces, but Player Two has a better kicker
and would win the hand. |
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| Let
It Ride |
| A
poker game. |
| Limit
Poker |
| The
most common variety of poker, where the size of the bets are pre-determined.
For example, in a "10-20" game, the bets and raises can
be only $10 in the early rounds and $20 in the late rounds. Compare
to No-limit poker. |
| Loose/Tight
Slots |
| A
loose slot indicates a machine with a higher payout over a period
of time. Conversely, tight slots have a lower payout over a period
of time and thus have a higher advantage over the player. |
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| Mini-Baccarat |
| A
scaled-down version of baccarat, played with fewer players, dealers,
and formality but following the same rules as baccarat. |
| Miss |
| To
hold a drawing hand but not receive the card you needed to improve.
For example, someone holding four hearts and whose final card is
a spade has "missed his draw." |
| Monkey |
| Colloquial
term for a card with the face value of ten. |
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| Narrowing
the Field |
| To
bet or raise in the hopes that you will drive out some players whose
hands are currently worse than yours, but who might improve if allowed
to stay in. |
| Natural
in blackjack |
| An
ace and a ten-value card in the original hand. In Baccarat - an
eight or nine dealt in the first two hands. A natural may also be
referred to as a blackjack. |
| No-Limit
poker |
| Considered
the most skillful and most dangerous form of poker, where any player
can bet all of his chips at any time. |
| Non-negotiable |
| A
promotional chip that can't be exchanged for cash. |
| Nut |
| A
fixed amount that a gambler sets out to win. |
| Nuts,
The |
| The
best possible hand. This phrase is almost always used in the context
of a particular hand (otherwise "the nuts" would just
be a term for a royal flush). For example, in Hold 'em, a player
holding 8-9 would hold "the nuts" if the flop came 6-7-10.
At that moment, the 6-7-8-9-10 straight is the best possible hand.
However, if the Turn card were a Jack, and the River a Queen, a
player holding A-K would then have the nuts-a 10-J-Q-K-A straight. |
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| Odds |
| Ratio
of probabilities or the amount a bet pays. For example 2-1, 3 -2. |
| Off |
| Bets
that are not working. |
| Omaha |
| Community
card poker game with significant similarities to, and equally important
differences from, Texas Hold 'em. In Omaha, all players received
four cards of their own (rather than two in Hold 'em), but unlike
Hold 'em where the players may choose to play zero, one, or two
of the cards in their hand, in Omaha a player must use two and exactly
two of his cards. Thus in Hold 'em, if the community board showed
7-7-8-8-J, and a player held A-8 as his hand, that player would
have a full house (using the Eight from his hand and the two pair
on the board). In Omaha, with the same board, a player holding A-8-4-3
would have only 3 Eights, because he would have to use two cards
from his own hand. Omaha is frequently played in a high-low version. |
| One-Roll
Bets |
| Wagers
that win or lose depending on the next roll of the dice. |
| Open-ended
straight draw |
| Four
consecutive cards, such as 5-6-7-8, which allows the player to complete
his straight with a card on either end (in this case, a 4 or a 9
would complete the straight). Compare this with an Inside Overcards:
Cards that are higher than shown on the board. For example, in Hold
'em, if the flop came 4-6-9, and your hand was K-Q, you would be
said to hold two overcards; there is a good chance that someone
currently holds a Four, Six, or Nine, giving them a pair, but if
the Turn or River brings a King or a Queen, your paired overcard
might win the hand for you. |
| Outside
Bets |
| Roulette
bets located on the outside part of the layout. They involve betting
12 to 18 numbers at one time and result in a lower payout. |
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| Pair |
| Any
two cards that have the same rank. Generally, pairs can be split
and played as two hands. |
| Palette |
| The
flat paddle used on the baccarat table to scoop the cards. |
| Pass |
| To
not bet, to fold. |
| Pass
Line |
| The
area where a Pass-Line Bet is placed. Also known as the Front Line. |
| Pass
Line Bet |
| A
wager made prior to the Come-Out roll that a point will repeat. |
| Pat
hand |
| A
hand that is complete and would not be broken up to try to improve.
Straights, flushes, full houses, four of a kind, and straight flushes
are all pat hands. |
| Pay
Cycle |
| A
theoretical expression that reflects the number of plays required
for the machine to cycle through all possible winning and non-winning
combinations. |
| Pay
Line |
| The
line on a slot machine window on which the symbols from each reel
must line up. Slot machines can have as many as eight pay lines,
although most have only one. |
| Payoff
Schedule |
| 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. Also known as the Payout Table. |
| Pit |
| The
area inside a cluster of gaming tables, where the center is restricted
to dealers and other casino personnel. |
| Player |
| A
person gambling at a casino. |
| Point |
| In
craps, dice term for the number rolled on the Come-Out Roll if a
4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 are rolled. The point has to be repeated before
a seven rolls for the Pass Line bets to win. |
| Position |
| Extremely
important, often underrated poker concept. In most forms of poker,
there is a big advantage to going last. In hold 'em, the player
holding the button goes last on all rounds. By being the last to
act, you have much more information available to you at the time
you must decide whether to check, bet, raise, or fold. |
| Pot |
| In
a poker game, the amount of money that accumulates in the middle
of the table as each player antes, bets, and raises. The pot goes
to the winner of the hand. |
| Pot-Limit
poker |
| Compare
to Limit poker and no-limit poker. In pot-limit, a player may bet
an amount up to but not greater than the size of the pot at that
particular moment. |
| Pot
odds |
| Often
it is important to evaluate the size of the pot in deciding whether
or not to call a bet. If there is a great deal of money in the pot,
sometimes even a mediocre hand is worth calling if it has a small
chance to improve to the best hand. On the contrary, if the pot
is very small, even a fairly good hand may not be worth a call,
because the amount one is risk, relative to the amount one stands
to gain, is not enough. |
| Press |
| Increasing
a bet by double. |
| Progressive
Slots |
| Slots
that allow you to increase the potential jackpot each time a new
coin is inserted for play. When the progressive jackpot finally
hits, the amount resets to the starting number. |
| Proposition
Bet |
| Dice
bets on number combinations. |
| Punter |
| A
casino player. |
| Push |
| A
tie or standoff when the dealer and the player have the same total.
No one wins and no money changes hands. |
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| Quads |
| Four
of a kind. |
| Qualifier |
| In
poker, the minimum standard a hand must meet in order for it to
be eligible for part of the pot. |
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| Raise |
| In
poker, a player raises by matching the previous bet and then betting
more, to increase the stake for remaining players. |
| Rake |
| The
money that the casino charges for each hand of poker. It is usually
a percentage (5-10%) or flat fee that is taken from the pot after
each round of betting. |
| Rank |
| The
worth of a set of cards. |
| Reels |
| A
wheel inside a slot machine window on which the slot machine symbols
are printed. There are usually three or five per machine. |
| Right
Bettor |
| A
person betting on the Pass Line. |
| Ring
Game |
| A
regular poker game rather than a tournament. Can be referred to
as a live game because actual money is used rather than chips. |
| River |
| In
Hold 'em or Omaha, the fifth and final community card. Also sometimes
called fifth street. |
| RNG |
| The
random number generator, which is a computer chip inside a slot
machine. It is constantly generating thousands of numbers every
second. |
| Rock |
| A
player known to be very conservative, who usually bets or raises
only when he has a very powerful hand. |
| Royal
Flush |
| In
poker, an ace-high straight flush; the best possible hand. |
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| Seven-Out |
| Rolling
a seven after the point has been established, thus losing the bet. |
| Shoe |
| The
box in which the dealer places the shuffled cards from two or more
decks. Cards are then dealt from the shoe. |
| Shooter |
| The
person rolling the dice. |
| Singleton |
| In
poker, a card that is the only one of its rank. |
| Slot
Schedule |
| The
details usually at the top of a slot machine detailing the type
of machine, denomination, and payout details. |
| Slow-play |
| To
act weak when you hold an extremely powerful hand, in the hopes
of luring in other players. For example, if in Hold 'em your hand
was the 5-6 of clubs, and the flop came 2-3-4 of clubs, you would
have an unbeatable hand. But if you bet and raised aggressively
right away, everyone else might fold and you would win only a small
pot. By merely checking or calling, you might lure other players
into thinking their hands had a better chance, and win more money
from them. |
| Small
Blind |
| A
bet that must be posted by the player one seat to the left of the
button. It is usually equal to one half of the smaller betting limit
in a game, for example, in a 10-20 game, the small blind would be
$5. Occasionally, the small blind is some other fraction of the
big blind. I have seen 15-30 games where the big blind is $15 and
the small blind $10, and also 15-30 where the small blind is $5. |
| SnakeEyes |
| In
craps, when you roll a two. |
| Soft
Hand |
| A
hand in blackjack that contains an ace counted as eleven. |
| Split
Bet |
| A
combination bet across two numbers on the inside of the roulette
table. |
| Spot |
| Any
number from 1 to 80 that a player selects on a keno ticket. It also
refers to the number of numbers that are marked on a ticket. |
|
Stand |
| To
refrain from taking another card. |
| Steal |
| In
poker, to win the pot by bluffing. |
| Stickman |
| The
dice dealer who calls the numbers rolled and controls the stick. |
| Straight |
| In
poker, a hand consisting of five cards of consecutive ranks. |
| Straight
Flush |
| In
poker, a hand consisting of five cards of consecutive ranks of the
same suit. |
| Stud
Poker |
| A
poker game with no draw. |
| Suits |
| Spades,
Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. In most forms of poker, suits are unimportant,
except for decided who must begin the betting. At the end of a hand,
if players hold identical cards, except that the suits are different,
they are considered to hold identical hands and split the pot. |
| Surrender |
| In
blackjack, to give up half your wager before the hand is complete,
for the privilege of not playing out a hand, thus saving half the
wager. In roulette, you effectively lose only half on an even-money
bet when the ball lands on 0. |
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| Three
Of A Kind |
| Three
cards of the same rank. |
| Token |
| The
casino coins used to play slot machines. |
| Trips |
| In
poker, three of a kind. |
| Turn |
| In
Hold 'em or Omaha, the fourth community card. Also sometimes called
fourth street. |
| Two
Pair |
| In
poker, a hand consisting of two sets of pairs and a singleton. |
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| Upcard |
| The
dealer´s exposed card that is face-up for all the players
to see before they play their hands. |
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| Wild
Card |
| A
joker or other card that can be used as any other card to complete
your hand. |
| Whale |
| A
high roller. |
| Working |
| Dice
term meaning that the bets are in place. |
| World
Bet |
| A
one-roll dice bet on the horn including the seven. |
| Wrong
Bettor |
|
A dice player
who bets on the Don't Pass Line.
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