Gambling Glossary of Terms ('Lingo')

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.