6 Unusual Gambling Terms and Where They Come From

Sometimes when we play games, we use all the terminology without even thinking about how it originated and why we still use the term. For instance, have you ever thought about why it is called a “big blind” in poker? Even some of the games' names and their variations are a bit strange. We cover some of the more unusual terms in this guide and why we use them in casinos and online gambling.

A lot of poker tournaments are full of slightly unusual terms. You may also hear some other players using slang terms that you don’t understand initially. When you take part in a poker tournament you need to know the terms that describe the different forms of poker such as Texas Hold ‘Em, which is the variety played in many Ignition poker tournaments. You also need to know what terms such as “flop” and “river” mean to know what is happening in the game. We explore the terminology along with the basics of the game.

Sweepstake

Most of us have heard of a sweepstakes. This is the kind of game where the winner takes all, where each of the teams in a tournament or the horses in a race are allocated to the participants of the sweepstake. If your team or horse wins, you take the whole of the pot.

The term comes from the idea that the winner of the whole pot “sweeps” the prize and takes all of the participants’ entry money.

According to the Oxford Dictionary website, this was even a popular name for ships throughout the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries.

Croupier

A croupier is crucial for playing several games. When you go into a casino, you are bound to see croupiers facilitating the table games you may want to play. If you play live casino versions of internet gambling or “netbetting” as some call it, you may be connected to a live croupier.

A croupier is said to come from the word “croupe” which means the rear of a horse in French. This is because the term was originally used for someone who stood behind a gambler with more money they could use if they needed it during gambling.

It is one of the quirks of the history of casinos that these terms can grow and evolve, and this eventually became the term “croupier” and started referring to those who collected money from the table.

Blinds

Why are they called blinds? It is pretty obvious when you think about it. In poker, players take turns to be the “blind” which means that they are forced to put up a bet and start raising the stakes before the game even starts. So, the “blind” terminology simply comes from the fact that they are effectively placing a bet before they even get to see what the cards are.

There is both a “big blind” and a “small blind” in the game. The small blind usually puts up half as much as the big blind. This is one of the simpler terms.

Flop, Turn, River

These are the returns used for the stages in the game when the community cards are put on the table during a game of poker. They seem like some strange terms, and we’d love to say that we could fully explain them, but arguably nobody can.

It is thought that the term flop comes from the sound that was made when the first three of the cards were put onto the table. The next card became known as the “turn” and then the final reveal became known as the “river”.

The term is thought to have stemmed from the fact that some cheaters would try to cheat by dealing an extra card to try and change the outcome and cheat the other players. If they were caught, they might be thrown out of the riverboat where the games were often played and end up in the river. If you have ever heard the term “up the river” this could come from the same origin when it comes to gambling.

Hold ’Em

This is another term that can be worked out but may be something you have never considered. There are different varieties of poker, and Hold ’Em, or specifically Texas Hold ’Em, comes from the fact you have to hold your cards.

You cannot change the original cards you get, and the game only evolves when further community cards are drawn. The reason we say “Texas Hold ‘Em” is because this is where the game was first played through the 1920s.

Blackjack

Some of the actual names of the games that are played in casinos have a fascinating background. Blackjack is called ‘21’ in a lot of parts of the world but in the U.S.A., it became known as Blackjack. Why?

Well, many casinos at the time created offers and promotions, just like we have today. Blackjack was the name of one of these promotions, and if you got a “black jack” namely the Jack of Spades or Jack of Clubs, you would win special prizes.

The promotion's name was undeniably catchy, which is perhaps why it stuck and became the name of the whole game.

When you start playing certain games, it can feel confusing when you don’t know what the terms mean and what the dealer is saying. It is also very interesting to dive into the etymology and understand why these terms have such weird and wonderful origins.

Our guide to these six unusual terms may help with both your general knowledge as well as an understanding of the games you play.