Casino Lingo: Getting Behind the Basics

Casinos, like pretty much everywhere in the world have a jargon and a lingo all of their own. To the newcomer to this world, it can seem confusing and excluding at times. But once you get into the swing of things it quickly becomes second nature. What’s more, once you’ve mastered it yourself it’ll be as if you’ve entered into the inner sanctum of those in the know. So, to get you started, here are a few of the words or phrases that you’re likely to come up against and might have you scratching your head trying to work out the meaning.

American Roulette

If you thought roulette was the same the world over, think again. In the American version there are two 00 spaces on the wheel. This tips the odds a little more in the favour of the casino so if there is European Roulette on offer, that’s a better option.

Bankroll

This is a fancy way of referring to the amount of money that you have set aside for betting. Good bankroll management is key to successful betting and involves only wagering what you can afford to lose, and never chasing losses.

Basic Strategy

In blackjack this is a system that has been worked out by mathematicians to show which is your best move given any hand that you’re dealt. It takes the form of a series of charts covering all possible combinations. Leading players memorise these charts to increase their chances of winning.

Bonus

To welcome new players most online casinos offer an incentive to join. Generally, the more competitive the market, the more lucrative the bonus. As an example, a casino bonus in Canada generally takes the form of free stake money to start them off and also sometimes free spins on a range of slots games. Players looking for a new casino often choose on the basis of which one offers the most generous bonus. See also “No Deposit Bonus”, below

Card Counting

This is a technique used in blackjack that is frowned on by most casinos, but not against the law. By counting which cards have been dealt it’s possible to calculate which are left in the pack and therefore have a better idea of the hand that the dealer may be holding. The 2008 movie “21”  told the true story of how a group of Harvard students made a fortune using the technique in Las Vegas casinos.

Doubling Down

When you double down it is the potentially risky move of betting even more on a wager you’ve already made as a sign that you’re confident that you’re going to win.

Even Money Bet

This is a bet that will return the stake money along with an equivalent amount if it wins. So, for example, a winning even money bet of $5 will return $10 in total.

Fish

This is a poker term that denotes a usually inexperienced player who bets on every hand and makes rash moves in a game. This also gives rise to the expression to “go fishing” to exploit these weaknesses.

Free spins

One of the many pieces of slots language that soon become familiar to players of these games, this is a feature that can be triggered when certain symbols appear on the reels.

High Roller

Anyone who plays for high stakes and has the bankroll to support it.

Hit

In blackjack, when a player wants another card from the dealer they can request to “hit”.

Live Casino

Online casinos offer a number of games including roulette, blackjack and baccarat through their live casino. In this, action is streamed direct to players’ PC or mobile device in a game that is being run by a real dealer using real cards or a an actual roulette wheel.

Natural

The best possible hand in blackjack, two cards that add up to 21.

No Deposit Bonus

Increasingly hard to find these days, a no deposit bonus is stake money given by casinos to new players with no requirement to put down any money of their own.

Pay line

In slots games the number of pay lines is the combination of different winning ways that the game will pay out if the necessary symbols land on the reels.

Volatilty

The volatility of a slots game refers to whether it is more likely to pay out a few high winnings or more, lower value, ones. The former represents high volatility, the latter, low.

Wagering requirement

The wagering requirement is amount of money that a player has to have bet before they can claim any winnings earned through the use of a bonus. This is usually given as a multiple of the original bonus amount and is sometimes also called a “playthrough requirement”. 

Whale

In poker, a whale is the biggest of all the fish (yes, we know a whale is really a mammal) in that it is a player with a huge bankroll who is also very bad at the game.

 

Of course, there’s plenty more jargon that you’ll come across, but this should be a good primer. So away you go and play!