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Quick answer: This glossary explains the gambling terms and slang you’ll meet at online casinos, sportsbooks and poker tables, from RTP and wagering requirements to vig, nuts and snake eyes. Terms are grouped by topic, each with a plain-English meaning and, where helpful, an example.
Jump to: Casino basics · Bonus terms · Slots · Blackjack · Roulette · Craps · Baccarat · Poker · Sports betting · Slang
Casino basics
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| House edge | The casino’s built-in average advantage on a game, shown as a percentage of each bet. A 2.7% house edge means the casino keeps about 2.7p of every £1 wagered over the long run. |
| RTP (return to player) | The share of all money wagered that a game pays back over time. RTP is 100% minus the house edge, so a 96% RTP slot has a 4% house edge. |
| Variance / volatility | How swingy a game is. Low volatility means frequent small wins; high volatility means long dry spells and occasional big wins. |
| Bankroll | The money you set aside for gambling. Bankroll management means sizing bets so you don’t run out quickly. |
| Wager / stake | The amount you bet. |
| Action | Money in play. “Having action on a game” means you have a bet on it. |
| High roller / whale | A player who bets very large amounts. |
| Comps | Free rewards (meals, rooms, cashback) a casino gives based on how much you play. |
| Croupier / dealer | The casino employee who runs a table game. |
| Cassino | A classic “fishing” card game for 2–4 players: you capture cards from the table by matching or adding up to the card you play. |
| Pit boss | The supervisor who oversees the tables in one area of a casino. |
| Eye in the sky | The casino’s surveillance cameras. |
| Live casino | Online table games streamed in real time with a human dealer. See our live dealer casino guide. |
| Provably fair | A system, common at crypto casinos, that lets you check with cryptography that a game result wasn’t changed after you bet. See provably fair games. |
| KYC (know your customer) | Identity checks a casino runs, usually before your first withdrawal. |
| Self-exclusion | A tool that blocks you from gambling at a site (or a group of sites) for a set period. |
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What do casino bonus terms mean?
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Welcome bonus | An offer for new players, often a deposit match plus free spins. See our welcome bonus guide. |
| Deposit match | A bonus that adds a percentage of your deposit: a 100% match on £50 gives you £50 bonus money. |
| No deposit bonus | Bonus money or spins given without a deposit, usually small and with strict terms. |
| Free spins | Slot spins paid for by the casino. Winnings usually come as bonus money with wagering attached. |
| Wagering requirement | How many times you must bet a bonus (or bonus plus deposit) before you can withdraw it. A £10 bonus with 35x wagering needs £350 of bets. |
| Max bet rule | The largest bet allowed while you’re playing with a bonus. Going over it can cost you the bonus and winnings. |
| Game weighting | How much bets on each game count toward wagering. Slots often count 100%, table games much less. |
| Sticky bonus | A bonus that can’t be withdrawn itself; only the winnings above it can be. |
| Cashback | A refund of a percentage of your losses over a set period. |
| Reload bonus | A deposit bonus for existing players. |
| Promo code | A code you enter to claim an offer. At 1win, our code is Ultragambler. |
Slot terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reels and rows | The vertical columns (reels) and horizontal lines (rows) of symbols on a slot. |
| Payline | A line across the reels on which matching symbols pay. |
| Ways to win | Slots that pay matching symbols on adjacent reels in any position, instead of fixed paylines. |
| Megaways | A mechanic created by Big Time Gaming and licensed to other studios. The number of symbols on each reel changes every spin, giving up to 117,649 ways to win in most games. |
| Wild | A symbol that substitutes for others to complete wins. |
| Scatter | A symbol that pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, usually free spins. |
| Bonus buy | Paying a fixed price (often 50x to 100x your stake, sometimes more) to go straight into a slot’s bonus round. |
| Cascading / tumbling reels | Winning symbols disappear and new ones drop in, allowing several wins from one spin. |
| Progressive jackpot | A jackpot that grows with every bet until someone wins it. |
| Hit frequency | How often a spin produces any win. |
| Max win | The biggest win a slot can pay, shown as a multiple of your stake. |
More on slot features in our types of slots guide and highest RTP slots list.
Blackjack terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blackjack / natural | An ace plus a 10-value card as your first two cards. Usually pays 3:2 at a good table. |
| Hit / stand | Take another card / keep your current total. |
| Double down | Double your bet in exchange for exactly one more card. |
| Split | Turn a pair into two separate hands, with a second equal bet. |
| Soft hand | A hand with an ace counted as 11, such as A-6 (soft 17). |
| Hard hand | A hand with no ace, or an ace that must count as 1. |
| Bust | Going over 21, which loses immediately. |
| Push | A tie with the dealer; your bet is returned. |
| Insurance | A side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace, paying 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. Basic strategy says don’t take it. |
| Surrender | Giving up half your bet to end a hand early, where allowed. |
| Shoe | The box that holds several decks of cards. |
| Basic strategy | The mathematically best play for every hand. See our blackjack rules and strategy guide. |
Roulette terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Inside bets | Bets on single numbers or small groups: straight up (1 number, 35:1), split (2, 17:1), street (3, 11:1), corner (4, 8:1), six line (6, 5:1). |
| Outside bets | Bets on big groups: red/black, odd/even, high/low (all 1:1), dozens and columns (2:1). |
| European / American roulette | European wheels have one zero (37 pockets, 2.7% house edge); American wheels add a double zero (38 pockets, 5.26%). |
| La partage / en prison | French rules that return half (la partage) or hold (en prison) an even-money bet when zero lands, cutting the edge on those bets to 1.35%. |
Full details in our how to play roulette guide and roulette odds table.
Craps terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Come-out roll | The first roll of a new round. |
| Point | The number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) set on the come-out roll, which must be rolled again before a 7. |
| Pass line / don’t pass | The main bets: pass wins with the shooter, don’t pass bets against. |
| Seven out | Rolling a 7 before the point, ending the shooter’s turn. |
| Snake eyes / boxcars | A roll of 2 (1-1) / a roll of 12 (6-6). |
| Yo | A roll of 11, shortened so it isn’t confused with “seven”. |
| Hardway | Rolling 4, 6, 8 or 10 as a pair (e.g. 3-3 for “hard six”). |
Learn the game in our craps guide.
Baccarat terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Player / Banker | The two hands you can bet on. Banker wins slightly more often, so a 5% commission is usually charged on Banker wins. |
| Tie | A bet that both hands finish level, usually paying 8:1, with a high house edge. |
| Punto banco | The most common casino version of baccarat, where drawing rules are fixed. |
| Natural | A two-card total of 8 or 9, which ends the hand. |
See how to play baccarat.
Poker terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blinds / ante | Forced bets placed before cards are dealt to build the pot. |
| Button | The dealer position, which acts last after the flop. |
| Flop, turn, river | The three stages of community cards in Texas Hold’em: three cards, then one, then one. |
| Check / call / raise / fold | Pass without betting / match a bet / increase it / give up the hand. |
| All-in | Betting all your remaining chips. |
| The nuts | The best possible hand at that moment. |
| Kicker | A side card used to break ties between equal hands. |
| Outs | Cards still in the deck that would improve your hand. |
| Pot odds | The price of a call compared with the size of the pot. See our poker maths guide. |
| Bluff | Betting with a weak hand to make better hands fold. |
| Bad beat | Losing with a very strong hand to an unlikely draw. |
| Rake | The fee the house takes from each pot or tournament. |
| Tilt | Playing badly because you’re frustrated or emotional. |
| Fish / shark | A weak player / a strong player. |
Check the poker hand rankings and our guide to winning at poker.
Sports betting terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Odds formats | Decimal (2.50 returns £2.50 per £1 including stake), fractional (6/4 means £6 profit per £4) and American (+150 means $150 profit per $100; -200 means you bet $200 to win $100). |
| Favourite / underdog | The side expected to win / the side expected to lose. |
| Moneyline / match result | A bet on who wins. See our moneyline, spread and over/under guide. |
| Point spread / handicap | A head start or deficit applied to even out two sides. |
| Over/under (totals) | A bet on whether the combined score is above or below a set number. |
| Accumulator / parlay | Several selections combined in one bet. All must win, but the odds multiply. Work out the payout with our accumulator calculator or, for American odds, our parlay calculator. |
| Each way | Two bets in one: on a selection to win and to place. Work out the returns with our each way calculator. |
| In-play / live betting | Betting while the event is happening. |
| Cash out | Settling a bet early for an amount the bookmaker offers. |
| Vig / juice / margin | The bookmaker’s built-in commission in the odds. |
| Void | A cancelled bet, with the stake returned. |
More in our sports betting tips.
How do you convert decimal, fractional and American odds?
Use three simple rules, because all three formats describe the same price. We worked out the common prices in the table below with them:
- Fractional to decimal: add 1. 6/4 is 1.5, so it is 2.50 in decimal.
- Decimal to American: at 2.00 or more, (decimal − 1) × 100 with a plus sign; under 2.00, −100 ÷ (decimal − 1).
- Implied probability: 1 ÷ decimal odds.
| Fractional | Decimal | American | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | 1.50 | -200 | 66.7% |
| Evens (1/1) | 2.00 | +100 | 50% |
| 6/4 | 2.50 | +150 | 40% |
| 2/1 | 3.00 | +200 | 33.3% |
| 4/1 | 5.00 | +400 | 20% |
| 10/1 | 11.00 | +1000 | 9.1% |
Implied probability also shows you the vig. Add up the implied probabilities of every outcome in a market, and anything over 100% is the bookmaker’s margin. Two sides both priced at 1.91 give 52.4% + 52.4% = 104.7%, a margin of about 4.7%. Our odds calculator converts any price for you.
What does common gambling slang mean?
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| On a roll / hot streak | A run of wins. |
| Cold streak | A run of losses. |
| Chasing losses | Betting more to win back money you’ve lost. A warning sign of problem gambling. |
| Down to the felt | Almost out of money or chips. |
| Long shot | A bet with a low chance of winning and a big payout. |
| Lock / sure thing | A bet thought certain to win. There’s no such thing. |
| Up the ante | Raise the stakes. |
| Break the bank | Win everything the table or game has available. |
| Lady Luck | Luck personified, as in “Lady Luck is on my side tonight.” |
| Gambler’s fallacy | The false belief that past results change future odds, such as “red is due after five blacks”. Each spin is independent. |
Everyday phrases that come from gambling
Plenty of words people use every day started at the card table or the betting shop. Here is what they mean and where they come from.
| Phrase | What it means | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Bookie | Someone who takes bets and pays out winners. | Short for bookmaker. First recorded in the late 1870s to early 1880s. |
| Poker face | A face that gives nothing away. | From poker players hiding what they hold. An American phrase from the 1870s or 1880s. |
| Croupier | The casino employee who runs a table game. | French for someone riding behind on a horse’s croup (rump), later the helper standing behind a gambler. In English since the early 1700s. |
| Jackpot | A big prize or a lucky win, as in “hit the jackpot”. | From draw poker: a pot that kept growing until a player could open with a pair of jacks or better. Slot machines took the word over later. |
| Ace in the hole | A hidden advantage kept for the right moment. | From stud poker, where an ace dealt face down (the hole card) stays hidden until the showdown. |
| Card sharp / card shark | Someone who cheats at cards, or simply a very skilled player. | Both forms mean the same. Card sharp is the older of the two. |
| Gamble | To take a risk, with money or anything else. | From gamen, the Old English word for a game. |
| Pass the buck | Push a job or the blame on to someone else. | From poker, where a marker (often a buckhorn-handled knife) showed whose turn it was to deal. Passing the buck passed that job on. |
Many of these come from poker. If you want the rules behind them, see our poker hand rankings, and our list of the best gambling movies shows a few of them on screen.
Know the terms, know the limits
Understanding the language makes gambling less confusing, but it doesn’t change the maths: the house edge means you should expect to lose over time. Our gambling quotes page shows what sayings like “six to five against” mean in numbers. Set a budget, never chase losses, and visit our responsible gambling page if gambling stops being fun.
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How we checked this
- Blackjack pays 3:2, insurance pays 2:1 and basic strategy never takes it: Wikipedia and Wizard of Odds.
- Baccarat’s 5% Banker commission, the 8:1 Tie and naturals of 8 or 9: Wikipedia and Wizard of Odds.
- Craps come-out rules, points, yo and hardways: Wikipedia and Wizard of Odds.
- Roulette payouts and house edges: Wikipedia and Wizard of Odds.
- Megaways was created by Big Time Gaming and licensed to other studios: Gambling.com and CGM.
- Bonus buys often cost 50x to 100x your stake: The Olive Press and DeucesCracked.
- Odds formats and conversion rules: Wikipedia and AceOdds.
- Phrase origins and first recorded dates: Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com for each phrase, plus Wiktionary (jackpot, ace in the hole, pass the buck), Cambridge (meanings) and Wikipedia with Wordorigins.org (card sharp and card shark). Where the dictionaries give different dates, we give a range.
- Our maths: the odds conversion table and the 4.7% margin example are our own sums.
Last checked: 2 November 2026, when we checked the origin of each everyday gambling phrase in at least two dictionaries. The odds conversions are our own sums from 13 October 2026; the remaining figures are confirmed by two or more independent sources.
Gambling terms FAQ
What does RTP mean in gambling?
Return to player: the percentage of all money wagered on a game that it pays back over the long run. A 96% RTP game returns an average of £96 for every £100 wagered across all players.
What does vig mean in betting?
Vig (vigorish), also called juice or margin, is the commission a bookmaker builds into the odds, so it profits whatever the result. Our no vig calculator shows how much vig a market carries and the fair odds without it.
What is a wagering requirement?
The number of times you must bet a bonus before you can withdraw it. For example, a £20 bonus with 30x wagering requires £600 of bets.
What does “the nuts” mean in poker?
The best possible hand given the cards on the table at that moment.
What does bookie mean?
A bookie is a bookmaker: a person or business that takes bets, sets the odds and pays out winners. The short form was first recorded in the late 1870s to early 1880s.
What does poker face mean?
A face that shows nothing of what you think or feel. It comes from poker, where players hide their reactions so opponents can’t read their hand.
Is it card sharp or card shark?
Both are correct and mean the same thing: someone who cheats at cards, or a very skilled player. Card sharp is the older form.
What is snake eyes?
Rolling two ones with a pair of dice, a total of 2. In craps it loses on the pass line during the come-out roll.
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