Casino Terms Glossary

General terms

House edge

The average share of every bet a game is mathematically built to keep, expressed as a percentage. A 2% house edge means the game costs you about $2 for every $100 you bet over time.

Used in: house edge comparison

RTP (return to player)

The flip side of house edge, shown as a percentage instead. A game with a 2% house edge has a 98% RTP. The two numbers always add up to 100%.

Used in: house edge comparison

Element of risk

A more precise version of house edge that accounts for extra money you bet mid-hand, like doubling down or raising. It measures expected loss against your total action, not just your first bet.

Used in: house edge comparison

Push

A tie. Neither you nor the house wins, and your original bet is returned with no profit or loss.

Used in: Blackjack, Baccarat

Bankroll

The total amount of money you've set aside to gamble with, separate from money you need for anything else.

Unit

A fixed amount you use as your base bet size, so strategy can be described as "bet 1 unit" or "raise 3 units" without tying it to a specific dollar figure.

Vig (vigorish)

A commission the house takes on certain winning bets, most commonly the 5% cut on a winning Banker bet in baccarat.

Used in: Baccarat

Comp

Short for complimentary. Free rooms, meals, or perks a casino gives players based on how much action they bring to a table, judged by average bet size and time played.

Shoe

A dealing box that holds multiple shuffled decks of cards, used in games like blackjack and baccarat to speed up dealing and make counting harder.

Used in: Blackjack, Baccarat

Cut card

A blank card placed near the back of the shoe to mark where the dealer stops before reshuffling, so the last several cards are never dealt.

Used in: Card Counting

Progressive jackpot

A side bet or bonus pool that grows with every hand played until someone hits the qualifying hand, usually the rarest possible outcome like a royal flush.

Blackjack terms

All terms below apply to the Blackjack trainer.

Natural (Blackjack)

An Ace and a 10-value card as your first two cards, totaling 21. It usually pays 3:2 instead of even money, unless the dealer also has one, in which case it's a push.

Bust

Going over 21. A busted hand loses automatically, even if the dealer later busts too.

Used in: Spanish 21

Hard hand

A hand with no Ace, or an Ace that can only count as 1 without busting. A hard 16 has no flexibility left.

Soft hand

A hand containing an Ace that can count as either 1 or 11 without busting, like Ace-6 counting as a soft 17.

Double down

Doubling your bet in exchange for exactly one more card, then standing regardless of the total.

Split

Separating a pair into two independent hands, each with its own bet equal to the original.

Surrender

Giving up half your bet to fold immediately, before playing the hand out, when the odds are heavily against you.

Insurance

A side bet offered when the dealer shows an Ace, betting that the dealer has a ten-value card underneath for a natural. It's a bad bet for a player without a card count in their favor.

Used in: Card Counting

Dealer stands/hits on soft 17 (S17/H17)

A rule that changes the dealer's required play on a soft 17. S17 (stand) is better for the player; H17 (hit) raises the house edge slightly.

Basic strategy

The mathematically correct play for every possible hand versus every possible dealer upcard, assuming no card counting.

6:5 blackjack

A payout of 6 to 5 on a natural instead of the standard 3:2. It looks like a small difference but meaningfully raises the house edge, worth avoiding.

Continuous shuffling machine (CSM)

A device that reshuffles discards back into play continuously, instead of dealing down to a cut card. It makes card counting ineffective.

Used in: Card Counting

Running count

In card counting, a live tally kept during the shoe by adding or subtracting a value for each card seen, most commonly using the Hi-Lo system.

Used in: Card Counting

True count

The running count adjusted for how many decks remain in the shoe, used to size bets since the running count alone means less as more cards are dealt.

Used in: Card Counting

Poker-based table game terms

Ante

A required starting bet made before any cards are seen, common to nearly every poker-based table game.

Used in: Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em

Play bet (Raise)

An additional bet made after seeing your cards, deciding to continue against the dealer's hand instead of folding.

Used in: Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker

Blind bet

A required bet made alongside the Ante that pays out based on your final hand strength alone, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.

Used in: Ultimate Texas Hold'em

Trips bonus

An optional side bet in Ultimate Texas Hold'em that pays based on your final hand alone, three of a kind or better, independent of the main game's outcome.

Used in: Ultimate Texas Hold'em

Qualify

A minimum hand strength the dealer needs to contest your Play bet. If the dealer doesn't qualify, the Ante often pays even money automatically and the Play bet pushes.

Used in: Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Casino Hold'em

Pair Plus

A side bet in Three Card Poker paid entirely on your own hand's poker value, regardless of whether you beat the dealer.

Used in: Three Card Poker

Envy bonus

A bonus paid to every player at the table when one player hits a big qualifying hand, even to players who didn't make that hand themselves.

Used in: Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Crazy 4 Poker

Community cards

Shared cards dealt face up in the middle of the table that every player combines with their own hole cards, as in Ultimate Texas Hold'em and Mississippi Stud.

Used in: Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Mississippi Stud

House way

The casino's predetermined rule for splitting a seven-card hand into a high hand and a low hand in Pai Gow, used when a player asks the dealer to set the hand for them.

Used in: Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles

Copy

A tie between the player's and dealer's hands in Pai Gow. Ties on either the high or low hand go to the dealer, not the player.

Used in: Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles

Banker (poker games)

In Pai Gow, the position that collects a commission but wins all ties. Different from the Banker bet in baccarat, which is simply one of two hands you can bet on.

Used in: Pai Gow Poker

3rd/4th/5th Street

The three decision points in Mississippi Stud, one after each community card is revealed, at each of which you choose to bet 1x to 3x your ante or fold.

Used in: Mississippi Stud

Craps terms

All terms below apply to the Craps trainer.

Pass line

The most common craps bet, winning if the come-out roll is 7 or 11, losing on 2, 3, or 12, and otherwise needing the established point to repeat before a 7.

Don't pass

The opposite side of the Pass line bet, winning on 2 or 3, losing on 7 or 11, and pushing on 12 in most casinos.

Come-out roll

The first roll of a new round, before a point has been established.

Point

The number established on the come-out roll (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that the shooter must roll again before rolling a 7 to win Pass line bets.

Odds bet

An additional bet placed behind a Pass or Don't Pass bet after the point is set, paid at true odds with no house edge of its own.

Field bet

A one-roll bet on the next roll landing on a specific set of numbers, resolved immediately regardless of the point.

Hard way

A bet that a specific number (4, 6, 8, or 10) will be rolled as a matching pair, like two 4s, before it's rolled any other way or a 7 appears.

Shooter

The player currently rolling the dice.

Roulette terms

All terms below apply to the Roulette trainer.

Inside bet

A bet placed on or between specific numbers on the roulette layout, offering higher payouts for lower odds of winning.

Outside bet

A bet placed on broader categories like red/black, odd/even, or a range of numbers, offering lower payouts but better odds.

Straight up

A bet on a single number, the highest-paying and lowest-odds bet on the layout.

Single-zero vs double-zero

European roulette wheels have one zero pocket; American wheels add a second (00), roughly doubling the house edge. Single-zero is the better game when available.

En prison / la partage

Rules found on some single-zero tables that return half or all of an even-money bet if the ball lands on zero, lowering the house edge further.

Baccarat and Dragon Tiger terms

All terms below apply to the Baccarat trainer.

Natural (Baccarat)

A first-two-card total of 8 or 9 for either hand, which wins immediately with no further cards drawn. A different meaning than blackjack's natural.

Banker bet

A wager that the Banker hand will win or tie. It carries a small commission on wins but has the lowest house edge of the three main bets.

Player bet

A wager that the Player hand will win or tie, paying even money with no commission but a slightly higher house edge than Banker.

Tie bet

A wager that both hands end with the same total. It pays well but carries one of the highest house edges on the table.

Commission

The 5% cut the house takes from winning Banker bets in standard baccarat, tracked and paid at the end of a shoe or on the spot.

Dice, wheel, and other game terms

Small/Big

The two most common even-money bets in Sic Bo, wagering that the three-dice total falls in the low range or the high range.

Used in: Sic Bo

Any triple

A Sic Bo bet that all three dice land on matching numbers, regardless of which number, one of the highest-paying and highest house-edge bets on the table.

Used in: Sic Bo

Money wheel

The large spinning wheel used in Big Six, divided into segments with different payouts based on how rare that segment is.

Used in: Big Six

Spot

In keno, one of the numbers you mark on your ticket before the draw. A "6-spot" ticket means you picked six numbers.

Used in: Keno

Going to war

In Casino War, the option to double your bet and continue after a tie, instead of surrendering half your original bet.

Used in: Casino War

Suited tie

A side bet in Dragon Tiger paying extra when a tie occurs with both cards matching in suit as well as rank.

Used in: Dragon Tiger