Last Updated on 22 June 2023 by Nicholas Lim
The world of casinos is full of special terminology – so much so, that even the most veteran of players sometimes needs a refresher course to keep it all straight.
So if you’re new to gaming and want to familiarise yourself with the basics of online casino talk, or a veteran just wanting to double check your casino glossary, have a look below. And if you need any further help, feel free to be in touch!
| All-in | When a player bets all their chips. |
| Ante | A usually small compulsory bet that each player has to make in card games, before the cards are dealt. |
| Banker | The player in a hand, against whom everyone else is playing. In online games the banker will be the house. |
| Bankroll | A player’s total funds set aside for gambling. Usually one will be wagering a very small percentage of one’s total bankroll at any one time. |
| Bet | An amount of chips or money that one is risking on a particular outcome. Also known as a wager. |
| Blinds | A compulsory bet usually made by one or two players who are in front of the dealer. Most commonly seen in poker variations, blinds are essentially turns each player takes at a small commitment before the cards are dealt. |
| Bonus | An incentive offered by online casinos to encourage players to create accounts and/or bet on games. There are different types of bonuses such as welcome bonus, high roller bonus, and bonuses that are specific to individual games. |
| Buy-in | The minimum sum of money required to “sit down” at a particular poker game. This will usually be a range such as $100-$150. |
| Call | To match another player’s bet, without raising or folding. |
| Card counting | Refers to a range of techniques for working out the value of cards remaining in the deck. Most commonly associated with blackjack, in theory card counting allows the counter to predict whether a run of cards is most likely to be high or low in value, and to bet accordingly. |
| Cashier | At online casinos the cashier is the function where a player can withdraw and deposit funds. The cashier department is responsible for processing all transactions. |
| Combination | Refers to a particular sequence of events occurring within a game. For example, in the dice game Sic Bo a sequence of three-of-a-kind in the same roll can be referred to as a combination. |
| Croupier | The person in charge of the table in a land-based casino. The croupier collects and pays out the bets after each round of the particular game. |
| Dealer | The person at the table responsible for dealing the cards in a card game. |
| Deposit | The process of adding funds to your online casino wallet. The opposite of a withdrawal. |
| Die/Dice | A die is a small cube-shaped object with numbers inscribed on each side. Two dice form the basis of many gambling games such as craps, Sic Bo, and backgammon. |
| Doubling down | When the player exercises their right to double their bet when a particular condition is met. For example, in blackjack a player may double down if they agree to receive exactly one more card after the first two cards have been dealt. |
| Doubling up | When a player doubles their remaining chips at the table. This is most common in card games like poker, when two players get all-in, and one player wins all the other players’ chips. |
| Draw | A form of poker in which the player draws new cards, after discarding a first round of cards. The draw is the step where the second round of cards is supplied. |
| eCogra | Ecommerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance. This is the body that regulates many online casinos and gaming establishments. |
| e-Wallet | A service that saves players time by storing their personal information securely online, so if they want to make a credit card or other type of payment, they can use their e-wallet to prefill the form. |
| Even money bet | An even money bet is a bet that will return 1 to 1 on the amount the player bet. For example, if you were to bet someone $5 on a coin toss, it would be an even money bet. |
| Face cards | Cards that depict a person, such as a jack, queen, or king. |
| Fish | A derogatory slang term for an inexperienced player. This is often used in poker to refer to a player who doesn’t know what they’re doing. |
| Hand | The collection of cards that a player is holding at any given time. |
| House | The casino (against which you’re playing). |
| House edge/advantage | The amount that the odds are skewed in favour of the house (casino). For example, most casinos will take around 3-5% of turnover, depending on the game. As such, the house edge would be said to be somewhere between 3% and 5%. |
| Jackpot | A special prize pool that can be won by fulfilling some specific criteria. For example, a pokie might have a jackpot that can be won by matching 5 of the same symbol. |
| Joker | A symbol or card that has a special function in some games. Jokers are mainly found in poker variations and often function as a wild card, becoming any card that improves the player’s hand. |
| Lobby | In online casinos the lobby is the log in screen of the casino software where players can access all the various options including games, cashier, and the general menu. |
| Loyalty points | A type of reward that players get for playing for a certain period of time and/or turning over a certain amount of money. Loyalty points can be redeemed for bonuses at most online casinos. |
| Max bet | Short for maximum bet and refers to the largest bet possible at any given time on a particular game. |
| Multi-player | Types of games where more than one player can participate – usually playing against each other. |
| Odds | The return on a winning bet. For example, if the odds are 2 to 1, the player would receive $2 for every $1 wagered. |
| Payout | The amount of money a player collects after winning a bet. |
| Payout percentage | Closely related to house edge, the payout percentage is the amount of the total prize pool that goes back to the players and is not kept by the house. |
| Playthrough rate | The amount of play required to unlock a particular bonus. For example, many casinos have generous sign up bonuses, but to claim the bonus, the original deposit must be turned over a certain amount of times. |
| Progressive | Short for progressive jackpot. |
| Progressive Jackpot | A jackpot that builds up over time, drawing a small amount from each bet to increase its payout. Usually associated with pokies machines, online progressive jackpots are made up of input from multiple casinos in a network. |
| Random Number Generator (RNG) | This is the element of online casino software that ensures the outcome of each event is random. RNGs at reputable casinos are carefully regulated to ensure fairness to players. |
| Shark | A slang term for a very good gambler. |
| Shuffling | The act of mixing up the cards so they are dealt at random during the next round. Shuffling is not necessary at online casinos as the cards are virtual and their order is determined by the random number generator. |
| Snake Eyes | A pair of ones when rolling two dice. |
| Tournament | A tournament in the context of online gaming is a series of games played amongst competing players. This is most common with games where players play against each other such as poker, but there are also pokies tournaments at some online casinos. |
| Wager | Another name for a bet. This is the amount of money a player gambles on a particular outcome. |
| Welcome bonus | A bonus offered at online casinos to entice players to sign up. Welcome bonus usually require the player to deposit money, which will be matched with the casino bonus. |
| Whale | A slang term for a player who gambles large amounts of money. |
| Withdrawal | The removal of funds from an online casino account. |
Now that you’ve brushed up on your online casino terminology, you’re ready to start playing. Put your knowledge in action and check out our list of the best casinos this year.