Don’t be left out when playing at the casino! Learn gambling vocabulary as you learn the games. This is important to understand so you don’t feel like a novice when playing table games. To start with, here is the meaning of some of the terms used in popular gambling games:
TWENTY ONE
Basic strategy – Plays you must make to maximize your advantage
burn cards – Cards removed after shuffling.
Bust/Break – Beat a hand total of 21
Card counting – Memorize played cards with an assigned value
color up – Cash in your chips
Bend – To double your initial bet after the initial deal of 2 cards
even the money Cash out your bet for a 1/1 payout when you have a blackjack against the dealer’s ace
face cards – Jacks, Queens, Kings (also known as picture cards)
First base – First seat to the left of the dealer
Hit/Draw – Draw another card to add to your hand
hole card – The dealer’s down card
Sure – An additional bet for the player when the dealer has an ace in sight.
Pat Hand- A had a value of at least 17 points
Push/Tie – Player and dealer with the same hand total
Shoe- A device used to hold and dispense cards.
soft hand- A hand with an ace counted as 11 or 1
firm hand – A hand with little chance of winning if it comes out
Give up – Give you your hand to lose half your bet
Third base – Last seat to the right of the dealer
Up Card – The first card dealt by the dealer face up
DICES
any shit- A dice total of 2, 3 or 12
big red- a bet on the any seven cash register
Vans – When the dice add up to 12
covered dice – crooked dice
Cold Table- When most shooters ain’t winning
Come Bet – A bet made after the point is established
Exit roll – First roll of the dice in a round
Don’t come to bet A bet made after the point is established (result is opposite of come bet)
Don’t Pass Bet – Bet against the shooter before the output roll
Free Odds – An additional bet behind the pass line bet taken at true odds
Jorge- a good tipper
Highway- A 4,6,8,10 thrown in pairs
place bet- Bet that a place number (4-6, 8-10) will come up before a 7
Article number – One of the numbers 4-6, 8-10 made on the start list
Press a bet – To double your bet amount
Betting Proposal – (AKA Prop Bets) one roll and Highway bets
correct bettor – Bet on the shooter to win
Seven Out- When a 7 is thrown before the point number
shooter- Player currently rolling the dice
Snake Eyes- When the dice add up to 2
Rigid- a poor tipper
Toke- A tip given to the dealer
Invigorate – ( AKA Vig) commission taken by the house
Wrong bettor- Betting that the shooter will lose
I- Number 11 (also known as Yo-Leven)
POKER (TEXAS HOLD’EM STYLE)
aces up – A pair of Aces with another pair
all inside- Betting all your remaining chips
Initial bet- The opening bet before the deal begins
Belly Buster- An interior staircase project
big stain – an ace and a king
Shutters – 2 forced bets before the cards are dealt (small blind and big blind)
Boat- slang for a Full house
Broadway- The highest straight possible with mixed suits, 10, J, Q, K, A
Button- A puck placed in front of a player acting as a dealer.
Bullets- a pair of aces
Call- To match the current bet
Check- Defeat by placing a bet until another player does
Cowboys- Slang for a pair of kings
dead hand- A hand with no chance of winning
Donkey/Fish – a bad player
Dead Drawing – A hand that will lose even if it improves
Failure- The first 3 community cards
Rinse- 5 cards of the same suit
Full house – (also know as Boat ) 3 of one type and 2 of another
Kicker- Highest unpaired card in a hand
ladies- Slang for a pair of queens
Manure- Discarded hands upside down
Walnuts – The highest possible hand
Overcard- A card that is higher than another
quads- 4 of a kind
Rag(s) – Cards that add no value to your hand
Rainbow- Cards with different suits
River- The fifth and final community card
rounder- The one who makes a living playing cards
Royal flush – Highest possible hand, a 10, J, Q, K, A suited
Sets/Trips – 3 of a kind
Little bunch – Have the fewest chips at the table
straight flush – 5 cards of the same suit in sequential order
He says- Behavior that gives information to other players about how you might play your hand
Tight – Someone who only plays premium hands
Inclination- Desperate to recover losses causing bad decisions
Bend- The fourth community card
under the gun- First player to bet after the big blind
Wheel- Lowest possible straight with mixed suits A, 2, 3, 4.5
cabling- A pair dealt on the first 2 cards
So there you have it. Learning this lingo will help you on your way to becoming an experienced responsible gamer. Good luck!