Glossary

The Gambling Dictionary

Entering an online casino, a poker room or any other Internet gambling site is like crossing into a new world in many ways. Although no passport needs to be stamped and even currency does not need to be converted, there is a new lingo to learn. Gambling terms, professional vocabulary, insider references and technical terminology are all listed in this section. Find the meaning of a new term you learn, scan for new terms you didn't know exist, or sort via the advanced tag search option for a variety of convenient browsing options.

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Packet

A portion or group of cards from the deck.

Pair

Any two cards of the same value in a hand.

Parlay

See Accumulator.

Partially Wild Cards

Any card(s) of a specific suit or value that are designated as wild cards and can only be used in certain situations such as completing a flush. Typically, they are Joker cards.

Pass

When it comes to a player's turn, the player may pass, meaning fold and not place a bet.

Pass Line Bet

A bet in Craps placed before the come out roll, stating the dice will win or pass.

Passive

Describing a game, table or player who plays with the minimum amount of money needed to maintain in the pot, constantly calls or checks. Opposite of aggressive games or play.

Pat

A hand the needs no additional cards in Draw Poker is a Pat, as is a Blackjack hand that is worth 17 or higher, not exceeding 21.

Pattern

Usually, to win at bingo, a straight line must be covered. Other standard patterns include horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. Some bingo games may feature a four corners pattern, a coverall or others.

Payline

A straight or zig-zagged line on a slot machine where symbols must line up for a win. Slot machines usually have up to 9 paylines, though video slot machines may have many more.

Payout Percentage

The percent of each dollar bet at the online casino that is returned to the players. This proportion, for example a 97.2% payout percentage, means that this percent of the total money bet at the casino is paid out to winners.

Online casinos can keep the payout percentage higher than land based casinos, namely for their low maintenance expenses. Thus the online casino from the previous example keeps only 2.8% of the total bets. (That is also the House edge at the casino.) Ensuring this is the case, verification certificates are posted on the site for players to view.

Picture Card

Any King, Queen or Jack card. Any card that is not numbered.

Pips

A marking in the center of a playing card that tells what suit and value it is.

Place

Finish in the top three, top four and sometimes also top five in a competition or event. A Place bet will win if the selection you bet on is among those placed.

Different sportsbooks have different Place terms and should be checked closely.

Pocket Cards

The cards dealt face-down in poker.

Point

Any total on the first roll in craps that is not a win or a lose, i.e. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10.

Poker

A popular type of card game in which two or more players gamble on the value of the card combination they hold (their "hand") by placing bets into a central pot. The player with the highest hand value or the only player remaining wins the pot.

Poker, and online poker as well, have many variations, similar in basic rules, hand value hierarchy, etc.

Poker Face

A facial expression that is completely unemotional. Designed to prevent opponents from guessing the player's next move or hand they hold.

Poker Machine

The Australian term for a slot machine and typically has 5 reels.

Pokie

This is a colloquial Australian term for a slot machine.

Pontoon

The English variation of Blackjack is called Pontoon. Pontoon is also played in Australia, where the rules are like the American variant called Spanish 21.

Position

The spot which a player holds, their turn in a series of actions.

Position Bet

A bet or information gained which takes advantage of the player's position, especially if earlier in the game they would have not made that same move.

Post

The act of contributing money to the pot before the cards are dealt.

Pot

The amount of money that accumulates in a poker game, which goes to the winner, is the pot.

Pot Committed

Describes a person who already has a lot of money contributed into the pot so that folding is not a smart choice, even if there is a high chance they will be beaten on the showdown.

Pot Equity

In a given point in the game, this is the amount of money at stake already in the pot multiplied by the chance of winning percentage.

Pot Limit

The restriction a pot is given in which the maximum amount any raise or reraise can increase the pots value.

Pot Odds

A term used in poker, including in Texas Hold ‘em, which represents the ratio of the current size of the pot to the cost of a call about to be made. For instance, if the pot is $100 and the call about to be made $10, then the pot odds are 100:10.

Primary Jackpot

The biggest prize to be won on a slot machine for players who hit a specific combination as indicated on its pay out schedule.

Prime

A player can block the progress of the opponent in Backgammon by building six consecutive made points.

Other primes can be 4-prime or 5-prime, for example, which can be passed by the opponent but with considerable difficulty and risk.

Progression Betting

A betting strategy that determines the size of the bet each time according to an already calculated formula.

Progressive

A network casino game connecting players in participating online venues, As more players join and wager in the game, the jackpot grows progressively higher.

Progressive Jackpot

By linking together machines, online casinos are able to form a large jackpot (the highest payoff), one that grows progressively with every game played. Progressive jackpots can be found for slot machines or video poker, typically, but also for other casino games, including poker, blackjack, roulette and others too. The constantly changing progressive jackpot meter is usually showcased on the front page of the casino.

Only players who wager the maximum credits qualify for the progressive jackpot and it is won only with the highest payoff combination, e.g. a royal flush in video poker. Once a player wins the jackpot, the jackpot resets to a preset minimum level and starts climbing all over again.

Progressive Slots

Progressive Slot machines are a popular feature, with the jackpot amounting by having a group of linked slot machines. Slots linked across online casinos must be operated by the same software, owned by the same machine maker, with jackpots really hitting sky-high sums of millions of dollars.

Prop Bets

Also known as proposition, side, or exotic bets, these are bets that are made on an outcome or a proposition. Prop bets could be on statistics or one-time events, or quirky and extraordinary bets as well (will any actor to receive an Oscar trip and fall when getting on stage).

Prop bets are exclusive to online gambling sites and are not offered by Las Vegas bookies. The law prohibits Vegas casinos from offering any bets on events that can be controlled.

Proposition

An agreement between two or more players on what moves they will each make on their turn.

Proposition Bet

A wager made outside the boundaries of the game, a side bet.

Protect

Some object placed over a player's cards in order to prevent them from being seen by other players. It is also a bet made in hopes of reducing the amount of players in the hand, therefore increasing their chance to win in the showdown.

Punter

See Bettor.

Punto Banco

Another name for Baccarat.

Push

A situation in Blackjack in which player and dealer have equal hand values, thus neither winning.

Push Bets

An agreement between players that any money won from them will be returned in reciprocation of them doing the same thing for them. A way to ensure that no players are competing with each other, unless it's players from outside the agreement. Used as a strategy.

Put Down

Another term for folding.

Put On

To guess or assume what cards an opponent is holding in order to decide the best playing strategy for themselves.