Glossary

A tray used in landbased casinos that hold the chips and additional decks of cards. It can also refer to an amount of exactly 100 chips.

A hand that contains cards of all different suits ie: "All the colors of the rainbow."

Also called a bet, betting a sum higher than the previous bet that requires all players to match or raise it even more, or else forfeit the pot.

The percentage or dollar amount of money that a casino or cardroom takes in order to compensate holding a game or tournament. Usually taken from the pot.

Offered in online casinos and cardrooms, this is a special promotion where a percentage of the rack is refunded back to the player.

The Random Number Generator (RNG) is the basic engine that powers Slots. Modern Slot machines are computerized, with the combinations determined randomly by the machine's software, without any human involvement. The RNG generates numbers at a high rate, and the timing of when the lever is pulled determines the outcome. An advanced RNG will be as random as possible, never repeating the number sequences.

Placement of a card from the worst to best based on the numeric or face value of the card, no matter the suit it's in. It is also used to rate hands.

Used in tournaments, this is paying an extra entrance fee or additional chips in order to begin again at a fixed point in the tournament itself.

The ability to analyze players tells or betting patterns from previous hands and what they will do in the future to use to their advantage.

If a mistake has been made in dealing the cards, the dealer will collect all the cards given and then deal again.

Before computer-generated slot machines, reels were the cylindrical spinning discs which displayed the symbols on their outer rim. Nowadays, whether you win or lose is determined by a computer's random number generator and not these mechanical wheels.

The bonus a casino customer receives (usually in the form of casino credits) when he or she refers a friend to the casino, and that friend opens real account and makes a first deposit.

Used by online casino and cardrooms, this is a promotional cash offer in attempts to build customer loyalty and to have existing players make additional deposits.

A game where all face cards are wild or another name for the royal cards of King, Queen and Jack.

Raising the bet again after an opponent has already raised (increased) it.

Amount of money or chips that an action has or will generate in the long term and is in excess of the player's own contributions already put in.

Hitting an opponent's checker in backgammon while leaving behind some vulnerable checkers of your own that can be hit on the following turn.

An act that is designed to make the opponent believe they have seen information about the player's hand.

A player betting on the Pass Line in Craps is a Right Bettor. Betting with the shooter.

Betting on the Don't Pass Line, alternatively, is called Betting Wrong.

A regular poker game, unlike a tournament, in which players play for money and can cash out at any point. Also known as a Cash Game.

The name of the final card dealt to poker players to complete a hand.

Used in lowball games, this is a hand that contains several of the highest possible cards.

Roulette, French for "small wheel", the King of Casino Games, is a popular and highly esteemed gambling game, as its moniker teaches us. Roulette players bet on which slot of the wheel - a rotating disk - the small ball will land and rest on. It involves a classic table layout of numbers in red and black, and various betting options.

The game begins with the croupier, the roulette game's dealer. The croupier spins a special wheel in one direction, and tosses a small ball into the tilted surface in the opposite direction. While the players watch for where the ball will eventually land and rest, bets are accepted over what color and number pocket it will land on. This is the outcome that determines winnings.

A whole cycle of a game, including the bets that were placed during that cycle. Each casino game has its own definition of a round: in roulette it is a spin of the wheel and the bets on the outcome; in poker it is the entire process until the winner takes in the pot.

Variant of rummy where the rule has it that the ace is in sequence with both the king and the deuce.

Highest possible flush of A-K-Q-J-10 in same suit. Can also be called a royal straight flush but this is not proper.

A set of cards in a hand that have consecutive ranks. Also, it is a streak of strong or weak hands or names a round of betting. Can also be called a rush.