Ante
The amount players are required to put in before beginning a card game.
Baccarat
A table game utilising up to 8 decks of cards, similar to Punto Banco. No skill is required to play.
Betting Limits
The maximum and minimum amounts a player may wager on a single bet.
Bonus
Money provided to the player by the Casino, usually as part of a promotion. Bonus funds are subject to wagering requirements before they can be converted into cash funds. Please see Terms & Conditions for more info.
Caribbean Stud Poker
A variation on traditional 5-card poker, played on a blackjack table. A very popular variation on the standard rules.
Casino Hold'em Poker
A variation of traditional Texas Hold’em poker that allows players to play against the house.
Check
In poker terms, when a player checks, they choose to remain in the game without increasing their wager.
Chips
Tokens used in table and poker games, representing the money that is wagered.
Comps
Gifts provided to players by the casino.
Craps
A casino table-game played with dice.
Credit
The basic denomination of wagers in an online casino.
Croupier
A French term for dealer, popular throughout the casino world, and mainly used in reference to roulette and blackjack.
Deal
To give out cards during a card game.
Deposit
A payment made to the casino to provide a player with funds to wager with. Deposits can be made by bank transfer or using online payment services.
Deuce
The casino term for “Two”.
Encryption
Security measures taken by online casinos to ensure players’ details are safe. Similar to the systems used by financial institutions.
Flash
A type of no-download casino software used for most online games.
High Roller
A player who wagers big bets.
Hit
Used in blackjack to refer to the act of taking another card. The card received is also called a hit.
House
The casino and its representatives.
Insurance
In blackjack, it refers to a side bet that the dealer has a natural. Insurance is offered only when the dealer’s up card is an ace. The insurance bet wins double if the dealer has a natural, but loses if the dealer does not.
Jackpot
A big win on a slot machine or progressive blackjack game.
Jacks or Better
In video poker, games the payout starts at a certain level ranking of hands. When playing Jacks or Better, if you get a pair of Jacks or a higher ranking, you win. You don't win anything on a pair of tens or lower.
Lobby
The homepage of the online casino. As with a brick-and-mortar casino, the lobby is the first thing you see when you enter the casino, and provides portals to all other sections.
Maximum Bet
The highest bet you are allowed to make. Online slot games generally have a Max Bet button, allowing you to automatically wager the highest amount allowed by that game.
Multi-Player Casino
A feature offered by some casinos that allows you to compete with other online players.
Natural
In blackjack, a natural is a two-card hand of twenty-one points. In baccarat a natural is a two-card total of eight, or nine.
Odds
Odds can refer either to the probability in which an outcome is likely to occur, or the amount “The House” is willing to pay for the result of such outcome occurring.
Pass
In card games, it refers to folding instead of betting.
Payoff
The amount of money a player can receive back on a successful wager.
Payoff Odds
Information on the amounts a player can receive on successful wagers. Many game developers provide detailed information on their games’ payoff odds.
Payout
The amount of money paid out to you as a win.
Payout Percentage
Also known as RTP, this refers to the percentage of wagers a machine is programmed to pay back to players. Most games operate somewhere between 90% and 95%, meaning the house receives an average of 5-10%.
Payout Table
A table that informs players of the amounts they can win back on specific wagers.
Pit Boss
A casino employee who oversees a certain part of the casino, monitoring gaming and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
Poker
A family of card games that require a combination of strategy and skill. Variants of poker differ in the number of cards which are dealt, shared, hidden, as well as in terms of way bets are carried out. Players use a combination of bluff and odds-calculation to determine the likelihood that they have a winning hand.
Push
A tie hand between a dealer and a player. A round of play where neither the player nor the casino wins.
Rake
The money that the casino charges for each hand of poker. It is usually a percentage (5-10%) or flat fee that is taken from the pot after each round of betting.
Rank
In poker, the worth of a set of cards.
Royal Flush (Also, Royal Straight Flush or Royal)
The highest possible hand in poker: An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit.
Shuffling (Card Shuffling)
Techniques used to mix a deck of cards in a random manner, ensuring an unpredictable outcome.
Stud Poker
One of the two basic forms of poker game (the other is draw poker), which is played with open or exposed cards (up cards) and with one or more concealed cards known as hole cards (down cards).
Super Stud Poker
A five-card poker game known as Caribbean Stud Poker and Casino Stud Poker, but with a Progressive Jackpot. The "Super" (used in UK casinos) refers to the fact that the game runs a Progressive Jackpot. Tables of the same game are interconnected with other participating casinos, and any player that makes a Royal Flush wins the Jackpot. There are smaller prizes for the top hands such as "four of a kind" and "full house".
Surrender
In blackjack, to give up half your bet for the privilege of not playing out a hand. In roulette, you effectively only lose half on an even-money bet when the ball lands on 0.
Tournament
A competition between a group of players that continues until there is a definitive winner. Most popular with poker games.
VIP
Very Important Person. Usually a high roller who is familiar to casino staff.
Wager
Any kind of bet.
Wagering Requirement
The amount of times a bonus must be wagered before it may be withdrawn as cash. For example, if a player receives a £10 bonus which is subject to 20x wagering requirements, the funds will not be available as cash until the player has wagered an equivalent of £200.
Withdrawal
A request to take out money from your Casino account and convert it into actual cash.