Casino Slang for Beginners: Popular Gambling Terms and Phrases

Interesting, right? Well, there are many other gambling terms and phrases with casino and sports betting origins:

• Dark Horse: An outsider with great potential. It comes from horse racing, which referenced horses no one knew about.
• Ace Up Your Sleeve: A player with an ace up their sleeve is one with a secret weapon or skill. It likely comes from dishonest card players who would literally hide aces up their sleeves.
• Upping the Ante: A straightforward origin story, as this saying is simply about increasing the stakes, which is how it is used today as a general term.
• When the Chips are Down: The situation is challenging. The origin references the chips being down, and the player has few options.
• Go for Broke: If you go for broke, you risk it all. The expression comes from Pidgin English and literally means to bet it all, even with the risk of bankruptcy.
• Breaking the Bank: If you “break the bank”, you have won a lot of money. The saying likely comes from the early days of casino gambling when high rollers could gamble and win so much the house couldn’t afford to pay them.

Gambling Terms and Phrases

If you read through our online gambling guides, you will come across some gambling sayings and casino slang. These phrases are second nature to experienced gamblers but may be outside of beginners’ vocabulary. So, let’s take a look at some of the most common words:

• Bankroll: A budget set aside for gambling purposes. All professional gamblers and serious novices have a bankroll.
• House Edge: The casino’s in-built edge over the player.
• Return to Player: As with the house edge, this shows the casino’s edge, but it is expressed as the player’s likely rate of return.
• Face Card: A card with a literal face—Jack, Queen, King.
• Beginner’s Luck: When a new player hits a lucky streak. It’s implied they rely heavily on luck and that their fortunes will change.
• Progressive Jackpot: A jackpot that grows by taking a small percentage from every game. It is then released at random to one lucky player.
• RNG: Stands for Random Number Generator. It’s a technology used to randomize outcomes in casino games like slots.
• Cold and Hot Streaks: A cold streak is a run of terrible luck. A hot streak is a run of good luck.
• High Roller: A player who bets much higher wagers than average.
• Whale: A step above high rollers, these players often wager millions of dollars during a gambling session.
• Ante: The initial bet in a card game such as poker.

Poker Slang

Poker has been around for a long time and has spread to all corners of the world. It has picked up some curious terms, phrases, and hand nicknames in that time, and these deserve a section all of their own:

• Community Cards: The five cards dealt in the middle of the table during a game of Texas Hold’em. All players can use them to form their five-card hands.
• Flop: The first three coThe gambling community has its own lexicon, and if you’re new to gambling games like poker, craps, blackjack, and roulette, you may be confused by some of these gambling idioms and casino slang.

  Even if you know them, learning the stories behind some gambling sayings is still fascinating.

  Common Gambling Idioms

  The weird thing about idioms is that we often repeat them without thinking how strange they are. Take “down to the wire” as an example. You’ve probably used it before without considering how odd it sounds. It comes from the early days of horseracing when a stretched wire marked the finish line, with the winner then breaking it.

  If a race went “down to the wire”, it meant it was very close until the end, and that’s how we use the saying today.

  Interesting, right? Well, there are many other gambling terms and phrases with casino and sports betting origins:

  • Dark Horse: An outsider with great potential. It comes from horse racing, which referenced horses no one knew about.
  • Ace Up Your Sleeve: A player with an ace up their sleeve is one with a secret weapon or skill. It likely comes from dishonest card players who would literally hide aces up their sleeves.
  • Upping the Ante: A straightforward origin story, as this saying is simply about increasing the stakes, which is how it is used today as a general term.
  • When the Chips are Down: The situation is challenging. The origin references the chips being down, and the player has few options.
  • Go for Broke: If you go for broke, you risk it all. The expression comes from Pidgin English and literally means to bet it all, even with the risk of bankruptcy.
  • Breaking the Bank: If you “break the bank”, you have won a lot of money. The saying likely comes from the early days of casino gambling when high rollers could gamble and win so much the house couldn’t afford to pay them.

  Gambling Terms and Phrases

  If you read through our online gambling guides, you will come across some gambling sayings and casino slang. These phrases are second nature to experienced gamblers but may be outside of beginners’ vocabulary. So, let’s take a look at some of the most common words:

  • Bankroll: A budget set aside for gambling purposes. All professional gamblers and serious novices have a bankroll.
  • House Edge: The casino’s in-built edge over the player.
  • Return to Player: As with the house edge, this shows the casino’s edge, but it is expressed as the player’s likely rate of return.
  • Face Card: A card with a literal face—Jack, Queen, King.
  • Beginner’s Luck: When a new player hits a lucky streak. It’s implied they rely heavily on luck and that their fortunes will change.
  • Progressive Jackpot: A jackpot that grows by taking a small percentage from every game. It is then released at random to one lucky player.
  • RNG: Stands for Random Number Generator. It’s a technology used to randomize outcomes in casino games like slots.
  • Cold and Hot Streaks: A cold streak is a run of terrible luck. A hot streak is a run of good luck.
  • High Roller: A player who bets much higher wagers than average.
  • Whale: A step above high rollers, these players often wager millions of dollars during a gambling session.
  • Ante: The initial bet in a card game such as poker.

  Poker Slang

  Poker has been around for a long time and has spread to all corners of the world. It has picked up some curious terms, phrases, and hand nicknames in that time, and these deserve a section all of their own:

  • Community Cards: The five cards dealt in the middle of the table during a game of Texas Hold’em. All players can use them to form their five-card hands.
  • Flop: The first three community cards.
  • Turn: The fourth community card.
  • River: The final community card.
  • Hole Cards: The two cards dealt to each player in a game of Texas Hold’em. Unlike the Community Cards, these are kept secret, with only the player being able to see their cards.
  • Blinds: The small and big blinds are paid by two players before each hand. They move around the table so that a new player pays them each time.
  • Dead Man’s Hand: A hand consisting of a pair of aces and eights (the final card is irrelevant). It is said to have been the hand that Wild West outlaw Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot and killed.
  • The Nuts: This is the best possible hand at any given time.
  • The Doyle Brunson Hand: A hand consisting of a 10 and 2. Poker legend Doyle Brunson was holding these two cards during the final hands of two consecutive World Series of Poker Main Events.
  • Check: If there are no opening bets, you can “check” to keep the game going without making a bet.
  • Fish: An inferior and inexperienced poker player.
  • Tilt: Anger or aggression at the poker table (often after a bad beat) that results in reckless play.
  • Bad Beat: A loss that defies probability, such as when your opponent can only win with one card, and it lands on the river.
  • Bluff: When you play or act in a way that makes others believe you have a better hand than you do.

  Summary: Gambling Idioms and Slang

  Now that you’re all caught up with some of the most common gambling terms and phrases, it’s time to get out there, place some wagers, and put your new vocabulary to the test!mmunity cards.

• Turn: The fourth community card.
• River: The final community card.
• Hole Cards: The two cards dealt to each player in a game of Texas Hold’em. Unlike the Community Cards, these are kept secret, with only the player being able to see their cards.
• Blinds: The small and big blinds are paid by two players before each hand. They move around the table so that a new player pays them each time.
• Dead Man’s Hand: A hand consisting of a pair of aces and eights (the final card is irrelevant). It is said to have been the hand that Wild West outlaw Wild Bill Hickock was holding when he was shot and killed.
• The Nuts: This is the best possible hand at any given time.
• The Doyle Brunson Hand: A hand consisting of a 10 and 2. Poker legend Doyle Brunson was holding these two cards during the final hands of two consecutive World Series of Poker Main Events.
• Check: If there are no opening bets, you can “check” to keep the game going without making a bet.
• Fish: An inferior and inexperienced poker player.
• Tilt: Anger or aggression at the poker table (often after a bad beat) that results in reckless play.
• Bad Beat: A loss that defies probability, such as when your opponent can only win with one card, and it lands on the river.
• Bluff: When you play or act in a way that makes others believe you have a better hand than you do.

Summary: Gambling Idioms and Slang

Now that you’re all caught up with some of the most common gambling terms and phrases, it’s time to get out there, place some wagers, and put your new vocabulary to the test!