What Casino Terms Mean

Here’s a brief guide to some terms you might commonly come across in UK casinos:

Ante: an ante is simply the first bet you make before the cards are dealt out to the players. It can also refer to the bet that’s made on each hand. Usually a poker term

Baccarat: a very popular game featuring six or eight decks of cards. To win this game, get a total of 9, or as close to 9 as you can get

Bet: an amount of money you place on the outcome of an event or a game. There are lots of different types of bets

Bet the limit: when the player bets the maximum amount of money they’re allowed to bet in the game they’re playing

Breaking hand: a blackjack term, this means a player’s hand is going to go over 21 once one card has been drawn

Bust: another blackjack term, this one refers to a hand that’s gone over 21

Chips: these are tokens used in lots of different casino games, including blackjack. They represent set amounts of real money

Dealer: the dealer is the member of casino staff who oversees a game and deals players their cards. Sometimes known as a croupier

Face cards: any cards that have a Jack, Queen or King on them

High roller: a player who makes very large wagers

Hit: asking for a ‘hit’ simply means asking for another card

House edge: this refers to the edge that the casino (the house) has over its players. If a casino’s house edge is 2% and you bet £100 and win, you’ll get to keep £98 and the casino will keep £2

Pigeon: someone who’s new to gambling and doesn’t know much about it

Random number generator: also known as an RNG, this device is used to ensure there’s no bias and numbers are generated completely at random