General casino lingo

Action

The amount of money wagered (put into action) by a player during an entire playing session.

Hot

A player who is on a winning streak, or a slot machine that is paying out.

House

A casino or gambling center/centre. Also the operators of a gambling game.

Nickel

A $500 wager.

Press a bet

Adding the winnings over the current bet, to 'let it ride'.

BlackJack

Hard hand

Any hand that does not contain an Ace valued at 11.

Hit

To take another card. The card received is also called a hit.

Hole card

The facedown card that the dealer gets.

Natural

A natural is a two-card hand of twenty-one points. In baccarat a natural is a two-card total of eight or nine.

Paint

A Jack, Queen or King. Also called face card or picture card.

Push

A tie hand between a dealer and a player. A round of play where neither the player nor the casino wins.

Soft hand

Any hand that contains an ace counted as eleven is called a soft hand.

Up card

The face up card of the dealer's initial hand in BlackJack.

Craps

Bones

Dice.

Boxcars

The combination of 6-6 on the dice.

Point

The number that is established on the come-out roll.

Shooter

The player who is rolling the dice on a craps table.

Snake eyes

To roll a two in craps is called 'snake eyes'.

Other casino games

Outside bets

Roulette bets located on the outside part of the layout. They involve betting 12 or 18 numbers with one chip.

Payline

The line on a slot machine window on which the symbols from each reel must line up.

Progressive

Any game where an open-ended jackpot is featured, where the jackpot grows in value with each round of play until it is hit.