Many novice players find their first casino visit daunting. The entire floor is bustling with people, slots are rattling, and it seems as if everybody is speaking a foreign language. As if the sight of a casino isn’t intimidating enough, you don’t understand half of what is said when you finally gather the courage to join a table and start playing. Some people forgo this entire in-person experience by gambling online and using Paypal Casinos instead, however, these terms will still come up even in the digital space, so it would be a good idea to know them. 

Like many other groups sharing a common interest, gamblers have developed a jargon of their own over the years. In the beginning, newcomers find it hard to understand it and it takes them a while to catch all gambling terms and phrases that are in use. To shorten that process, we have created this guide for understanding the most popular gambling terms and phrases you should know when visiting a casino.

Buy-in

This one should be simple to understand. When you first sit at the table, you need to buy some chips, as casinos usually won’t allow you to gamble with real money. The process is called the buy-in. It is also used to describe the cost of entry into a poker tournament.

Chips

As we mentioned before, casinos don’t let people play at the tables for real money. Instead, you need chips. Most casinos have them custom-made, with a casino logo and denomination stamped on them. You can get them from dealers or at the cage.

Cage

So, you managed to win some money and now you are stuck with a bunch of chips that have no value outside the casino. The next step is to visit the cage and exchange them for money. The cage is usually located at or near the entrance of a casino and is where cash is stored. The security is understandably tight around the area and the cage got its name from thick metal bars that surround it to prevent unauthorized access.

Card Sharp

We use card sharp to describe a player with considerable skill in various card games, like poker or blackjack. You don’t want to find yourself across the table from one in a poker game, as you will most likely get fleeced. In blackjack, however, it can be advantageous to play alongside a card sharp, as you get the chance to see a master at work and perhaps learn a thing or two.

Croupier

In American casinos, this is a seldom-used term. It is a French word and it denotes table dealers. In Las Vegas, it is only used at roulette tables regularly. However, you should know it, so you can sound knowledgeable if nothing else.

Face cards

Face cards are all the cards that have pictures on them, namely jacks, queens, and kings. In most casino games, they are valued highly and have special rules when played. In blackjack, each face card is valued at ten.

Casino / House Edge

Ever heard the expression “House always wins”? This is the reason why that saying is true. In order to pay for overhead and stay afloat, casinos rely on the house edge. Basically, it is the advantage casinos hold over the players to ensure that a small percentage of all bets end up in their vaults, regardless of who actually won. Depending on the game, it can be as low as 1 or 2% or as high as 10%. That is why it is important to familiarize yourself with house edges before you start playing.

High rollers

High rollers are players that play for serious money. These guys casually spend thousands of dollars per night and are treated differently than regular players because of it.

Whales

A step above high rollers, whales are every casino manager’s dream. These are millionaires and often billionaires who like to occasionally treat themselves with a weekend in Vegas and never bother to ask the price. They will easily leave hundreds of thousands of dollars at the tables without blinking an eye. They get all the best a casino has to offer, from rooms to service, and ironically, most of it is free of charge. After all, if a guy spends a couple of hundred thousand dollars at blackjack in your casino, the least you can do is pony up for a free room and some champagne.

Betting Limits

Most casinos have betting limits in place on most games. This is to prevent some lucky winner from bankrupting the casino on a single dice roll or slot spin.

Betting Minimums

The opposite of betting limits, betting minimums are imposed so that people can’t stretch their $10 chips for the entire night and take up the space. This is a bare minimum below which casino can’t operate profitably.

Card Washing

Card washing doesn’t involve actual washing. It is a process performed each time a new deck is introduced into a game. The dealer will take the deck out of protective packaging, spread cards on the table for all to see, remove jokers and shuffle them before starting to use them.

eCOGRA

Based in London and originally founded by Microgaming, eCOGRA is an organization that monitors online casinos and performs regular inspections to ensure that they abide by the rules of fair play and are not cheating their players. If you play in online casinos, you have probably noticed their certificates on casinos sites. If you don’t, try looking for them. If you can’t find them, perhaps it is time to find another casino to play in.

Jackpot

The jackpot was originally a term connected to slots and was referring to winning the main prize, usually a very lucrative one. Lately, it was being used for any big score, even when it is not connected to gambling.

Shooter

A shooter is a person who rolls the dice at the craps table. Any player can be a shooter, as long as he or she follows the rules.

Snake Eyes

Snake eyes is another craps term, denoting dice scoring 2, with both dice showing 1. This is a losing roll in craps and hence not popular with players.