Common Gambling Terms

Here are your gambling terms from I to O

• Inside Bets - A roulette bet placed on any number, or small combination of numbers.
• Insurance - In blackjack, a side bet that the dealer has a natural. Insurance is offered only when the dealers 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.
• Joker - The 53rd card in a deck, sometimes used as a wild card.
• Juice - (USA) Vig. or Vigorish. Commission taken by the house
• Laying the Odds - There are two fundamental forms of wagering, "taking the odds" and "laying the odds". In most forms of sports betting, some odds are so high in favor of the likely winner that winning wagers get paid an amount less than the amount wagered by some percentage, and this is what is meant by 'laying the odds'. In most casino games the player is 'taking the odds' by wagering an amount that is less than they will receive if they win, that is; if you wager $1 you would win more than $1.
• Layout - Cloth on a gaming table. Markings tell you where you can place your bets.
• Load up - To play the maximum number of coins per spin that a slot machine or video game will allow.
• Long Run - The number of rounds of play, hands or spins, needed for the ratio of wins to losses to reach a point where they are changed very little by the cumulative effect of outcomes.
• Low Poke r - Also called lowball, is poker in which the pot is awarded to the hand with the lowest poker value.
• Marker - A check/cheque that can be written at the gaming tables by a player who has established credit with the casino. An IOU.
• Martingale - Betting system based on doubling-up after each loss.
• Match Play - The competition system used in tournaments (usually card games) in which two participants play a series of games which ends when one player accumulates a required number of points. Each game could be worth one, two, or more points.
• Mechanic - Slang meaning a dealer who cheats.
• Money Put In Action - This is not the actual dollar amount of money you bring to the table to play with. Suppose that you sat down at a roulette table with a $100 and proceeded to play 90 spins over, say, three hours, betting $10 on each spin of the wheel. If you multiply 90 spins by $10 totals $900. This would be the amount of "money you put into action" even though your actual bankroll was only $100. This is one of the criteria some casinos use to assess your rating and eligibility for comps.
• 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.
• Net Winnings - Total payout less your stake.
• Number Pool - The range of numbers from which you select the ones you want to play. A typical lottery pool ranges from 1 to 60, and the keno pool is 1 to 80.
• Nut - Either the overhead costs of running a casino, or the fixed amount that a gambler decides to win in a day.
• Odds - Ratio of probabilities. The casino's view of the chance of a player winning. The figure or fraction by which the casino offers to multiply a bettor's stake, which the bettor is entitled to receive (plus his or her own stake) if they win.
• Outside Bets - Roulette bets located on the outside part of the layout. They involve betting 12 or 18 numbers with one chip.
• Overlay - A good bet where the player has an edge over the casino.