A Complete Glossary of Gambling Lingo
The world of gambling is a huge and growing market as technology has made iGaming sites widely available to the general public. Stepping into the world of specific terminology requires education for those not familiar with the jargon. The following will help translate the gambling lingo for the layman.
Placing A Bet/Wager: This term refers to a sum of money placed on a spin of a slot machine, a roulette wheel, a hand on the poker table, or a stake on a racing horse. It’s all about putting money down and seeing if the result or the numbers come up.
Bankroll: This term specifically alludes to the amount of cash a player sets aside for betting activities, separate from daily living expenses.
Accumulator: This involves several strands – or multiple selections like different football matches and even different sports all rolled into one wager. All selections have to come in for the player to win the overall return.
Add-on: This is poker terminology that allows the player to buy a certain amount of chips at a fixed time during a tournament. Players are permitted one purchase at a given time.
Against the Spread: This is a sports betting term which means to place a wager on a team to outdo the sportsbook prediction on points. In other words, the winning or losing team must reach a certain margin for the bet to come good. This is popular in the NFL, NBA and NHL.
Beginner’s Luck: This term refers to a person who is on a lucky streak and simply can’t stop winning.
Comparison sites: Comparison sites, like casino.ca, provide in-depth reviews on Canadian online casinos, so players know what to expect before creating an account. They cover bonuses, payment methods, the games available and a whole range of other important information.
Deposit Bonus: This relates to a promotional offer by an online casino when new players make their first deposit.
Draw: This is a Blackjack term relating to a scenario where the player and dealer have the same card total, and neither player wins or loses.
Fish: A fish is a poker term that describes an inexperienced player who loses money and has a tendency to bet on every hand irrespective of the quality of their cards.
Fixed-odds Betting: This is a type of gambling where players can wager on a match or an event where they accept the odds given by the operator at the time of placing the bet.
Live Dealer Games: This is a casino term which are hosted by human beings via a live stream and also via a live chat. Players can view the dealers and can interact with them just as they might in a professional physical venue.
Matched betting: This is a sports betting term that refers to a punter who puts money on different outcomes of an event in order to ensure some kind of win. These normally utilize free bets and bonuses from promotions.
Money line: Money line is a well-versed sports betting term that relates to a bet or wager placed on which team or player will win a match.
Natural: This is a Craps term that revolves around rolling a certain number t get another go. A 'Natural' means that the result of your roll is a 7 or an 11.
One Roll Bet; This is a term that is dedicated to the fame of craps and relates to the result of the next roll of the dice.
Parlay: Parlay is the same as an accumulator. Please see above. Accumulator and parlay are interchangeable.
Texas Hold’em: This is a variant of the traditional game of poker where the main aim is to accrue the strongest five-card hand with community cards and hole cards.
Wild Symbol: This is a slots term where a random wild symbol can complement any other symbols on the same reels and produce a winning combination. They can act as a joker by ensuring payouts when they come into view on the right line.
The language of gambling now has such an extensive vocabulary that many of its terms are making it into the dictionary, with phrases like “Beginner’s Luck” and “All bets are off” just a few examples. However, to be truly conversant with the multiple games on offer with iGaming, there are specific words that are dedicated to slot games, dealer games, and sports betting. It’s a long shopping list to scroll through.
