updated regularly – latest review: April 2026
A
Accumulator / ACCA — A multi-selection bet combining three or more results into one ticket. All selections must win for the bet to pay out, but the combined odds are significantly higher than backing each outcome individually.
Aces — A tennis betting market based on which player serves the most aces in a match.
Across the Board — A horse racing bet that backs a horse to win, place, and show simultaneously. The odds are shortened to reflect the multiple ways the bet can pay out.
Action — The total value of bets in a game, or the size of a single staked amount.
Advantage Player — A player with an edge over the house. Most commonly refers to a blackjack player who counts cards effectively.
Also-Ran — Any selection that fails to win, place, or show in a race. For example, a fifth-place finisher in a horse race.
Ante — The minimum stake required to enter a hand. In poker, the ante forms the basis of the pot before any cards are dealt.
Any To Come (ATC) — An instruction to reinvest winnings from one bet automatically into another.
Arbitrage — A discrepancy between odds at different bookmakers that allows a guaranteed profit by backing all outcomes simultaneously. Also known as arbing.
Autoplay — A slots feature that spins automatically for a set number of rounds or until a set bankroll limit is reached. Useful for increasing play speed without manually initiating each spin.
B
Baccarat — A popular casino card game where players aim for a hand worth as close to 9 as possible. The worst hand in the game scores zero — also called ‘baccarat’.
Bank — Refers to the dealer, the chips in the dealer’s stack, or the final player to act in a pass round.
Banker — A selection the bettor considers near-certain to win. Often used as the foundation of an accumulator.
Bankroll — The total funds in your betting account or available at the table. Essentially your gambling budget.
Betting Exchange — A platform where players bet directly against each other rather than against a bookmaker. Bettors can back outcomes to happen or lay them to fail, with the exchange taking a commission.
Bet Spread — The gap between the minimum and maximum bet on a given game or market.
Blackjack — A card game where each player competes against the dealer to build a hand as close to 21 as possible without going over.
Bonus — An incentive offered by casinos or bookmakers, typically free credit, free spins, or a deposit match, either for signing up or as a loyalty reward.
Bonus Round — An additional feature in online slots, usually triggered by scatter symbols. It commonly awards free spins, multipliers, or jackpot access.
Book — The full set of a bookmaker’s bets on a sporting event, including odds and profit calculations for each outcome.
Bookmaker (Bookie) — The person or company accepting bets on sporting events. Also known as a turf accountant or sportsbook.
Burn Card — A card discarded before dealing begins. Used in some casino games to make card counting harder.
Buy In — The minimum chip amount needed to take a seat at a particular game.
Buy Price — The odds at which a player backs a selection on a betting exchange. The opposite of the sell price. The gap between the two is called the spread.
C
Cash Out — A feature offered by some bookmakers that allows early settlement of a bet at a live price. You can choose to take a guaranteed amount before the event concludes.
Chalk — Mainly a US term for the outright favourite in a market.
Correct Score — A bet predicting the exact final score of an event, such as a football match.
Craps — A dice-based casino game where players bet on the numbers shown after two dice are rolled. Payouts vary depending on the bet type.
Croupier — The casino staff member responsible for running a table game. Most commonly encountered in live dealer games online.
D
Dealer — The person dealing cards or running the game. In online blackjack, the term also refers to the house’s hand when no physical dealer is present.
Deposit — Money added to an online betting account to fund your bankroll.
Double — A joint bet on two separate outcomes. Both must win for the bet to pay out, but the combined odds are higher than two singles.
Double Up — Increasing your bet size after a loss to recover previous losses. This forms the basis of the Martingale strategy.
Down Card — A card dealt face down, typically to the dealer. Contrasts with the up card, which is visible to all players.
Drop — Losses on a given bet, or the equivalent winnings for the casino.
Drift — When odds on an outcome lengthen over time, they are said to be drifting. This usually reflects reduced market confidence in that selection.
E
Each Way — A bet consisting of two parts: one on the selection to win, and one on it to place. Common in horse racing.
Edge — The house’s built-in percentage advantage on any given game. A lower house edge means better long-term odds for the player.
Even Money — A bet paying at 1:1. Stake £10 and win £10 profit in return.
Expectation — A player’s projected win rate over the long run, based on probability and house edge.
F
Face Cards — The Jack, Queen, and King in any deck. Named for the face depicted on each card, they are typically the highest-value cards after the Ace.
Favourite — The selection with the shortest odds in any market, considered most likely to win.
Fold (sports) — The number of selections in an accumulator. A four-fold accumulator, for example, covers four selections.
Fold (casino) — To quit a hand in poker, cutting further losses.
Form — A competitor’s recent performance record, used as a guide for predicting future outcomes.
Free Bet — A promotional bet offered by a bookmaker, either as a welcome incentive or an ongoing promotion. You keep the winnings but not the stake.
French Odds — An older method of quoting odds in units of 100, such as 100 to 30. Rarely used today.
G
Goliath — A large multi-line bet covering 247 individual bets across eight selections, typically spanning several sporting events.
Grand — Slang for £1,000.
H
Half-Time Bet — A bet predicting the score or outcome at half-time in a football match, or alternatively the second-half result alone.
Hand — The cards you hold at any point in a card game.
Heads Up — A one-on-one match between two players. Most commonly referenced in poker ahead of the final showdown.
Hedge — A secondary bet placed to offset losses if your primary bet fails. Bookmakers also hedge their own liabilities by backing favourites elsewhere.
High Roller — A player who regularly bets large amounts, often a professional gambler or wealthy individual.
House — The casino.
House Edge — The casino’s built-in margin of advantage. See also: Edge.
House Rules — Casino-specific rules that deviate from standard game rules. These vary between operators.
I
In the Money — A selection finishing in a paying position. In racing, this typically means the top four. More broadly, any bet currently in a winning position.
Insurance — A blackjack side bet available when the dealer’s up card is an Ace. It pays out if the dealer holds blackjack, offsetting the loss on the main hand.
Insurance Bet — Any secondary bet designed to cover losses from a primary wager.
J
Jackpot — The top prize available in a game, most commonly in slots and other chance-based games.
Joint Favourite — When two competitors share the shortest odds in a market, with no clear favourite between them.
K
L
Lay — Betting on an outcome to fail rather than succeed. This option is available on betting exchanges, where you effectively take the role of the bookmaker.
Layout — The marked table cloth in a casino game, showing all available bets and their payouts.
Limit — The maximum amount that can be wagered on a given bet or at a given table.
Live Bet — An in-play bet placed during a live sporting event, with odds updating in real time.
Live Dealer — An online casino format where a real dealer conducts the game via live video stream, replicating the experience of a physical casino.
Long Odds — Odds reflecting an unlikely outcome. They offer the highest potential payout for a successful bet.
Long Shot — An unlikely selection, ideally offered at long odds that reflect its chances fairly.
Loose — A slot machine paying out more frequently than average. The opposite of tight.
M
Martingale — A betting strategy based on doubling your stake after each loss, aiming to recover losses with a single win. High-risk over extended use.
Maximum Bet — The largest single bet available on a given hand or spin. In slots, the Max Bet button automatically sets the highest available stake.
Money Management — The practice of controlling your bankroll to extend play and protect profits. Skilled players use it to determine their optimum stake per bet.
Monkey — Slang for £500.
N
O
Odds — The price quoted by a bookmaker to reflect the likelihood of any outcome and the rate of return on a winning bet. Usually expressed as a fraction or decimal.
Odds (casino) — The probability or payout ratio on a wagered outcome. Also called true odds.
Odds-On — Any odds shorter than even money, such as 4/5 or 1/10. You stake more than you stand to win.
Overlay — A selection whose actual chances are better than the odds suggest. For example, a strong horse offered at unexpectedly long odds.
P
Patent — A multiple bet covering three outcomes with a treble, three doubles, and three singles — seven bets in total.
Payline — A winning line in a slot game where matching symbols pay out according to the paytable.
Payout — The amount returned to a player for a winning bet.
Payout Percentage — The proportion of total stakes a game returns to players over the long run. Also called RTP. Most games pay back less than 100%, reflecting the house edge.
Picks — The selections favoured by industry pundits and tipsters.
Pit — The table area in a casino where the croupier runs the game and accepts bets.
Place — Finishing within a designated threshold short of winning — typically second or third in horse racing. Each way bets pay out at a fraction of the win odds for a placed finish.
Poker — A family of card games played in casinos and online. Texas Hold’em is the most widely played variation.
Pot — The total amount available to win in a hand, most commonly used in poker.
Progressive — A jackpot that grows over time by pooling a small portion of each stake across linked games. Progressive jackpots in online slots can reach millions.
Punter — Informal term for a gambler or anyone placing a bet.
Push — A draw outcome where no one wins or loses. All bets are returned to players.
Q
R
Rake — A percentage commission taken by the house, most prominent in poker.
Roulette — A hugely popular casino game where players bet on where a ball will land on a spinning wheel. A single number pays 35:1, with a wide range of other bets available.
Round — One complete pass of a game. In poker, a round ends when every player has acted and play returns to the dealer.
Roundabout — A combination bet across three selections, covering multiple bet types for enhanced odds.
RTP (Return to Player) — The percentage of total stakes a game returns to players over time, usually calculated across at least one million plays. A standard benchmark for comparing game value.
S
Scared Money — A bet a player cannot afford to lose. Common in poker when a player is running low on chips.
Scatter — A slot symbol that triggers bonus games. Most games require three or more scatters on a single spin to activate the feature.
Shoe — A container holding multiple card decks, used by the dealer in multi-deck games such as blackjack.
Shooter — The player rolling the dice in a round of Craps.
Short Odds — Odds reflecting a likely outcome, offering a small return relative to the stake. Odds shorten as a market considers a result more probable.
Shortening — When odds move closer to evens or below, reflecting increased confidence in that outcome.
Shuffle — Reordering a deck of cards at random. Many games include shuffles in their rules, though blackjack typically does not shuffle after every hand.
Sic Bo — A dice-based casino game using three dice. Players bet on the total value rolled, with various bet types available.
Single — A standalone bet on one outcome.
Slots — Informal term for slot machines, including online versions.
Smart Money — Bets placed by those with perceived insider knowledge or superior analysis. Analysts often track smart money movements.
Spread — The gap between the buy and sell price on a betting exchange.
Spread Betting — A form of sports betting where winnings and losses are multiplied by the number of points above or below the market price. Results are proportional, not fixed.
Stake — The amount of money placed on a single bet, subject to the table or game’s minimum and maximum limits.
Stand — Keeping your current hand in blackjack and taking no further cards. The opposite of hit.
Streak — A run of consecutive wins or losses. A player on a winning run is said to be on a streak.
Suit — One of four card families in a standard deck: Clubs, Spades, Diamonds, and Hearts.
Sure Thing — A selection considered almost certain to win. In practice, no bet is truly certain.
T
Table Game — Any casino game played at a table, such as roulette, blackjack, or poker. Contrasts with slots.
Table Limits — The minimum and maximum bets permitted at a specific table.
Tie — A draw outcome, the same as a push. All bets are returned unless house rules state otherwise.
Tight — A slot paying out below average frequency. The opposite of loose.
Tilt — Erratic decision-making caused by a run of losses or wins. A player on tilt makes irrational bets and is said to be tilting.
Tip — A selection recommended by a pundit or tipster as likely to win.
Treble — A three-part accumulator. All three selections must win for the bet to pay out.
Trixie — A bet covering three selections with three doubles and one treble — four bets in total. At least two selections must win for any return.
True Odds — The actual mathematical probability of an outcome, before the house applies its edge. In European roulette, for example, the true odds of hitting a single number are 1 in 37, even though the casino pays at 35:1.
U
Underdog — A selection considered unlikely to win, or a team given a points handicap in a spread betting market.
Unit — A standard bet increment, often equal to the table minimum. Poker players frequently discuss bet sizing in units.
Up Card — A card dealt face up, visible to all players. In blackjack, this refers to the dealer’s one visible card at the start of the hand.
V
Value — The best available odds for a position you believe has a better chance of winning than the market suggests.
Video Poker — A fixed-odds game based on five-card draw poker. Players aim to build ranked hands as shown on the game’s paytable.
VIP — Very Important Player. A designation for loyal, high-value customers, often with access to exclusive rewards and a dedicated account manager.
W
Wager — The money placed on a bet, or the act of placing it.
Wild Card — A symbol or card that substitutes for any other to complete a winning combination. Common in slots and video poker.
Win Rate — The percentage or number of wins expected over a given period, used to compare players or game performance.
X
Y
Yankee — An 11-bet combination covering four selections: six doubles, four trebles, and one four-fold accumulator. At least two selections must win for any return.