Ever wanted to spin the roulette wheel or take in a few hands of poker but find yourself confused by the jargon? The use of specific terms and colloquialisms can be a lot to take in but once you have a grip on their usage, you can approach the wheel or the card table with far more confidence.
In this guide, we will talk you through some popular terminology which is often used at three of our most popular live casino games - poker, baccarat and roulette.
Please refer to our live casino guides for full instructions on how to play but for now, we’ll continue to jargon bust starting with…
Roulette
In this section we will list some of the most common terms used in roulette.
American Roulette
There are three common versions of roulette - American, European and French. The American variant features a wheel with alternate red and black pockets labelled 1 to 36. In addition, there are two green pockets - one marked as zero (0) and the other marked as double zero (00).
Ball Track
Also referred to as the Backtrack, this is the area on the outside of the roulette wheel, around which the ball will travel before landing in a pocket.
Croupier
In a physical casino, a croupier is the person responsible for taking bets and spinning the roulette wheel. Original online casino roulette games carry out this process automatically and while these games still exist, Unibet now has a live casino where croupiers operate in real time.
European Roulette
At Unibet’s UK casano, this is the most common form of the game. Like the American version, European Roulette uses those alternately numbered pockets from 1 to 36 but this time, there is just the one solitary zero (0).
The double xero pocket doesn’t exist in this game and this has the effect of reducing the house edge to an extent.
French Roulette
The French Roulette wheel layout is identical to its European counterpart. Once again, we have the numbered pockets from 1 to 36 and that single green zero. The same bets can be taken but the French variant of the game carries some unusual changes to the rules.
Read our casino guides for a full rundown but one of the quirks of this game is a feature known as En Prison. This happens when the spin returns a zero and results in a losing bet. The player then has the option of letting the bet ride for the next spin. The croupier will mark it as En Prison and if it wins, the stake is returned but if not, it will be forfeited.
Inside Bet
On the betting surface, individual numbers are listed towards the centre so, if you place any stakes there, these are referred to as Inside Bets.
Outside Bet
Yes, you’ve guessed it: The betting options on the edges of the surface are known as Outside Bets. These will include Odd or Even and Red or Black.
Straight Bet
In any version of roulette, a straight bet involves staking on a specific number to come in. Also known as a single bet, the odds are 37/1 with a payout of 35 to 1 if the bet is successful.
Baccarat
How much do you know about Baccarat? This is a classic card game and it’s proving to be a big hit at our live casino so let’s assess some of the most common terms starting with…
Baccarat
Not only is this the name of the game, the term Baccarat is also used to describe a specific hand. Unfortunately, it’s not good news when you land it as that hand equates to zero and has no value. A combination of tens and / or picture cards will combine to make up this worthless baccarat hand.
Banco
A mix of languages combine to provide us with Baccarat terms and here, we’re using the Spanish word Banco which simply means banker. In this game, the banker (Banco), holds the shoe and deals the cards.
Burning
At the start of each game, the pack of cards is shuffled and the top three to six are discarded. This practise is known as ‘burning’.
Chemin De Fer
The classic version of Baccarat is the one that you are most likely to play online but, out in the physical world, you may come across a variant called Chemin De Fer.
Coined from the French words meaning ‘railway’ the players act as the banker so the shoe will move across the table during this Chemin De Fer version.
Croupier
We’ve already seen this term used in roulette and, occasionally, you will see it in Baccarat too. As you will have guessed, this is simply another word used to describe the Banco or dealer.
Dragon Bonus
This is a side bet that applies to Baccarat and it involves staking on the margin by which the higher hand wins the round.
La Grande
We’re back to France once again with this Baccarat term. In the game, La Grande refers to a hand which delivers a natural score of nine and this is the best possible hand that a player can achieve.
La Petite
We’ve covered the ‘big one’ and now it’s the turn of its tiny counterpart. La Petite refers to a perfect eight and this is the second best hand in Baccarat.
Natural
We’ve mentioned the word ‘natural’ at times but what do we mean? This occurs when the two initial hands make up the number in question. For example, a six and a three would lead to a ‘natural’ nine.
Palette
A palette is simply the long wooden tool used by the Banco to move cards around the table during a game.
Shoe
The shoe is the machine in Baccarat games which will deal cards automatically.
Poker
Poker, in all its forms, is one of the most popular casino games around the world. It carries a rich history and traditions that have been taken into the digital age. Those traditions include the many terms and phrases that are unique to the game so, if you can’t tell your flops from your rivers, please read on.
All-In
This term refers to a bet poker players make where they stake all of their remaining chips. At this stage of the game, they are literally going ‘all in’.
Bluff
If a player is dealt a poor hand, they have the option of folding or, they can continue and attempt to fool their competitors into thinking that they have something much stronger. This practise is known as ‘bluffing’.
Call
At the end stages of a poker game, a player may call. This act will then match the highest bet which has been made at that point.
Community Cards
The Community Cards are the three cards that are dealt face up in the middle of the table during each hand of poker.
Flop
The flop is the first of those three community cards. Following the allocation of the hole cards, the flop is dealt face up in the middle of the table and a round of betting begins.
Flush
A flush is a valuable hand in poker and it refers to five cards of the same suit.
Fold
Players fold when they have a bad hand and feel they are not in a position to win. As we’ve seen, there is the option to bluff but if the player doesn’t want to proceed to the end, they throw away their cards and ‘fold’. Occasionally, this practise is also referred to as ‘Lay Down’.
Hole Cards
In each hand of poker, the hole cards are the two cards dealt face down to every player. Only the individual player can see these until the hand is ultimately declared.
Pot
The pot is the collection of chips awarded to the winning player at the end of each hand.
Raise
Players will ‘raise’ during a game of poker when they want to increase the size of the biggest bet currently at the table.
River
The river is the fifth and final community card and it is dealt face up in the middle of the table. On occasions, this is also known as ‘fifth street’.
Straight
Another valuable hand, a Straight is a run of five cards - e.g. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Tilt
If a player is on a bad run and appears to be making a series of poor decisions, it’s often said that they are on ‘Tilt’.
Turn
Also known as ‘Fourth Street’ at times, the Turn is the second community card.
Don’t forget to read our casino guides and to understand the rules of each of these games before you take them on. You can also play demo options where no financial stakes are involved and this will help you get used to and become confident with the gameplay.
By taking these twin approaches, specific terms will become part of your own lexicon and you will be more confident as you head to our live casino and take a turn at the tables.