Gambling Glossary S-W

Seven out: This is a term in craps referring to the shooter rolling a seven before rolling their repeat point number.

Shaker: This is the dice container in a game of Sic Bo.

Shill: A gambling term referring to an employee of a casino that plays undercover in order to attract other players to the particular game they are playing.  

Shoe: This term refers to both blackjack and baccarat and is the area of the table which holds the dealing cards. 

Shoot: This is the entirety of a craps shooters current series of rolls, up until the point that a seven is rolled and they are out, this is also referred to as the shooter’s hand. 

Shooter: The common term given to the person who rolls the dice in craps.

Short End: This is a bet that collects more proportionally than it cost to place.   

Short Odds: A bet that has poor payout odds in relation to the value of the true odds.  

Shuffle Up: This is when the dealer in blackjack shuffles each hand in order to prevent people from card counting accurately.  

Sic Bo: This is a dice game originating from the Orient, where wagers are placed on the predicted combination of three dice.

Sick Gambler:  A person who gambles compulsively.  

Single Odds: This is when a player of craps makes a free-odds bet that is equal to the amount of their line bet.

Slot Arcade: A casino catering in slot machines only. 

Slot Floor: The area of a casino where the slot machines are located.  

Slot Mix: This is an where a collection of slot machines consist of both loose and tight machines, meaning ones that are rigged to pay-out often, and those that are rigged to pay-out rarely. This allows the casino to maximise their profit by attracting players to the area where the money is coming in, yet having sting machines that take out money at high rates.

Snake Eyes: This is when the shooter rolls a one on each dice, in craps.

Soft Hand: A blackjack term referring to a hand that makes up 21 by counting an Ace as 11, as opposed to a hard hand- see entry in previous glossary article (link below).

Split: This is when a hand is divided in two in a game of blackjack so that the player can use one card in the current round and one in the next. This can only occur when two identical value cards are dealt in the first deal.

Split Bet: A bet that can be placed in roulette predicting that one of two numbers will win the round.

Spot: A keno term referring to an ‘X’ marked number which is used to indicate the bets being played on the ticket.  

Square Bet: A bet that can be placed in roulette that predicts that one of four numbers will win, it is also known as a ‘Corner’ or ‘Quarter’ bet (the four numbers are pre-determined and are located on the roulette layout on the roulette table). 

Stack: This is the casino term for a stack of twenty roulette chips.

Stand: This refers to a blackjack player opting not to have any more cards dealt to them. Also known as a ‘stick’.

Steaming: This is the term given to a gambler who is desperately chasing their losses.

Stickman: This refers to the casino employee who is responsible for pulling the dice back in after a roll in craps.

Stiff:  A term used in blackjack to refer to a hand that is extremely close to going bust if another card is dealt to the player/dealer, but that is not good enough to qualify as a pat hand; i.e. A hard 12 up to 16.

Stops: The different places that a slot machine reel can land on.  

Straight Slots: This refers to slot machines that have a set amount jackpot and payout levels, as opposed to a progressive slot machine.

Straight Ticket: This is a ticket in keno that only has a single bet on it, it is also known as a basic ticket. 

Straight-up Bet: A wager in roulette that predicts a one of any of the numbers on the wheel will win, except for zeroes.

Street Bet: A bet placed in roulette that predicts one of three numbers will win.

Surrender: This is when a player wins back half his bet after giving up his hand before drawing any other cards. This is only allowed in certain casinos and is not universal to the gambling world.

Sweat: The act of watching a gambling game.

Swing Shift: This is the time of day in a casino between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.- when the action  happens, i.e. it’s swinging.  

Table Games: One of the various games in a casino that use a table with a layout indicating all possible bets; Blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat, as opposed to slot machines and keno. 

 

Take Down: A bet that is retracted in a game of craps.

 

Take the Odds: This is a free-odds bet for a right bettor.

 

Tap Out: This is when a gambler loses all their money, at which point they become a ‘steamer’.

 

Third Base: The seat located to the right hand side of the dealer.

 

Thirty-two Across: This refers to a collection of bets that cover the box numbers in craps in the following manner; five chips on 4, 5, 9 and 10, and six chips on 6 and 8.

 

Three-way Craps: A craps bet that has multiple wagers on the totals 2, 3 and 12 in a single roll. 

 

Ticket: This is the area where a keno player records his wagers.

 

Tight Machine: This refers to a slot machine that has been rigged in order to ensure that it does not pay-out as often as the true odds would dictate. They have a low pay-in to pay-out ratio.

 

Toke: Something given gratuitously.

 

Toke Hustling: This is when a dealer behaves in a gratuitous manner in order to get as many tokes as he can.

 

Tough Player:  A player who is skilled at gambling.

 

Trente et Quarante:  A card-game of French origin.

 

Triple Odds: This occurs when a player in craps makes a free-odds bet that is three times the size of his wager.

 

True Count: This is the amount of the volume of cards still left in a deck in blackjack, it is a term used by car counters.  

 

True Odds: The statistical probability of an event happening.

 

Twenty-six/Twenty-seven Across: This is a collection of bets placed in craps that covers the numbers 4, 5, 9 and 10 with five chips, 6 and 8 with six chips.

 

Underground Joint: A casino straight out of ‘The Godfather’ that operates in secret and is illegal.

 

Up and Back: This refers to a gambling session that lasts between 8 and 12 hours and is arranged by the casino with specific discounts for participants.

 

Up-Card: The dealers card in blackjack that is face up on the table.

 

Video Keno:  A game of keno that is played on a video machine where results are generated by internal software pertaining to the said machine.

 

Video Poker:  A machine that players can use to play a computerised version of poker in a casino, but also online.

 

Video Slot: A machine that players can use to play a computerised version of a slot machine, a screen shows the computerised reels spinning and digitally generates the win lines.

 

Vig/Vigorish: This is the 5% commission that is taken by the casino when playing certain craps bets. 

 

Wash: This refers to a player having to concurrent bets in play, where one bet winning would cancel the loss exactly if the other bet loses.

 

Way Ticket: A ticket in keno that has several identical-type bets.

 

Wheel: A term used by casinos to refer to the game of roulette.

 

Wheel Chips: Chips that are only used to gamble on Roulette.

 

Wheel Head: This is the centre of the roulette wheel which revolves the numbers and slots.

 

Wheel of Fortune:  A casino game that resembles the infamous carnival game with segments of a giant wheel containing certain pay-out values that is spun and stops from the friction of an indicator.  

 

Wheel Roller: This is the name given to the roulette dealer in a casino.

 

Working: This is a name given to a bet that depends on the next roll of a dice to win.

 

Wrong Bet: Any bet that can be placed in craps that favours the dealer over the player, as opposed to the ‘Right bet’- see previous article for details.

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