Conquer Casino Confusion: All Casino Terms Explained
Welcome to our ultimate casino glossary! Whether you're just starting your online gaming journey or you're a seasoned player, understanding the lingo is key to a better gaming experience. In this guide, we'll demystify the most common terms so you can navigate the world of online casinos with little effort.
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✖Table of Contents
Online Casino Bonuses
- No Deposit Bonus
This is a bonus that you receive without having to make a deposit. It's a free gift from the casino, allowing you to play certain games without using your own money. Check out our no deposit bonuses page for more information! - Deposit Bonus
This is a bonus that a casino gives you when you make a deposit. It's usually a percentage of the deposit amount and can come with or without free spins. - Welcome Bonus
This is a special bonus offered to new players at a casino. It often includes a deposit bonus and free spins. - Sign Up Bonus
This is a bonus that you receive just for signing up at a casino, even before you make your first deposit. - Reload Bonus
This is a bonus given to players when they reload, or add more money to their account. It's usually a percentage of the deposit amount. - Cashback Bonus
A cashback bonus is a refund in bonus money or real cash that the casino gives back to its players after they lose a game. It's a percentage of the player's losses over a certain period. - Match Bonus
This is a bonus where the casino matches your deposit by a certain percentage. If the match bonus is 100%, you get double the money you deposit. Check out our match bonuses page for more information! - High Roller Bonus
This is a special bonus designed for players who deposit and wager large amounts of money. They're often part of a casino's VIP program. - Loyalty Bonus
This is a bonus given to players who have been with the casino for a long period and have reached certain levels in the casino's loyalty program. - VIP Bonus
This is a special bonus given to VIP players. It's usually more generous than other bonuses and comes with more favorable terms and conditions.
Bonus Terms and Conditions
- Wagering Requirements
This is the number of times a player must play through a bonus amount before they can withdraw any winnings. For example, a $10 bonus with a 10x wagering requirement means you must bet $100 before cashing out. Learn more about wagering requirements in our guide article! - Playthrough Requirement
This is another term for wagering requirements. It refers to the number of times you must play through the bonus amount before you can withdraw any winnings. - Turnover Requirement
Another term for wagering requirements, it refers to the amount of money that must be bet before a bonus can be withdrawn. - Bet Limit
This is the maximum amount a player can bet using their bonus money. Casinos set bet limits to prevent players from meeting wagering requirements too quickly. - Win Limit
Similar to win caps, this is the maximum amount a player can win from a bonus. It's often applied to free spins and no deposit bonuses. - Cashout Limit
This is the maximum amount a player can withdraw from their winnings from a bonus. It's often applied to no deposit bonuses and free spins. - Bonus Abuse
This refers to the practice of exploiting a casino's bonus policies in ways not intended by the casino, such as opening multiple accounts to claim multiple welcome bonuses. - Game Weighting
This refers to the fact that not all games contribute equally towards meeting wagering requirements. For example, slots might contribute 100%, while table games only 10%. Learn more about game weighting in our detailed guide!
Banking
- Minimum Deposit
This is the smallest amount of money that a player can deposit into their casino account in a single transaction. It often determines eligibility for deposit bonuses. - Maximum Deposit
This is the largest amount of money a player can deposit into their casino account in a single transaction. It's often set by the casino or the payment method. - Withdrawal Limit
This is the maximum amount of money a player can withdraw from their casino account within a certain period (daily, weekly, or monthly). - Payment Methods
These are the different ways that players can deposit and withdraw money in an online casino. Common methods include credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies. - Transaction Fees
These are fees that may be charged for making deposits or withdrawals at an online casino. Not all casinos charge these fees, and they can vary depending on the payment method used. - Processing Time
This is the time it takes for the casino to process a deposit or withdrawal request. It can vary depending on the payment method and the casino's own processing times.
Types of Online Casino Games
- Slots
These are casino games with spinning reels. Players win by lining up matching symbols on paylines. - Video Poker
This is a casino game based on five-card draw poker. It's played on a computerized console similar in size to a slot machine. - Live Dealer Games
These are casino games run by a real-life dealer. The game is streamed live to players' devices, and they make decisions in real time. - Blackjack
This is a card game where the aim is to get a hand total as close to 21 as possible without going over, and still having a higher total than the dealer. - Roulette
This is a casino game where a ball is dropped onto a spinning wheel with numbered compartments. Players bet on where the ball will land. - Baccarat
This is a card game where the aim is to get a hand total as close to 9 as possible. Players can bet on their own hand, the dealer's hand, or a tie.
Types of Online Slots
- Slot Machine
This is a casino game with spinning reels. Players win by lining up matching symbols on paylines. - Video Slot
This is a type of slot machine game that features graphics and animations, often based on popular movies, TV shows, or other themes. - Progressive Slot
This is a type of slot game where the jackpot increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is not won. - Multi-line Slot
This is a slot game that offers multiple paylines. The more paylines there are, the more chances there are to win. - Reel Slot
This is a traditional type of slot game that has a set number of reels and paylines. The most common types are three-reel and five-reel slots. - Megaways Slots
These are slot games that use a random reel modifier to change the number of symbols that appear on each reel during every spin. This creates hundreds of thousands of potential ways to win. - Win Both Ways Slots
These are slot games where paylines can be formed from both left to right and right to left. - 243 Ways Slots
These are slot games that offer 243 possible paylines. - 1024 Ways Slots
These are slot games that offer 1024 possible paylines. - 720 Ways Slots
These are slot games that offer 720 possible paylines. - Three-Reeler
This is a slot game with three reels. These are often designed to look like traditional mechanical slot machines.
Online Slot Game Features
- Payline
This is the line on which a payout will be awarded based on winning combinations. It can be straight, diagonal or zigzagged. - Scatter Symbol
This is a special symbol that can trigger bonuses, such as free spins or bonus games, regardless of paylines. - Wild Symbol
This is a symbol that can substitute for any other symbol (except for scatters and other special symbols) to help create winning combinations. - Free Spins
These are spins that you do not have to pay for. They are often triggered by landing a certain number of scatter symbols. - Bonus Round
This is a special round within a slot game that offers the chance to win extra prizes. It's usually triggered by landing a certain combination of symbols. - Return to Player (RTP)
This is the percentage of all the wagered money a slot machine will pay back to players over time. The higher the RTP, the better it is for the player. - Hit Rate
This is how often a slot machine pays out. A game with a high hit rate pays out frequently, but the wins are usually smaller. - Volatility
This refers to the risk level of a slot game. High volatility slots pay out less often but offer bigger prizes, while low volatility slots pay out smaller prizes more frequently. - Coin Value
This is the value of each coin you bet on a slot machine. You can adjust the coin value to suit your budget. - Bonus Game
This is a game within the game that gives you an opportunity to win extra prizes. It's usually activated by a specific combination of symbols. - Pick and Click
This is a type of bonus game where you pick from a selection of items to reveal a prize. - Cascading Reels
This is a feature in some slot games where winning symbols disappear and new symbols fall down to replace them, potentially creating more wins. - Avalanche Feature
This is another name for cascading reels. It's a feature where symbols in winning combinations explode and disappear, allowing new symbols to drop down and replace them.
Table Games
Blackjack
- Hit
This is when you ask for another card to get closer to 21 without going over. - Stand
This is when you're satisfied with your hand and don't want any more cards. - Split
If you have two cards of the same value, you can split them into two separate hands, each with its own bet. - Double Down
This is when you double your initial bet in exchange for one more card, after which you must stand. - Insurance
This is a side bet you can make when the dealer's upcard is an Ace. If the dealer has blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2:1. - Surrender
This is when you give up your hand and lose half your bet. Not all blackjack games offer this option. - Blackjack
This is the best hand in the game. It consists of an Ace and a 10-point card, totaling 21.
Roulette
- Straight
This is a bet on a single number. It pays 35:1. - Split
This is a bet on two adjacent numbers on the roulette table. - Street
This is a bet on three consecutive numbers in a horizontal line. - Corner
This is a bet on four numbers that meet at one corner. - Line
This is a bet on six numbers in two adjacent rows. - Column
This is a bet on all 12 numbers in any of the three vertical lines (such as 1-4-7-10 on down to 34). - Dozen
This is a bet on the first, second, or third group of 12 numbers. - Red/Black
This is a bet on either all the red numbers or all the black numbers. - Even/Odd
This is a bet on all even numbers or all odd numbers. - High/Low
This is a bet on whether the ball will land on a number from 1-18 (low) or 19-36 (high).
Baccarat
- Banker
This is a bet on the banker's hand. - Player
This is a bet on the player's hand. - Tie
This is a bet that the player and banker will tie. - Natural
This is a two-card hand totaling 8 or 9, which automatically wins unless the other hand has the same value. - Le Grande
This is the best hand in baccarat, a natural totaling 9. - Le Petite
This is the second best hand in baccarat, a natural totaling 8.
Online Gambling Strategies
- Martingale System
This is a betting strategy where you double your bet after every loss, so that the first win would recover all previous losses plus win a profit equal to the original stake. - D’Alembert System
This is a betting strategy where you increase your bet by one unit after a loss, and decrease it by one unit after a win. - Paroli System
This is a betting strategy where you double your bet after every win, and stop increasing after three wins. - Fibonacci System
This is a betting strategy where you follow the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, etc.), increasing your bet after a loss and moving back two steps after a win. - Card Counting
This is a strategy used in blackjack where you track the ratio of high to low cards left in the deck to improve your odds.
General Casino Terms
- House Edge
This is the mathematical advantage that the casino has over the players. It's usually expressed as a percentage. - Random Number Generator (RNG)
This is a computer program used by online casinos to ensure that all outcomes are random. - Live Dealer
This is a real person who runs a casino game in real time from a casino gaming table, which can be seen via a live streaming video link. - Pay Table
This is a chart that shows the payouts for each winning combination in a casino game. - High Roller
This is a player who bets large amounts of money. - Low Roller
This is a player who bets small amounts of money.
Online Casino Software Providers
- Microgaming
This is one of the oldest and most respected online casino software providers. They're known for their large selection of games, including the popular Mega Moolah progressive slot. - NetEnt
This is a leading provider of premium gaming solutions to online casino operators. They're known for their innovative and high-quality games, including Starburst and Gonzo's Quest. - Playtech
This is a market leader in the gambling and financial trading industries. They're known for their branded games, including the Age of the Gods and DC Super Heroes series. - Evolution Gaming
This is a leading provider of Live Casino systems. They offer live dealer versions of several popular casino games, including blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. - IGT
This is a global leader in gaming. They provide a wide range of slots, table games, and video poker games.
Responsible Gambling
- Self-Exclusion
This is a program that allows a person to request to be banned from all regulated gaming activities in a jurisdiction, usually for a specific period. - Deposit Limit
This is a limit that players can set on how much they can deposit into their casino account over a certain period. - Loss Limit
This is a limit that players can set on how much they can lose over a certain period. - Time Limit
This is a limit that players can set on how long they can play at the casino over a certain period. - Reality Check
This is a feature that online casinos offer to help players manage their time. It's a reminder that pops up at regular intervals to let players know how long they've been playing.