Live Casino Guide: Tips, Tutorials, Strategies & FAQ

Action

The total amount you wager at a live table is sometimes referred to as Action.

Advantage Player

A player purposefully trying to gain the upper hand over the casino by exploiting rules and other circumstances. Most players do so, but this term is usually reserved for those who skirt the rules and their spirit. Card counting is the most typical example, though abusing live casino bonuses is also considered such.

All or Nothing

Usually heard in Keno. This expression signifies a player who gets the win if either all or none of their numbers are picked. Can also signify an All In stake.

Ante

An initial bet that you need to pay to ‘buy-in’ to the game. Ante bets are made completely ‘blind’, meaning you don’t know any of the cards.

Automatic Card Shuffler

A machine used to shuffle cards, commonly found next to live casino dealers.

Baccarat

A very popular casino game originating in France. Baccarat is simple and straightforward, with only three available main wagers. The player’s goal is to guess which of two card piles will have a value closer to 9.

Banker

A dealer in card games. Specifically, some card games work with one player acting as a dealer, which is more often called a Banker.

Banker Bet

One of the two main kinds of bet in baccarat. Banker bets are more likely to win than Player bets, but Banker wagers usually come with a 5% commission on all winnings.

Bankroll

A common term used for the funds you’re willing and able to use for gambling.

Bets Closed (No More Bets)

Almost all live casino games have a dedicated time window in which you can place bets. Once this is over, the hand/round plays out and you will have to wait for the next one to place wagers. When this happens, the dealer will say ‘bets closed.’

Betting Limits

Some wagers have a minimum and maximum amount you’re allowed to put up as a stake.

Blackjack

The American variant of the hame of Twenty-One. However, Blackjack is so widely used that it’s often used for any form of 21 played at a casino. A popular casino classic in which the goal is to draw cards until you come as close to 21 in value as possible. The term itself is also used when you get 21 in value with just the two initial cards – it’s called getting a Blackjack.

Bonus

Freebies and extra funds given to customers, usually for the sake of promotion. Bonuses allow you to wager more money than you’ve deposited but usually come with stringent terms and conditions.

Burn Card

A card that is taken from the top of the deck and discarded after the deck has been shuffled or the first round dealt. An age-old anti-cheating measure, though mostly done for the sake of tradition these days.

Buy-In

A minimum amount required to take your place at a casino table. Not common in live casino tables which generally just have bet limits. However, may be present for things such as high-roller tables.

Bust

Going over 21 means you lose the hand in Blackjack, and it’s called a ‘bust.’ The dealer can also bust, in which case you’ll win if you don’t bust as well.

Call

To call a bet in poker means to match a previously raised stake. Sometimes used in other games with similar scenarios, but is largely a poker term.

Card Counting

A type of strategy in blackjack where the player keeps track of which cards remain in the deck. This can be useful in predicting the likelihood of certain types of cards being drawn, which gains the player an advantage. In blackjack at live online casinos, card counting is perfectly legal – they can’t stop players counting even if they wanted to. However, most brick-and-mortar casinos frown on the practice.

Card Washing

One of several common techniques for shuffling cards. The dealer spreads the cards on the table and moves them around to mix them at random.

Cashout (Cash Out, cash-out)

When you collect your winnings and leave the table, you're cashing out.

Cashier

In the context of live online casinos, this is the section of the site dedicated to deposits and withdrawals.

Casino Advantage

A statistical advantage the casino has over players. See House Edge for more info.

Casino Hold'em

A form of Texas Hold’em adapted to be played against the house in casinos.

Check

A poker term for when the player does not raise or fold, but simply passes the turn.

Chips

Small round tokens used to represent money in casinos. Rarely seen when playing online.

Common Draw Blackjack

A variant of live online blackjack in which all players share a single and. Each player can still make decisions independently, however. Designed to solve the problem of limited table seats.

Community Cards

The three cards placed on the middle of the table in Texas Hold’em and similar poker rulesets. Can be used to make poker hands by all players at the table.

Comp Points

A system of points awarded to players for wagering money. In online casinos, generally used to get promotional rewards such as free bets or cash.

Croupier

The French word for a professionally trained casino dealer.

Deal

To distribute cards to players according to the rules of the game. These days, it can be used to denote operating a casino table in general.

Dealer

The person tasked with running a casino game. Includes dealing cards or operating casino machines such as roulette wheels and handling stakes and payouts.

Deck Penetration

How many cards the dealer will draw before shuffling.

Deposit

Making a deposit simply means paying money to the casino so that you can use it for betting. Payments are made using methods such as bank cards and e-wallets. Used as a noun, it refers to a single transaction from the player to the casino.

Deuce

A two (2) in dice.

Download Casino

Online casinos that require players to download something to their computer. Rare these days – most gaming is done through a simple internet browser.

Edge

Short for House Edge, or simply to mean ‘advantage.’

Edge Sorting

A technique used to gain an advantage in card-based casino games. It centers around differentiating cards based on the prints on their back.

Encryption

Software security measures that keep all information exchanged between players and casino sites safe and private.

Face Card

A Jack, Queen, or King card.

Face Up/Down Card

A card showing its value is considered Face Up. Conversely, the value of Face Down cards is hidden.

Fold

An action in poker in which a player forfeits their current stake and gives up on the current round to avoid bigger losses. Sometimes used to simply signify giving up.

Flop

The first round of Texas Hold’em and similar poker games in which the dealer reveals 3 community cards.

Gorge

A player who tips the dealer a lot.

Hand

Specifically refers to the cards a player is currently holding. More broadly, it can refer to a round of a card game.

High Roller

A player who deposits, stakes, and ultimately wins or loses large amounts of money.

Hole Cards

Poker term for the cards a player is holding in rulesets such as Texas Hold’em. These combine with Community cards to make a poker hand.

Hot Numbers

In roulette, hot numbers are those on which the ball has been landing more frequently in the past few rounds. However, the notion of hot numbers is often associated with the Gambler’s fallacy.

House

Another term for the casino.

House Edge

The statistical advantage a casino has over players. For example, a 3% edge means that the casino will on average win 3% more than players in the same game. Casinos make money through the house edge, but smaller is better for the player.

Insurance

A type of bet in Blackjack. If the dealer draws an Ace in their initial hand, you can opt to make an Insurance bet. This side bet pays out if the dealer ends up getting a blackjack. Typically pays at odds of 2:1.

Jackpot

Generally, a pooled amount that players contribute to that is awarded to the winner. However, can simply mean the biggest possible prize in a betting game.

Joker

A wild card that does different things depending on the game in question.

Juice

A Casino’s earnings. Can refer to a commission, but also the profits made through the usual house edge.

Keno

A fairly common type of casino game similar to a lottery. Players wager on numbers (Usually 1 through 80) and a system of drawing balls is used to determine the winners.

Live Chat

A feature that allows people to communicate over the internet using instant text messages. Allows you to communicate to live casino dealers and players, but also often used to contact casino customer support.

Lobby

The section of a live casino site where you can browse through all the games available.

Loyalty Program

A system of rewards casinos use to incentivize players to keep playing at the same platform. Generally speaking – the more you play, the more lucrative a loyalty program can be.

Maximum/Minimum Bet

The largest/smallest amount you can use as a stake for the particular bet.

Maximum/Minimum Deposit/Withdrawal

The largest and smallest transactions a casino will process.

Mechanic

A slang term for a chatty dealer. However, the term has other uses in the context of casino games. For instance, a mechanic can be a feature of a game or a part of the ruleset. For example, the randomly determined multipliers in Lightning Roulette are a game mechanic.

Multi-Hand Game

A game that allows you to play with multiple hands at the same time. Often found in live dealer blackjack.

Multiplayer

Used to denote online games in which multiple players participate at once. Most, if not all, live casino games are multiplayer.

Multiplier

Used to increase the payout of a bet by a certain factor. For example, an x5 multiplier will increase any winnings by five times.

Natural

If your first two cards in blackjack are an ace and a ten-value card, it’s called a natural blackjack. The term signifies any blackjack hand formed by only the initial two cards.

Net Winnings

The profit a player makes. Essentially, the total payout minus the stake.

Odds

In the context of betting, it’s the ratio of the payout of a bet compared to the stake. Generally, the bigger the ratio, the riskier the bet. Also signifies the probability of something happening.

Outside Bets

Bets which can be found on the outside part of the standard layout of a Roulette table. These bets generally predict multiple possible outcomes.

Paint

Slang term for ‘Face Cards’ – Jack, Queen, or King.

Payout

The total amount in currency awarded to the player if they win.

Paytable

A table that lists all the possible bets and payouts within a certain casino game.

Pit Boss

The casino employee that monitors a casino floor. In live casinos, they manage the day-to-day workings of a live casino studio.

Progressive (Jackpot)

A game feature in which a part of every stake by any player goes towards a reward pool. The size of the pool determines how much a jackpot wins.

Raise

To increase the stake. More specifically used in poker for a decision that increases the stakes.

Return To Player (RTP)

Estimated return on investment for a given casino game. All casino games pay out less than players put in, as determined by the house edge. For instance, for every amount players cumulatively wager, 97% of that amount will be distributed back to players. A higher RTP is better for players.

River

The fifth and last communal card flipped over in a round of poker.

Roulette

An extremely popular casino game in which players attempt to predict which number on a spinning wheel a ball will land on.

Shoe

: Literally refers to a wooden box in which dealers hold cards before they’re drawn. In most live table games, however, denotes how many decks of cards are played, ranging from 1 to 8.

Side Bet

An optional bet in any game that is not one of the main wagers.

Squeeze

A practice of slowly and dramatically revealing cards, usually seen in Baccarat.

Stand

Standing is a decision in blackjack in which you refuse to draw additional cards. Used to avoid busting.

Studio

The place live casino streams are broadcast from. Essentially a casino floor with cameras.

Stream

A video stream is essentially a live broadcast over the internet.

Table Hold

The total profit of a given casino table over a period of time.

Turnover

The total amount of money played at a casino. Note that most of a casino’s turnover is handed back to the players as winnings.

Turnover Requirement

Special conditions usually placed on casino bonuses. The turnover requirement denotes how much you’ll have to spend at the casino before being able to withdraw the free bonus funds as real money. For example, for a bonus of $20 with an x5 requirement, you’ll have to put up $100 as the stake in total.

VIP Player

Players that are valuable to the casinos, either because they’re regulars or they play with large sums.

Vigorish

Another term for the casino edge, or commissions taken by a casino.

Wagering Requirement

See Turnover Requirement.

Withdrawal

The act of requesting that the casino pays out funds to you using payment methods such as bank accounts and e-wallets.