Casino Glossary

• Soft Hand

  Blackjack

  A hand containing at least one ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11 without busting.

  Antonym: Hard Hand

• Belly Buster

  Poker

  Another poker term for a draw to an inside straight. E.g. a hand of KQJ9, which needs a 10.

• Beginners Luck

  Casino

  
  

  The belief that a person playing for the first time will be lucky. Some people think that a novice players do not feel the pressure of the game, this is why they win more easily than the experts. Others think that this belief in beginner's lick is based on the confirmation bias: winnings are usually well remembered, while losses tend to be forgotten. The game experts might believe in the beginner's luck because they have experienced some good winnings when they just started playing. Those people who were less fortunate at the beginning have probably lost their interest in the casino games.

  Beginner's luck tends to expire pretty quickly once the player gets more experience with the game. They say, it is only a gift of support that is given once to a beginner of a new experience. 

  Synonym: Honeymoon Period

• Splitting Aces

  Blackjack

  When a player receives two aces as their first two cards, they can split them to form two separate hands by doubling their bet. Always advised for non-card counters.

• Press

  Casino

  Increase the amount of a bet, especially in craps.

• Multi-Player Game

  Casino

  An online casino game where players can compete against each other.

• Double Or Nothing

  Casino

  A wager that either wins the amount of a bet or loses it.

• Non-negotiable Chips

  Casino

  Promotional chips that be played to win real chips, but cannot themselves be cashed out.

• Expected Win Rate

  Slots

  The theoretical, long-term expected percentage of money bet that is either won by the casino or the player.

• Breaking Hand

  Blackjack

  A blackjack hand that can bust if another card is taken, i.e. totaling 12 or higher.