Table Games Glossary: Casino Terms Explained

Ante: The opening bet in casino poker games such as Three Card Poker.
Bankroll: The total money set aside for gaming. See our bankroll guide.
Banker: One of the two hands in baccarat; the bet with the lowest house edge (about 1.06%).
Barkada: Filipino slang for a group of friends, and the best company at a baccarat table.
Basic strategy: The mathematically optimal way to play every blackjack hand.
Bead Plate / Big Road: Baccarat scorecards that record past results. Fun to follow, but they don't predict the future.
Bust: Going over 21 in blackjack, which loses the hand immediately.
Croupier: The dealer who runs a table game, especially roulette.
Double down: Doubling your blackjack bet in exchange for exactly one more card.
En Prison / La Partage: French roulette rules that return half (or hold) even-money bets when zero hits, cutting the edge to about 1.35%.
European roulette: Single-zero wheel with a 2.70% house edge. Compare in our roulette guide.
Gambler's fallacy: The false belief that past results affect independent future outcomes.
House edge: The casino's average long-run advantage on a bet. Explained in House Edge Explained.
Insurance: A blackjack side bet against dealer blackjack. Not recommended for most players.
KYC: "Know Your Customer": identity and age checks required by licensed operators.
Live dealer: A real dealer streamed online. See our live dealer guide.
Martingale: A betting system that doubles after each loss. It doesn't beat the house edge.
Natural: A two-card 8 or 9 in baccarat, or a two-card 21 (blackjack).
PAGCOR: Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the national gaming regulator. See our PAGCOR guide.
Qualify: The minimum hand the dealer needs in casino poker for all bets to be in action.
RTP: Return to player: 100% minus the house edge.
Shoe: The box holding multiple decks of cards in baccarat and blackjack.
Sic Bo: A three-dice game of Chinese origin. Read the Sic Bo guide.
Soft hand: A blackjack hand with an Ace counted as 11.
Split: Separating a pair in blackjack into two hands, each with its own bet.
Squeeze: Slowly revealing baccarat cards for drama, popular at Asian tables.
Stop-loss: A pre-set limit on how much you'll lose in a session.
Tie: Baccarat bet that both hands finish equal; pays 8:1 with a 14.36% edge.
Variance: The natural short-term swings in results around the expected average.

New to table games? Start with our Table Games Guide or the FAQ.

AI-assisted content: This page was drafted with the help of AI tools, then reviewed, fact-checked and edited by Jash Jacinto. Game rules and odds can vary by operator, so always check the rules shown at your table. How we create content.