The Key West Resort & Casino's
Glossary of Casino Terms

Our glossary of casino terms include terms in common use and from various sources. It also includes terms used in the videos provided by Vegas-Aces.com. Entries are being added daily. To make a suggestion or correction, contact the casino. In the definitions below, we use casino "chip" and "cheque" interchangeably.

anchor - Blackjack player who acts last before the dealer.

apron - the area on a gaming table outside or behind the betting area, where players can store their chips.

bankroll - the total amount of money a casino or player has available for betting.

barber pole - a single bet of stacked chips of different colors and denominations. (The lowest value denomination must always be on top.)

betting circle - the marked area of a gaming table where a bet is placed in order to be wagered in the game.

birdcage - a clear, cube-shaped carrying case for up to 1,000 casino chips. 

black book - term used in Las Vegas to refer to the list of people banned from a casino for cheating.

book - "The book" refers to the casino's blackjack strategy card.

boxing the deck - a form of shuffling where one-third of the deck is cut, turned 180 degrees and placed back into the working deck.

bridging cheques - a method of paying bets, used especially in Blackjack, where the dealer pays a Blackjack by matching the winning bet, and placing the blackjack bonus centered atop the equal stacks.

burn card - a playing card removed from the top of the deck and discarded prior to the deal.

capping a bet - a form of cheating where a player passes his hand over his bet and drops another chip on top to increase his winnings.

cashier's cage - the cage is responsible for all money and chips used to conduct gaming operations. It's also where patrons can exchange their chips for cash before leaving the casino.

cheque - the proper name for a casino chip that can be exchanged for cash inside the casino.

churning - the term refers to the action of play, over time, generating the casino's daily win.

clean money - any chip paid to a winner that comes from the chip rack, rather than directly from a player's losing bet.

clearing your hands - a dealer's demonstration to security cameras that their hands are empty. The dealer claps once and shows each side of their hands.

coloring up - exchanging casino chips for a smaller number of higher value chips before leaving a table.

crossfiring - idle chatter between dealers at different tables, it's forbidden by the casino.

croupier - a casino employee who conducts operations at a roulette table and collects or pays bets. (Sometimes used to refer to the baccarat dealer.)

cut card - a plastic place card inserted at random into the deck which becomes the bottom of the deck, to prevent players from seeing the bottom card, or to mark the place at which a shoe of cards should be reshuffled.

cutting cheques - the act of breaking a stack of chips down into smaller numbers to pay a bet. 

daily win - a management term, it's the drop minus the number of chips cashed in at the cashier's cage. (This can be a daily "loss.") It is essentially the "gross profit" on gaming operations.

dead game - any table game with a dealer but no players.

dealer button - used in games where the dealer position rotates, this game piece indicates which player would be the dealer when a single dealer is employed.

dealer's shoe - a device used to hold multiple decks of cards and dispense cards one at a time.

dirty money - losing chips collected after a hand. (There is a player superstition against being paid a bet with another player's losing chip.)

discard holder - a container used to stack and store cards after they have been played and discarded, especially in a shoe game. 

dolly - a marker placed atop the winning bet in roulette.

drop - the total amount of cash exchanged for casino chips on a given day.

drop cutting - a method of paying bets in which the dealer drops the correct number of chips next to a bet to pay a winner.

fill - chips sent to a table at the pit manager's request. "Fill" also refers to the document used to record the transaction.

"Five-card Charlie" - An automatic win in some forms of blackjack and its variations A player who hits for a total of five cards without busting automatically wins.

floor person - the first level of supervisor in a casino, there is usually one floor person for every three dealers. The floor person observes the games to insure procedures are followed.

foreign check -  a casino chip is "foreign" if it comes from a different casino. Casinos will sometimes accept the foreign cheque by exchanging it for one of the casino's own.

Four in 14 - a status used to deny casino credit. It's when a patron has applied for credit at four casinos in 14 days. Casinos know that 80 percent of people who are "4 in 14" bounce their checks.

Front-loading: A form of cheating where a blackjack player sees the dealer's hole card from their position at the table, especially first- and third-base.

George - complimentary nickname for a player who tips well.

ghost - The blank "stop" on a slot machine cylinder (or electronic slot machine display) between two illustrations.

grinding - a form of play where the player places many wagers over a long period of time for a small profit.

hand-held game - any game of cards dealt from the dealer's hand. In Blackjack, a hand-held game involves a working deck made from one or two decks, and players may touch their cards with one hand.

handle - the total amount of wagers made by casino patrons on a given day. This number is used by management to determine where patrons are placing their bets.

hard hand - in Blackjack, a hand that does not contain an ace, and therefore has only one defined total value.

hole card - a playing card dealt face down, esp. in Blackjack.

house - refers to the casino itself.

house advantage (also called the "house edge") the statistical difference in the odds of winning a game, based on rules of play which favor the casino.

hustling a toke - when a dealer tries to convince a player to tip. It's prohibited by the casino.

inventory rack - a large tray designed to hold 1,000 casino chips.

lacing the deck - a form of shuffling where cards are riffled and the riffled stacks are not completely joined, but extend outward.

layout - the felt playing surface of a casino game table. 

marker - (1) a financial instrument executed to extend credit to a player, particularly for gambling. (2) a game piece placed atop the winning bet in roulette, also called a dollie.

money plays - when a player elects to wager cash instead of chips.

order - a casino record requesting chips be sent to a table.

palette - the flat paddle used to move cards in Baccarat.

payback percentage - the percentage of wagers paid out by a slot machine. (This number is confidential and closely guarded by the casino.)

payout - a casino management term, it's the total amount of money won by players over a given period.

payout percentage - the number of times a slot machine will pay some amount in 100 spins or pulls.

pill - slang term for the ball used in roulette.

pinching - a form of cheating where a losing player passes their hand over their bet and removes a chip or chips to reduce their loss.

pit - the area in a casino where table games are located.

pit boss (also called pit manager) - the second level of supervisor in a casino, the pit boss observes all the floor persons in one area and will resolve major disputes.

plug - the cards in a dealer's shoe between the first cut card (inserted to tell the dealer when to shuffle) and the second cut card. The cards in the plug are not used in the game.

pocket card - cards dealt face-down to a player, esp. in poker.

primary rack - refers to the casino's complete inventory of casino chips  used in normal operations, as opposed to the reserve rack.

profit / loss - the casino's win (or loss) from gaming, minus all other expenses over a given period.

proving a stack - the act of cutting a stack of cheques into smaller defined stacks to show their number to the casino security camera.

rack - a container used to hold casino chips. It can refer to a small rack of 100 chips, or the casino's entire inventory of chips.

rake - (1) the fee charged by a casino or card room to players in a game where the house does not play, usually per given amount of time or percentage of a pot; (2) a device used to sweep losing bets from a roulette table.

reserve rack - refers to the casino's complete inventory of secondary, or backup, chips, used in the event of an emergency.

RFID - Radio Frequency Identification - a technology placed inside a casino chip which allows the casino to track a casino chip and even identify stolen chips.

rolling the deck - the dealer's act of picking up the shuffled deck from the table and placing it into a shoe. 

running back the cards - an examination of the playing cards in the discard holder by a casino official to determine what cards were dealt to a particular player in order to resolve a dispute.

"Seven-card Charlie" - An automatic win in some forms of blackjack and its variations. A player who hits for a total of seven  cards without busting automatically wins.

shoe - a device used to hold multiple decks playing cards and dispense cards one at a time. 

shoe game - a game played using a shoe of two or more decks, like Blackjack or Baccarat. In a shoe game, players are not permitted to touch their cards.)

shuffle - any of several techniques used to randomize playing cards prior to play.

"Six-card Charlie" - An automatic win in some forms of blackjack and its variations. A player who hits for a total of six cards without busting automatically wins.

sizing into the bet - a method of paying bets in which the dealer places a larger stack of casino chips next to a winning bet and matches the height of the winning bet to pay it.

soft hand - in Blackjack, any hand that contains an ace and can have two possible total values. The value always favors the player.

splashing chips - tossing a stack of chips into a pot or toward a dealer so that they fall from the stack. This is not permitted in casinos and card rooms.

spooking - a form of cheating at blackjack where a player works with a conspirator watching from behind a dealer, attempting to see the dealer's hole card in order to signal the player. 

stick man - the casino employee who operates the craps table.

stop - any of the locations on a a slot machine cylinder or electronic slot machine display where the action may stop.

stripping - a form of shuffling where approximately one-fifth of the cards in a deck are pulled from the top of the deck and replaced at the bottom, and the process is repeated.

table drop - the amount of cash placed into a drop box at a gaming table.

take and pay procedure - the precise process of collecting losing bets and paying winners.

taking on chips - a slang term meaning counterfeit chips have been discovered in the casino. The reserve rack will brought out and used to replace all playing chips.

toke - gratuities given to a dealer by a player.

toke box - a container on the side of a gaming table, usually transparent, used to hold the dealer's gratuities.

up card - a playing card dealt face-up, esp. in Blackjack.

washing the deck - randomizing a new deck by spreading the cards on the table face-down, and mixing them by hand, as if washing them.

win / loss statement - a letter or report issued by a casino to a player detailing the player's winnings or losses for the year, for tax purposes.