Casino Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

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TAB

Totalisator Agency Board. The body appointed to regulate off-course betting (bets made by people who are not present at the race track).

Table Hold

The amount of money won by the casino table game from the players during an eight-hour work shift.

Table Stakes

In poker, stakes in which the betting and raising is limited to the amount of money a player has on the table in front of him.

Taking the Odds

There are two fundamental forms of wagering, 'taking the odds' and 'laying the odds'. In most casino games the player is 'taking the odds' by wagering an amount that is less than they will receive if they win, that is; if you wager $1 you would win more than $1. In most forms of sports betting, some odds are so high in favour of the likely winner that winning wagers get paid an amount less than the amount wagered by some percentage, and this is what is meant by 'laying the odds'.

Tapping Out

Losing one's entire gambling bankroll and thus having to stop playing.

Tell Play

Observing the dealer's body language and expressions to determine his hole card. In poker game 'tells' pertain to quirks or readable aspects of a players actions, verbal behavior, or body language that give away information about what cards they are holding.

Third Base

In blackjack, the spot nearest the dealer’s right hand, which will be played last before the dealer’s hand is played.

Third Street

In seven-card stud, the first round of betting is called third street because the players have three cards.

Three-Card Monte

A three-card game similar to Bragg.

Three of a Kind

In poker, three cards of the same rank.

Ticket

A card.

Time Cut (Also, Axe or Collection)

Money charged each player on a time basis by the casino or by the poker room owner. Charge is usually on a 3 minute or an hourly basis.

Toke

Toke is short for 'token'. A tip given to the dealer in the form of money or chips. Unlike tokens, tokes are more specifically the tips that the game dealers receive from the players. A player who is known to toke the dealer heavily is sometimes referred to as a 'George' or a 'Real George'.

Token

The casino own coins used to play slot machines instead of real coins.

Touch Wand

A pointing device used on some video keno machines to select numbers.

Tournament

Basically, a competition game between a group of players over a period of time. For example, in Poker tournaments a bunch of poker players sit down with the same number of chips, and eventually only one player has any chips left. In order to ensure that the event will finish in reasonable time, tournaments institute a schedule by which the blinds and/or antes increase. Tournaments are usually played with chips that have no value outside of the tournament. So a buy-in of $30 might get you $500 in tournament chips to play with, but you can't cash them out in the middle. The winner of a tournament (the last player to bust out) as well as several of the other top finishers are typically awarded prize money according to some predetermined schedule. Tournament details vary widely, but a typical arrangement might include an initial buy-in, a re-buy period during which a player who runs out of tournament chips may buy more, and an opportunity to add on to one's stack after the re-buys have ended. Other details about the structure can vary widely.

Trips

Three cards of the same rank.

True Odds

The real odds of something happening. Actual odds taking into account the casino edge. The ratio of the number of times one event will occur to the number of times that it will not. The odds posted in a casino are usually not the true odds.