KEY TAKEAWAYS
Money vocabulary is the first thing newcomers meet in gambling, and it is the part most often used loosely. This glossary defines 24 terms that describe money in gambling: what a person sets aside, what a bet risks, how a game or bookmaker earns its margin, how payouts and results are described, and how credit, rewards and limits work. Each entry gives a plain definition, a sample sentence showing how the word is used, and a note on variations where the meaning shifts by game, venue or region. The entries are grouped into four themes so related terms sit together, and a quick-reference table near the end lets readers scan every definition at a glance. Definitions here are neutral descriptions. They do not recommend any bet or system, and no betting system changes the house edge.
Money You Set Aside and Put Up
These terms describe how much money a person brings to gambling and how much goes onto a single bet or into a game.
Bankroll
Definition: The total amount of money a person sets aside for gambling, kept separate from everyday expenses.
Example: “She keeps a $500 bankroll for the month and stops playing when it is gone.”
Casual speech often shortens it to “roll.” A bankroll covers a whole period, not just one session.
Stake
Definition: The amount of money risked on a single bet.
Example: “A $20 stake on the Banker hand in baccarat wins $19 after commission.”
In British usage “stake” is also a verb (“to stake $10”). The word is often interchangeable with wager.
Wager
Definition: A bet, or the act of placing one: money risked on an uncertain outcome.
Example: “He placed a wager of $50 on the final score.”
“Wager” is more formal than “bet” and is common in regulatory and legal language.
Buy-in
Definition: The amount paid to enter a game or tournament, or the amount of chips a player must start with at a table.
Example: “The tournament has a $100 buy-in, and every entrant starts with the same number of chips.”
At cash tables the venue usually sets a minimum and maximum buy-in. In tournaments the buy-in often includes a fee paid to the organizer.
Unit
Definition: A person’s chosen base bet size, used to describe bets and results in multiples instead of dollar amounts.
Example: “He bets one unit on most games and two units when he is more confident.”
A unit is personal, not standardized: one bettor’s unit may be $5 and another’s $500, so claims of “units won” cannot be compared without knowing the unit.
Table limit
Definition: The minimum and maximum bet a table accepts on a single hand or round.
Example: “The blackjack table has a $10 minimum and a $500 maximum.”
Limits are posted at the table and can differ by table and time of day. Sportsbooks have a similar idea, often called a betting limit.
How the House Gets Paid
Every gambling business earns money in a built-in way. These terms name the main methods and measurements.
House edge
Definition: The average percentage of each bet that the casino expects to keep over a very large number of bets.
Example: “American roulette has a house edge of 5.26%, so the average expected loss is $5.26 for every $100 wagered.”
It is a long-run average, not a forecast for one session. European roulette, with a single zero, has a lower house edge of 2.70%.
Vig
Definition: Short for vigorish: the charge built into a bookmaker’s odds that gives the sportsbook its margin.
Example: “Both sides are priced at −110, so a $110 bet is needed to win $100, and the difference is the vig.”
Also called juice. At −110 on both sides each outcome implies 52.38%, which totals 104.76%; the extra 4.76% is the margin.
Juice
Definition: Informal word for vig: the margin built into a bookmaker’s odds.
Example: “He looks for low-juice lines, such as −105 on both sides instead of −110.”
Register: informal slang. “Reduced juice” means a vig lower than the usual −110 pricing.
Rake
Definition: The fee a card room takes from poker games, usually a small percentage of each pot, often with a cap, or a flat charge by time.
Example: “The room takes a rake from each pot, so the winner receives the pot minus the fee.”
Rake structures vary by room and stakes. In tournaments the equivalent fee is usually part of the buy-in.
Commission
Definition: A fee charged on winning bets, or on a game’s pot, in return for running the game.
Example: “A $100 winning bet on the Banker in baccarat pays $95 after a 5% commission.”
The 5% Banker commission is the standard convention, but rules and rates can vary by venue.
Hold
Definition: The share of the money wagered or exchanged that a casino actually keeps over a given period.
Example: “The slot floor reported an 8% hold for the month, meaning it kept $8 of every $100 played.”
Hold is an observed result, while house edge is a theoretical expectation. How hold is measured varies by game type and company.
Handle
Definition: The total amount of money wagered over a period, counted before any winnings are paid out.
Example: “A track reports its weekend handle, the sum of all bets placed, not the amount it keeps.”
Common in sports betting and horse racing reports. Handle is different from hold and from revenue.
Payouts, Wins and Swings
These terms describe what comes back after a bet is settled and how results move up and down over time.
Payout
Definition: The amount returned on a winning bet, stated either as money or as a ratio such as 35 to 1.
Example: “A $5 straight-up roulette bet pays 35 to 1, so the payout is $175 plus the original $5 back.”
Whether the stake is included depends on context. A ratio such as “35 to 1” excludes the returned stake, while a sportsbook’s “total payout” often includes it.
Winnings
Definition: Money gained from a successful bet or session.
Example: “He cashed out his winnings after the last hand.”
Sometimes it means profit only and sometimes profit plus the returned stake. Tax treatment varies by jurisdiction and is outside this glossary.
Push
Definition: A bet that ties, with no winner, so the stake is returned.
Example: “The final score landed exactly on the spread, so the bet was a push and the $50 stake was refunded.”
In blackjack a push means the player and dealer tied. The same word is used in sports betting and casino games.
Drawdown
Definition: The drop from a bankroll’s highest point to the lowest point that follows, usually shown as a percentage.
Example: “The bankroll grew to $1,000, then fell to $700, a 30% drawdown.”
The period being measured matters, since a longer record can show a deeper drawdown. Bettors who track results use it to describe losing stretches.
Variance
Definition: A measure of how widely results swing around the long-run average; higher variance means larger, less predictable swings.
Example: “Games with rare large payouts are described as high variance because results swing widely.”
Variance changes how bumpy results feel, not the house edge. “Volatility” is a common synonym, and in statistics variance has a precise formula.
Credit, Rewards and Limits
This group covers money that moves outside a straight bet: credit, rewards and self-set controls.
Comp
Definition: Short for complimentary: a free or discounted item or service, such as a meal or a room, that a casino gives based on recorded play.
Example: “After a long weekend of play, he asked the host which comps he had earned.”
Each casino sets its own rules. Comps are usually tied to play tracked with a rewards card.
Marker
Definition: A casino credit instrument: the player signs for chips or cash on credit and agrees to repay it.
Example: “The player signed a marker for $5,000 and received chips at the table.”
Not every casino offers credit, and the rules for repayment vary by jurisdiction.
Cashback
Definition: A promotion that returns a set percentage of a player’s net losses over a period.
Example: “A 10% weekly cashback returns $10 for every $100 lost that week.”
Caps, time periods and conditions such as wagering requirements vary by promotion.
Wagering requirement
Definition: A condition that a bonus or promotional amount must be bet a set number of times before it can be withdrawn.
Example: “A $50 bonus with a 10× wagering requirement must be bet $500 in total before withdrawal.”
Also called playthrough or rollover. Which games count, and how much each counts, varies by promotion.
Deposit limit
Definition: A cap, set by a player or required by a regulator, on how much money can be added to a gambling account over a day, week or month.
Example: “She set a weekly deposit limit of $200, so further deposits were blocked until the next week.”
A responsible-gambling tool. Availability and rules vary by jurisdiction.
Loss limit
Definition: A maximum amount a player decides in advance to lose in a session or period, after which play stops.
Example: “His loss limit for the night is $100, and he leaves the table when he reaches it.”
Sometimes called a stop-loss. Some platforms let players set it as an account control.
Quick-Reference Table
| Term | Short definition |
|---|---|
| Bankroll | Money set aside for gambling |
| Stake | Money risked on one bet |
| Wager | A bet; to place a bet |
| Buy-in | Entry cost or starting chips |
| Unit | A personal base bet size |
| Table limit | Min and max bet at a table |
| House edge | Expected long-run casino share of each bet |
| Vig | Margin built into a bookmaker’s odds |
| Juice | Slang for vig |
| Rake | Fee a card room takes from the pot |
| Commission | Fee charged on winnings |
| Hold | Share of money bet that the house kept |
| Handle | Total money wagered in a period |
| Payout | Amount returned on a winning bet |
| Winnings | Money won |
| Push | A tied bet; stake returned |
| Drawdown | Fall from a peak to a low point |
| Variance | How widely results swing |
| Comp | Free perk based on recorded play |
| Marker | Casino credit signed for |
| Cashback | Percentage of losses returned |
| Wagering requirement | Bet-through condition on a bonus |
| Deposit limit | Cap on money added to an account |
| Loss limit | Pre-set maximum loss |
Related Glossaries
Gambling money terms overlap with the vocabulary of individual games. Poker rooms use rake and buy-in in their own ways, sportsbooks lean on vig, handle and push, and casinos use hold, comps and markers on the gaming floor. WagerLingo covers those vertical vocabularies in its poker, casino and sports betting glossaries, while its odds and terms glossaries explain how prices and margins are written. Where a word in this glossary has a narrower meaning in one game, the entry notes it so readers can tell the general sense from the specialized one.
