Casino Game Terms: Slots, Tables and Arcade Games Defined
Plain-English definitions of 24 casino game terms, from payline and wild to push and come-out roll, with examples from the games in Cashout Arcade.
On this page
This page defines the words you meet when you open a slot, a table game or an arcade game. Each definition is short on purpose; terms that need an example, a calculation or a warning have their own page, linked from the entry.
Examples come from the games in Cashout Arcade, an entertainment app where coins are virtual, have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn or exchanged for prizes. The numbers are read from the game engines and the published Odds page, not rounded from memory.
How to use this glossary
Casino vocabulary is used loosely. "Jackpot" can mean any big win or a growing pool, and "free spins" can mean a free gift or a feature inside a game. Where a word has more than one meaning, the entry says which one Cashout Arcade uses.
For the maths behind these games, see Odds and Maths Terms: RTP, House Edge, Variance Defined. For words about the app itself, such as coins and VIP levels, see Social Casino Terms: Coins, VIP, Sweepstakes Defined.
Terms
Slot machine
A game in which spinning reels stop on a combination of symbols, and the combination decides the payout. In a video slot the reels are on a screen and the outcome is drawn by a random number generator before the reels visibly stop. Read the full Slot machine entry
Reel
One vertical strip of symbols in a slot machine. A classic slot has three reels and a modern video slot usually has five. Each reel stops independently, and in digital slots its stopping position is drawn at random.
Payline
A line across the reels along which matching symbols must land for a win. Some slots have one line, some have dozens. Sun Temple in Cashout Arcade has three paylines, one per row, that pay from the left. Read the full Payline entry
Paytable
The table that lists what each winning combination pays, usually as a multiple of the bet. It is the quickest way to see which symbols matter. Each Cashout Arcade game shows its full prize table, and the odds page lists every chance. Read the full Paytable entry
Wild
A symbol that stands in for other symbols to complete a winning line, usually everything except the scatter. In Sun Temple the Sun Disc is a wild on reels 2, 3 and 4 and also carries a 2x, 3x or 5x multiplier. Read the full Wild entry
Scatter
A symbol that counts wherever it lands, not only along a payline, and normally triggers a feature rather than a line win. In Sun Temple, three or more Temple Door scatters start a bonus. Read the full Scatter entry
Bonus round
A separate mini-game inside a slot or other game, triggered by a special symbol or event, with its own rules and prizes. Sun Temple has two, Temple Link and Pharaoh's Offers. Its chance and value are part of the game's total return.
Free spins
Spins awarded by a feature that are played without paying the stake again, often with extra multipliers. Winnings from free spins still come from the game's published return. Cashout Arcade calls the equivalent rewards free rounds. Read the full Free spins entry
Jackpot
The biggest prize a game can pay, usually many times the stake and very unlikely on any single play. A jackpot can be a fixed multiple of the bet or a pooled amount that grows. Coins won in Cashout Arcade have no cash value.
Progressive jackpot
A jackpot that grows each time the game is played, because a small share of every stake is added to the prize pool, until someone wins it and it resets to a starting amount. Cashout Arcade's jackpots are fixed multiples, not pooled. Read the full Progressive jackpot entry
Hold and spin
A slot bonus in which special symbols lock in place while the remaining positions respin a limited number of times, with every new locked symbol resetting the respin counter. Sun Temple's Temple Link bonus works this way, starting with 3 respins.
Multiplier
A number your stake is multiplied by to give the payout. A 2.5x multiplier on a 100-coin bet pays 250 coins. In cash-out games the multiplier grows with each step survived, and its size is set by the chance of surviving. Read the full Multiplier entry
Wager
The amount you put into a round, also called the stake or the bet. In Cashout Arcade a wager is a number of virtual coins. Payout multiplier times wager gives the total returned, which includes the wager itself.
Bust (losing a round)
A round that ends in a loss because a limit was passed. In blackjack it means a hand over 21. In a cash-out game it means the round ended before you took the multiplier, so you receive nothing for that round.
Cash out
In a cash-out game, to end the round and lock in the multiplier you have reached. In Cashout Arcade the payout is virtual coins, not money. Cashing out earlier or later does not change a game's long-run return. Read the full Cash out entry
Ladder game
A game in which each correct step raises the multiplier and each wrong step ends the round, so you choose how high to climb. Road Hop, Tower and Coin Flip are ladder games, and the step chances are published on the odds page. Read the full Ladder game entry
Scratch card
An instant-win game in which hidden symbols are revealed by scratching, and matching symbols pay. The result is fixed when the card is bought, so the order you scratch in changes nothing. Digital versions draw the outcome at random just like a slot.
Keno pick
One of the numbers you choose before a keno draw. In Cashout Arcade's Keno the game draws 10 numbers out of a pool of 40, and what you are paid depends on how many of your picks are among the draw.
Push (tie)
A tie between you and the dealer, in which the stake is returned and nothing is won or lost. Pushes occur in blackjack and in craps, where a Don't Pass bet pushes on a come-out 12. Because the stake comes back, a push still counts toward the return of the game.
Soft hand
A blackjack hand that contains an ace counted as 11 without going over 21, such as ace and six for a soft 17. A soft hand cannot bust on the next card, because the ace can drop back to 1.
Natural (blackjack and baccarat)
A strong opening hand that usually settles the round at once. In blackjack it is an ace plus a ten-value card. In baccarat it is a two-card total of 8 or 9, which beats every other hand except a higher natural.
Pass line
The basic craps bet that the shooter will win. It wins on a first roll of 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3 or 12, and otherwise wins if the point repeats before a 7. The exact win chance is 244 in 495, about 49.3 percent. Read the full Pass line entry
Point (craps)
In craps, the number 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 that sets the target after a come-out roll. The shooter keeps rolling, and a pass line bet wins if the point is rolled again before a 7.
Come-out roll
The first roll of a craps round. A 7 or 11 wins the pass line at once, a 2, 3 or 12 loses it, and any other number becomes the point that must be repeated before a 7 appears.