Payoff
The return the player receives on a bet.
Payout Percentage
The percent of each dollar played into the video poker machine that the machine is programmed to return to the player.
Pair
Two cards of the same value in a hand.
Pat Hand
A winning hand that is played as dealt without drawing a card?a straight, full house, flush, or four of a kind.
Pay Cycle
The commonly held belief that slot machines run on pay cycles: after taking a certain amount of money, the machine pays out a certain amount of money. This is why people look for a machine that hasn't "hit" for a period of time. In reality, slot machines pay out on a percentage basis over a long period of time, typically up to one year, not in short-term cycles.
Payout Table
Table on the front of the machine listing what each winning hand will pay for each coin played.
Progressive Jackpot
The top jackpot that grows progressively as more coins are dropped into the machine. Machines are sometimes linked together among several casinos to form a larger combined jackpot.
Progressive Video Poker
A video poker game that pays only for a royal flush. Each coin deposited increases the payout. Learn how you qualify for a progressive jackpot.
Quads
Four of a kind.
Rainbow
Three or four cards of different suits.
Royal Flush
The highest ranking hand in poker: an ace, king, queen, jack and ten of any suit. Also called a Royal Straight Flush, or a Royal.
Session
A defined period of time to play the slots or to play on one slot machine, rather than endless play with no built-in goals or stop loss.
Straight
Five sequential cards of any suit.
Straight Flush
Five sequential cards of the same suit.
Streak
A temporary run of good or bad luck.
Suit
Four types of cards in the deck: clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades.
Suited
Cards of the same suit.
Take Cycle
The opposite of a pay cycle?the belief that the machine will not pay out until taking in a predetermined amount of coins.
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same value.
Three Flush
A hand dealt with three cards of the same suit, needing to draw two more cards of the same suit to make a flush.
Trips
Three of a kind. (Also knows as triplets and trey.)
Two Flush
A hand dealt with twocards of the same suit, needing to draw three more cards of the same suit to make a flush.
Two Pair
A hand consisting of two separate pairs and a singleton.
Wager
The amount of money a player bets.
Wake Up With A Hand
To get a hand with winning potential on the deal.
Wild Card
A joker, or other designated card that the player can substitute for any card in his or her hand.
