gambling terms > all gambling terms

R [Baseball]
	Runs Allowed

R & a [Golf]
	Abbreviation for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland, which established the international rules of golf in collaboration with the U. S. Golf Association.

R-12 [Motor Sports]
	The chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant, commonly referred to as Freon (a DuPont trademark) or CFC-12, now considered environmentally hazardous but once the key ingredient in automotive air-conditioning systems. A refrigerant is a chemical compound that absorbs, carries and releases heat in an air-conditioning system.

R-134a [Motor Sports]
	The environmentally safe refrigerant now used in air-conditioning systems. It requires a slightly bulkier condenser unit than R-12. Vehicles equipped with R-12 systems can be converted to use R-134a. Since Freon is now banned, expensive and hard to obtain, the conversion may be a good idea when an R-12-based system needs recharging, particularly if technicians detect a leak.

R-Button [Bingo]

A button on the foot rail with a single letter R on it. In order to score your wins, you need to push the R-button. On games where you could rearrange winning combinations via things like the magic screen, you need to push the R-button for every winning combination you set. The main reason for the R-button was to have more control over when scoring happened, and it had the nice side effect of reducing wear in the game, as the search disc was held stationary until the R-button was pushed. On earlier games where the search disc was rotating constantly, the contacts on the search disc and the search relays would wear away.

R.B.D. [Horse Racing]
	Random Barrier Draw: Indicates a random or non-preferential barrier draw.

R.O.D.M.-R.O.D.S. [Horse Racing]
	This indicates that the horse in question is excluded right outside the barrier draw in Mobile or Standing Start Events (wherever applicable).

R.O.E [Poker]
	A game or tournament format in which three forms of poker are played in rotation, usually either half an hour of each or one round of each. The games are razz, Omaha/8, and seven-card stud high-low.

Ra [Motor Sports]
	Road America, Elkhart Lake WI. 4 mile road racing course.

Rabbit [Poker]

1) A weak player. 2) Short for after the rabbit or follow the rabbit. A form of draw, usually lowball, in which a player gets a bonus from the other players for winning two pots in a row. For example, in a $4-to-go no-limit lowball game, each player puts up $20, which goes into a kitty. Whoever wins the two pots in a row gets the kitty. This tends to stimulate action, because when a player wins a pot, she is likely to loosen her requirements for the next pot to try to get the kitty. She may kill the next pot to try to increase her chances of winning the next pot and to keep out the two-card draws.

Rabbit Punch [Boxing]
	An illegal punch to the back of the boxer¹s head or body (usually kidneys in that case), usually delivered when the boxers are fighting "inside."

Rabbithunt [Poker]
	After the deal is over, search through the un-dealt cards to see what you would have made if you had stayed in the pot. Not permitted in most establishments, and frowned on in the rest.

Rabbithunting [Poker]
	After the deal is over, search through the un-dealt cards to see what you would have made if you had stayed in the pot. Not permitted in most establishments, and frowned on in the rest.

Race [Poker]

In tournaments it is sometimes convenient to remove all lower- denomination chips from play, as the remaining players' stacks tend to grow. Small chips are converted to larger chips and any odd chips are "raced off" in the following way: each player with odd chips places them in front of his stack and is dealt one card for each chip. Highest card (rank and suit) takes all the small chips and converts them to higher-denomination chips

Race Call [Horse Racing]
	The description of a race while it is in process, which includes such things as the positions of the runners at different stages, any moves made by drivers, and any incidents that occur. A race is called or described by a race caller.

Race Caller [Greyhound Racing]
	The person who describes the race at a racecourse.

Race for the Odd Chips [Poker]

Race Pace [Rowing]
	A stroke rating that a crew can hold for an entire race.

Race Rubber [Motor Sports]
	Race tires as opposed to qualifying tires.

Racecar [Motor Sports]
	One of our favorite palindromes; backwards and forwards, it always spells "racecar."

Raced Off [Poker]
	Dumped out of a tournament due to having lost one's remaining small denomination chips during a race.

Raced Out [Poker]
	Dumped out of a tournament due to having lost one's remaining small denomination chips during a race.

Raced Outside [Horse Racing]
	See the death.

Raced Recklessly [Golf]
	Seriously impeded one or more dogs, nearly interfering.

Racehorse [Poker]

Blind Stud. A home game, also called Mike or racehorse, played as five-, six-, or seven-card stud, with the exception that all cards are dealt face down. For example, in the seven-card stud variant, each player receives three cards face down, followed by a round of betting, another card face down, another round of betting, a fifth card face down, another round of betting, a sixth card face down, another round of betting, and a final card face down, with a final round of betting. The game generates a lot of action, but is more of a gamble--and thus presents less opportunity to the skillful, analytical player--than the "normal" stud versions with their several rounds of face-up cards.

Racehorse Keno [Keno]
	The term for the game of keno prior to 1951, when each number also had the name of a racehorse to it.

Racer's Tape [Motor Sports]
	Heavy duty duct tape used to temporarily repair hanging body parts which might hinder aerodynamic features and decrease performance. Most commonly used on stock cars (e.g. NASCAR Winston Cup) which use more paneling than Indy-style cars and are accustomed to more contact.

Rachel [Poker]
	The queen of diamonds. Probably comes from the Bible

Racing Association [Horse Racing]
	A company that holds a license from the state racing commission to operate a pari-mutuel racetrack.

Racing Commission [Horse Racing]
	An appointed body of men and women which governs and polices racing where legislation has been passed to permit use of the pari-mutuels system in connection with horse racing.

Racing Conditions [Horse Racing]
	The physical conditions involved in a race.

Racing Dates [Horse Racing]
	Specific dates allotted to horse and dog tracks to conduct business by racing commissions charged with granting licenses and monitoring the conduct of these tracks in conformation with the official rules of racing in their states.

Racing Gas [Motor Sports]
	Gasoline designed specifically for racing engines. Racing gas usually has very high octane.

Racing Judge [Horse Racing]
	A greyhound racing official who presides over a race meeting, has jurisdiction over all racing officials, rules on protests, and imposes fines and suspensions. In Texas, all three racing judges presiding at a race meeting are Commission employees.

Racing Plate [Horse Racing]
	A very light horseshoe with a toe grab or cleat for better traction.

Racing Secretary [Horse Racing]
	The racing official who writes the conditions for the races, assigns the weights for handicap races, receives entries, conducts the draw, and is responsible for the operation and organization of the race office.

Racing Sound [Horse Racing]
	A horse able to race and pass all veterinarian test, but not 100%.

Racing Start [Rowing]
	The opening strokes of a race, which are typically rowed at a high cadence to get the shell moving rapidly through the water.

Rack [Poker]
	1) A plastic tray which holds 100 chips in 5 stacks of 20. 2) 100 chips. "I'm stuck three racks." 3) Place chips in a rack. 4) Win; usually followed by up. "He's been racking up the game" means he's been winning a lot. Comes from meaning 3.

Rack and Pinion Steering [Motor Sports]
	The steering wheel is connected to a pinion gear that meshes with a toothed bar, also called a rack or linear gear. As the pinion turns, the rack moves side to side, moving the steering linkage and causing the front wheels to turn left or right. The ends of the rack are linked to the steering wheel with tie rods.

Rack-and-Pinion Steering [Motor Sports]
	A steering system having a pinion gear at the lower end of the steering column that engages a rack or a toothed rod that connects to the wheel steering arms.

Racket [Badminton]
	The racket, or bat, has a nearly round face, about 7 inches across, and a long, thin handle. Overall length is about 27 inches and its weight is about 8 ounces.

Racmsa [Motor Sports]
	The RAC Motor Sports Association is recognized by the FIA as the governing body of motor sport in Great Britain.

Radar [Sailing]
	Radio detection and ranging. An electronic instrument that uses radio waves to find the distance and location of other objects. Used to avoid collisions, particularly in times of poor visibility.

Radar Arch [Sailing]
	An arch to mount the radar, usually at the stern of the boat.

Radar Reflector [Sailing]
	An object designed to increase the radio reflectivity of a boat so that it is more visible on radar. Many small boats are made with fiberglass and other materials that do not reflect radar very well on their own.

Radial Paralysis [Horse Racing]
	This condition causes the horse to have a partially paralyzed foreleg and is due to an injured radial nerve. When this occurs, the horse has great difficulty bringing the affected leg forward.

Radial Ply [Motor Sports]
	A tire in which the fabric cords run radially in a line from the wheel hub or straight out from the bead or around the tubular shape of the tire. Annular belts of fabric or steel mesh add rigidity. Advantages of this design are: more flexible side walls with a relatively stiff tread area and a larger and more consistent footprint on the road under all driving conditions.

Radiator [Motor Sports]
	The copper or aluminum device in front of the engine through which hot engine coolant is circulated and cooled. The liquid is then recirculated back through the engine block to cool it.

Radio [Sailing]
	An instrument that uses radio waves to communicate with other vessels. VHF (very high frequency) radios are common for marine use, but are limited in range. Single side band (SSB) radios have longer ranges.

Radio Beacon [Sailing]
	A navigational aid that emits radio waves for navigational purposes. The radio beacon's position is known and the direction of the radiobeacon can be determined by using a radio direction finder.

Radio Bearing [Sailing]
	A bearing taken with a radio direction finder toward a radio beacon.

Radio Direction Finder [Sailing]
	RDF for short. An instrument that can determine the direction that a radio transmission is coming from. The RDF is used with a radio beacon to find a radio bearing to help determine the vessel's position.

Radiograph [Horse Racing]
	The picture or image on film generated by x-rays.

Radiowaves [Sailing]
	Invisible waves in the electromagnetic spectrum that are used to communicate (radio) and navigate (radar, RDF.)

Raft [Sailing]
	(1) A small flat boat, usually inflatable. (2) To moor with more than one boat tied together, usually using only one boat's ground tackle.

Rag [Poker]
	A card, usually a low card, that, when it appears, has no apparent impact on the hand. A flop of 7 4 2 is a rag flop - few playable hands match the flop well. If the table shows QJT9, all of spades, a 2h on the river is a rag.

Rag Off [Poker]
	To get a card on the river that doesn't help you.

Rag the Puck [Ice Hockey]
	To retain control of the puck, without attempting to score, for a considerable period of time, usually through clever stickhandling; a tactic used to kill time while a team is short-handed or when it holds a lead with not much time left in the game.

Rag Top [Motor Sports]
	A convertible with a soft top.

Ragged [Poker]
	A flop (or board) that doesn't appear to help anybody very much. A flop that came down Jd-6h-2c would look ragged.

Ragged Flop [Poker]
	Flop cards that are of no use to any player's hand.

Ragging [Ice Hockey]
	Retaining the puck by clever stickhandling; often used by a shorthanded team to kill time.

Rags [Poker]
	Worthless cards; blanks.

Rah-Rahs [Baseball]
	A traditional Australian baseball gesture made at the end of many junior and senior club games, led by the coach or captain in a team huddle, often going like this:

Rail [Horse Racing]
	A barrier that forms the inside and outside perimeter of the racing surface. Also, at a greyhound racetrack, the metal strip that runs alongside the inside of the track on which the lure operates.

Rail Runner [Horse Racing]
	A race animal that prefers to run next to the inside rail.

Railbird [Poker]
	Someone watching a game from the rail, often used to describe a broke ex-player.

Railroad [Bowling]
	A wide split on which both pins are on the same line; e.g., the 7-10, 8-10, 7-9, or 4-6.

Railroad Hand [Poker]
	1) The two pair hand jacks and 6s. (Say it rhythmically with this emphasis: jacks and sixes, jacks and sixes, jacks and sixes. Sounds a bit like a train, doesn't it?) 2) In hold 'em, J-6 as one's first two cards.

Rails [Golf]
	Found on the soles of metal woods, rails function to lower the center of gravity of the club and to provide less resistance as the club travels through the turf.

Rails Run [Horse Racing]
	A horse can be stuck on the fence behind the leader, with other runners behind and next to it, and unable to get a clear run to the finish line. However, sometimes the leader will move out wider on the track when under pressure in the run home, enabling the horse to scoot through along the rail to the finish line

Rain Out [General]
	A contest that has been canceled because of bad weather.

Rain Tires [Motor Sports]
	Softer compound with better tread for wet-weather conditions. In dry conditions, these softer tires wear faster than harder compound tires with less tread.

Rainbow [Video Poker]
	A flop that contains three different suits, thus no flush can be made on the turn. Can also mean a complete five card board that has no more than two of any suit, thus no flush is possible.

Rainbow Bet [Blackjack]
	A bet, usually large, comprised of chips of various denominations, randomly arranged in a single pile, mostly in order to camouflage a bet increase.

Rainbow Blackjack [Blackjack]
	Variation of blackjack which identifies each player's position at the table with a color. Each player has betting spots for each of the other colors, allowing him to bet on other players' hands as well as his own. This game is not widely offered, seen mainly in southern Mississippi.

Rainbow Hand [Poker]
	A hand containing cards from each of the four suits.

Rainbow Jersey [Cycling]
	A multi-colored striped jersey that is worn by the defending world champion.

Rainbow Pack [Bingo]
	A paper pack that allows players to play for three or four different prize denominations at once.

Rainbow Warriors [Motor Sports]
	The crew of Winston Cup driver No. 24, Jeff Gordon, from the rainbow-striped car and uniforms.

Rained Out [General]
	A game canceled because of weather.

Raise [Poker]
	Placing a higher wager into the pot. All other players must call that bet--or raise it--in order to remain in the game.

Raise Back [Poker]
	Re-raise.

Raise Blind [Poker]
	Raise without having seen your cards.

Raise Out [Poker]
	Drive someone out of a pot by betting more than he is willing to call. In a no-limit lowball game you might hear, "I had a bicycle with the joker to draw to, but he raised me out when he put his whole stack in."

Raised Ball [Field Hockey]
	Lifting the ball more than 18 inches above the ground with a hit is an offense, known as a raised ball, if it is dangerous or likely to lead to dangerous play.

Raised Bar [Horse Racing]
	Bar plate which helps prevent running down.

Raised Pot [Poker]
	A pot in which there has been a raise.

Raiser [Poker]
	One who raises.

Raisin Bread. [Poker]
	I'm raising.

Rake [Poker]
	Money taken from each pot and given to the house in return for hosting the game. Usually a percentage of the pot (5%-10%) up to some maximum amount.

Rake Game [Poker]
	A game in which the house makes its money by raking, as opposed to taking time. Sometimes called snatch game

Rake Iron [Golf]
	General term given to wooden shafted clubs whose heads have slots cut through them. The concept was to reduce drag when hitting the ball. So named due to their resemblance to a garden rake.

Rakeoff Game [Poker]
	A game in which the house makes its money by raking, as opposed to taking time. Sometimes called snatch game

Rakes [Poker]
	Cards trimmed or shaved slightly so that they can be detected by feel.

Rally [Motor Sports]
	Competing teams, consisting of a driver and a navigator, are given route instructions, which they must follow exactly. Each team follows the course independently, trying to rack up points based on how well they meet a pre-determined schedule.

Ram and Jam [Poker]
	Bet and raise frequently and aggressively.

Ram Rod [Golf]
	Long (@48”) thin (@3/8”) rod used to force a cork down a steel shaft when using lead powder as a swingweight material.

Ram Wing [Powerboating]
	The center hull section of a three-point hydroplane, which is shaped like an airfoil to generate lift.

Rama Isihn [Archery]
	Arrows of Wetter Island.

Rama Ma [Archery]
	A bow, Wetter Island.

Rammer-Jammer [Poker]
	Fast-action player, one who bets and raises frequently and aggressively.

Ramming and Jamming [Poker]
	Betting and raising frequently and aggressively; describing a lively game. "You oughta get in the 3-6; they're rammin' and jammin'."

Ramp [Skydiving]
	Some aircraft have ramps which open at the back of the plane, allowing a large amount of skydivers to exit at once in formation.

Ranch [Poker]
	All one's chips; usually preceded by bet the. When a player goes all in, someone may say, "He's betting the ranch." Also, the farm.

Random [Video Poker]
	It is required by law that a Video Poker Machine must draw cards at random from a single deck. This means that no card is more likely to be drawn than any other. There is no rational reason for a Casino to try to cheat on this, since they can legally provide a Payoff Table that is lousy for the player.

Random Number Generator [Video Poker]
	A computer program or algorithm used to generate a series of random numbers.

Randori [Martial Arts]
	Free practise, sparring

Randy [Freestyle Skating]
	A single flip with two and a half twists.

Rangdoodles [Poker]
	1) In private or home games, a hand or round in which the stakes are temporarily increased, usually after a "big" hand is shown down. For example, in a $5-limit game, if aces full or better appears in a showdown, the next hand or the entire next round might be played at $10-limit. Also rangdoodles, wangdoodles. 2. Less commonly, progressive progressive.

Range [Sailing]
	(1) distance a boat can travel with its available fuel and supplies. (2) The difference between high and low tides. (3) Two lights or daymarks that can be aligned with one behind another to indicate that one is positioned on a line on a chart, typically used to guide a boat into a channel.

Range Factor [Baseball]
	The number of Chances (Putouts plus Assists) times nine divided by the number of Defensive Innings Played. The average for a Regular Player at each position in 1997: Second Base: 5.00 Third Base: 2.67 Shortstop: 4.56 Left Field: 1.99 Center Field: 2.55 Right Field: 2.06

Range Finders [Bowling]
	Markers in the lane that help the bowler determine the target line. There are two sets of such markers: ten dots located seven feet past the foul line and seven arrows arranged in a triangle beginning 16 feet beyond the foul line.

Rank [Horse Racing]
	A horse that refuses to settle under a jockey's handling in a race, running in a headstrong manner without respect to pace.

Rank Card [Poker]
	Card with numbers, that is, 2 through 10.

Rank of Cards [Poker]
	The hierarchy of cards, from high to low, or low to high, to determine what beats what, as (from high to low) A (ace), K (king), Q (queen), J (jack), T (10), 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, trey (3), deuce (2). In ace-to-five lowball (and many high-low split games), the list goes, from low to high, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K.

Rank of Hands [Poker]
	The hierarchy of cards, from high to low, or low to high, to determine what beats what, as (from high to low) A (ace), K (king), Q (queen), J (jack), T (10), 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, trey (3), deuce (2). In ace-to-five lowball (and many high-low split games), the list goes, from low to high, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K.

Rankling Arrow [Archery]
	An arrow with a detachable head which remains in the wound when the arrow is removed.

Rap [Poker]

1) In draw poker, at the time to draw cards, indicate that one is pat. So called because a player, if he has a pat hand, often raps on the table with his knuckles when it is his turn to announce his draw. 2) In any form of poker, at the time for making a bet, indicate that one declines to bet; check. 3) In a game in which gypsy bets are permitted, when it is the blind's turn to act, decline to raise, indicated by rapping on the table with one's cards or knuckles. 4) In a game in which a player must post a blind to get a hand earlier than waiting for the blind to come around (which blind then acts as the player's opening bet), when it is that player's legal turn to act, decline to raise, indicated in similar fashion. 5) When one is offered the deck by the dealer, after shuffling, to cut, rap on the deck to indicate one is declining the option of cutting the cards. For definitions 1 and 2, also knuckle or knock. For 5, sometimes, tap. 6) Standing pat. "He gave it the rap" means he stood pat.

Rap Pat [Poker]

1) Stand pat, that is, at the point when one is supposed to draw, tap the table with one's cards or rap on the table with one's knuckles as an indication that one will not draw any cards. 2) Extended figuratively, draw no cards (but without necessarily actually performing the act of tapping the table with one's cards or rapping with one's knuckles). "How many cards did John take, dealer?" "He rapped pat."

Rapids [Canoeing]
	An area of a river, stream, or course where the current is very rapid and flows around and over various obstacles.

Rapier [Fencing]
	A long, double-edged thrusting sword popular in the 16th-17th centuries.

Raquel Welch [Poker]
	In hold 'em, 3-8 as one's first two cards. Has something to do with certain measurements

Rassemblement [Fencing]
	Bringing the feet together at right angles with the heels touching and the body upright.

Rat [Baseball]
	Ratio of AB/HR

Rat Holing (Chips). [Blackjack]
	When the player secretly sneaks a portion of his chips into purse or pocket in order to hide from the pit crew how much he's winning.

Ratchet Rear End [Motor Sports]
	A rear end gear that locks under acceleration, and unlocks when the driver lets off the throttle. Commonly used in oval-track racing, where it provides the straight-line acceleration of a locked rear end, without the cornering difficulties.

Rate [Horse Racing]
	To restrain a horse early in a race, conserving its energies for later challenges.

Rate Card [Keno]
	Provided by the casino. Shows payoffs for various bets.

Rated [Horse Racing]
	Relating to the mile rate that a horse records over any race distance. Say a horse records a mile rate of 2:00.1 in a 2113 metre race, it is said to have rated 2:00.1 over 2113 metres.

Rated Payback [Video Poker]
	The long term expected return of a game. Many analyzts quote the value given by a game analysis program, but that assumes perfect play. For example, they rate Double Bonus Poker at 100.17%, or even round that up to 100.2%.

Rathole [Poker]

During a playing session, surreptitiously remove chips from play. This is not strictly cheating, just not fair to the other players who do not have an opportunity to win as much as they might otherwise. It is not permitted in public card rooms to remove chips from the table without cashing out. Players rat hole chips because they don't want to chance losing them back, or because they want to hide their winnings from someone who has staked them or someone they owe money to.

Ratholer [Poker]
	One who ratholes chips.