a
- advantageIn gambling, one's advantage (or disadvantage) refers to the percent of each bet a gambler (or the house) can expect to win (or lose) on... More
- availability heuristicThe Availability Heuristic is a judgment shortcut by which individuals estimate the likelihood or frequency of an event based on how easily examples or instances... More
b
- ball (roulette)The roulette ball is the small, marble-sized ball that is spun around a roulette wheel (by the croupier) until it comes to rest on one... More
- basic strategy and card countingBasic Strategy The basic strategy, or just basic, is the best way to play each hand without keeping track of cards removed from play during... More
- Bayes' theorem and base rateBayes' theorem refers to a probabilistic framework for updating beliefs in light of new evidence. Initially derived from the work of the Reverend (and statistician... More neglect
- behavioral decision sciencesThe term behavioral decision sciences refers to an interdisciplinary field that combines psychology, economics, statistics, computer science, and management science to understand how individuals, groups,... More
- biasIn decision science, bias refers to systematic and predictable deviations from accepted models of rationality. In scientific language, "systematic" and "predictable" are not meant to... More
- blackjackBlackjack, also referred to as 21, is a popular casino card game where players attempt to have a hand value closer to 21 than the... More
- bounded rationalityThe concept of bounded rationality refers to the idea that human rationality is constrained by (1) available information, (2) cognitive / information processing limitations, and... More
- break evenBreaking even refers to a situation where a gambler wins an amount of money equal to the amount they have wagered over a certain period,... More
- bust (blackjack)Busting is the act of getting a point total higher than twenty-one in blackjack, which results in an automatic loss for whoever busts. If both... More
c
- coherence vs correspondenceCoherence versus Correspondence In decision science, the terms "coherence" and "correspondence" refer to two different criteria for evaluating the quality or correctness of, beliefs, judgments,... More
- crapsCraps is a popular dice-based casino game where players bet on the outcome of a roll, or a series of rolls, of two six-sided dice.... More
- croupier, dealer, stickmanA "croupier" is primarily a European term, referring to the casino game attendant responsible for managing the betting and game actions of table games, especially... More
d
- dealer signatureDealer signature in casino roulette refers to the notion that over time roulette dealers may—intentionally or unintentionally—come to spin the wheel and release the ball... More
- decisions from description, decisions from experience, and decisions in the wildDecisions from Experience vs Decisions from Description "Decisions from description" and "decisions from experience" are two paradigms in the experimental study of behavioral decision making.... More
- decisions under certainty, uncertainty, and riskDecisions can be categorized based on the amount and nature of information available and decision scientists have developed somewhat standard definitions of the terms "risk",... More
- diamond (roulette)A roulette diamond, commonly referred to as a "deflector", is a small, often triangular or diamond-shaped piece that protrudes from the inner wall of the... More
- double down, doublePlayers may have the option to double down, or just double, after receiving their first two cards and seeing the dealer's up-card, but before taking... More
e
- ecological validityEcological Validity has two distinct usages that will both sometimes be used. The most common usage comes from the experimentaI sciences and refers to the... More
- expected valueFor a more detailed, historical consideration of expected value, with more complicated detailed, complex examples of how to calculate it, see the Casino Cognition Substack... More
f
- first base, third baseFirst and third base refer to the first and last player to play to play their hands in the game of blackjack, respectively. The first... More
- fret (roulette)Frets are the metal partitions or dividers used on a roulette wheel to separate the numbered pockets. When the ball is spun around the rim... More
g
h
- Hard hand, soft hand, soft 17Soft hands are hands that can take two distinct values because they contain an ace which can be treated as either one point or eleven... More
- houseThe house is a colloquial term for the casino. The "house edge" is the casino's edge. "The house always wins" refers to the idea that... More
k
n
- near missThe term "near miss" could be used in any domain where a particularly good (or bad) outcome has—or seems to have—almost occurred. Near misses are... More
- normative, descriptive, and prescriptive decision theoryDecision scientists often distinguish between normative and descriptive models of decision making, and less often add the additional distinction between normative and prescriptive models. Normative... More
r
- rational choice theoryLink to Wikipedia entry
- representativeness heuristicLink to Wikipedia entry The representativeness heuristic is one of the most widely researched and demonstrated cognitive heuristics (short cuts or rules of thumb putatively...
- rouletteRoulette is a popular casino table game originating from France. Players place bets on either a single number, various groupings of numbers, the colors red... More
s