Blackjack
Terms
Dictionary
This lesson of Blackjack Terms will
prepare you
for your next visit to the tables.
Blackjack Terms: A
Action:
Blackjack
or 21 is a game where the player’s goal is to get closer than the
dealer to 21
without going over. Blackjack pays 3 to 2
or $3 for every $2 bet.
This lesson provides terms relating to the game—strategy,
rules, lingo and action at the blackjack table.
Ace: is counted
as 1 or 11 in blackjack.
Advantage: Blackjack
provides the strategic player an advantage, however less than strategic
play
can increase the casino advantage to as high as 5%.
Anchor: Player to
the right of the dealer receiving the last card.
Aka Third
Base.
Blackjack Terms: B
Bank: Player’s
bankroll or a team of players’ bankroll.
Barber Pole: Stack
of chips consisting of a variety of colors.
Bet Sizing: Strategy
based on betting according to the advantage for a specific hand.
Bet Spread: Referring
to a player's minimum and maximum bet.
Betting Handle: Total
money bet during a session of play.
Betting Limits: Casino
rules of minimum and maximum amounts allowed for one bet.
Betting True Count:
Value considering number of Aces.
Break: Term meaning to
Bust or
Go Over—the final count is over 21.
Breaking Hand: Card
count of 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 that will Bust or go over 21 with one
card. Aka
‘stiff hand’.
Burn: Term meaning
dealer
removes a small number (1-3) cards after the shuffle to be placed in
the
discard pile. Cards are also burned with the arrival of a new dealer.
Bust Card: 2, 3,
4, 5, and 6 are Bust Cards referring to the dealer's up card. If the
dealer has
to hit with 12-16, he/she may go Bust. .
Bust/Busted: Total
count is over 21. This is a losing hand even if the dealer also busts.
All players whose count is less than 21 win if the Dealer
Busts.
Buy-in: Exchange
money for chips.
Blackjack Terms: C
Card Counting: Strategy
to allocate values to cards. Cards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6=plus 1
and 10, J, Q, K and Aces=minus 1 and 7, 8 and 9 are neutral at
0. As these cards are tracked during a session, a
determination
is made as to whether the remaining cards favor the player or dealer.
Circle: Term meaning
the area on
the table layout where the player places a bet. Aka Betting
Circle or Square.
Clump: Sequence
of cards that favors either the house or player. Also a group of cards
together within the deck(s) in play.
Cold: Winning
cards have disappeared.
Color: Standard
Chip Colors are $1=blue or white. $5=red. $25=Green. $100=Black.
$500=Purple.
Color Up:
Term meaning to Exchange smaller denominations to larger
denominations resulting in a
smaller stack
of chips.
Count Down the Deck:
Memorizing cards already played to determine the remainder.
Cover the Bet: Casino
takes a bet to play. Aka Book the Action.
CSM: Term for Continuous
Shuffling Machine. A machine that shuffles cards back into the deck(s)
continuously
rather than manually shuffling after deck(s) is finished. Disadvantage
to card
counters.
Cut: After
shuffling, the deck is separated into two cards with a plastic cut card
by a
player and passed back to the dealer.
Cut Card: Plastic
colored card passed to the player to cut the deck. The dealer then
places the
Cut Card near the end of the shoe to indicate the last hand to be
dealt.
Blackjack Terms: D
DAS: Term abbreviation
for Double After Splits.
DD: Short form
for Double Deck game or Double Down.
Deadwood: Cards
from previous play.
Deal: Term for cards
given
to players during the game.
Dealer: Casino
employee who deals and manages the game of Blackjack.
Decisions: The
game of blackjack consists of the following Player decisions--hitting,
doubling
down, standing, splitting, insurance and surrendering.
Deck: consists of
52 playing cards. When blackjack is played with more than one deck, the
cards
are called a pack.
Deuce: Term for a
card numbered 2.
Discards: Cards
played since the last shuffle and placed in a discard tray.
DOA: Short form
for Double Only Any Two Cards allows for doubling on any two cards.
DAS: Short form
for Double after Split
allows for
doubling down after splitting a pair.
Double Deck:
utilizing two decks in blackjack. Casinos may also use 4, 6 or 8 decks.
Double Down or
Doubling Down: Doubling the bet before being dealt one
additional card.
Blackjack rule for Doubling Down is that the player receives only one
card
after a DD decision. Player may bet up to his/her original bet, but not
more
and places this second bet behind the original bet. Some casinos allow
Double
Down only with a count of 10 or 11.
Draw: dealt
additional card(s) to the 2 cards already dealt originally. Aka Hit,
Draw Card or
Hit Card.
Drop: Total
dollar value bet in a casino or total value of money and/or markers
cashed in
by players.
Blackjack Terms: E
Early Surrender:
Player loses 50% of bet if he/she decides to surrender after being
dealt the
first two cards.
Even Money: Refers
to taking insurance on a blackjack hand when dealer shows an Ace.
Player is paid even money on his/her blackjack whether
dealer has hit blackjack or not.
Blackjack Terms: F
Face Card: Term for
Jacks, Queens, and Kings that have
a value of 10 each in
blackjack.
Face Down:
Blackjack game where player’s first card is dealt up and second card is
dealt
face down.
Face Up: Blackjack
game where both cards are dealt face
up.
First Base: Term for
player to the left of the dealer and the first person to receive cards.
Aka First Baseman.
Five-Card Charlie:
5-card Blackjack that totals 21 or less.
Flat Bettor: Player
who wagers the same amount consistently.
Front Loading: A peek
at the Dealer’s hole card that may determine strategy for the next hand.
Blackjack Terms: H
Hand: Round of
play. Also cards held by the player or dealer.
Hard Hand: Those
hands that do not contain an Ace or a hand where the Ace is valued at
only 1
are Hard Hands as there is only one value. Opposite of Soft Hands.
Hard Total: Count
for those hands that do not contain an Ace or a hand where the Ace is
valued at
only 1. Examples: 9 and 8 has a hard total of 17 and an Ace and 6 has a
hard
total of 7.
Heads Up: Player
against the dealer only with no other participants.
Hit: dealt
additional card(s) to the 2 cards already dealt originally. Aka Draw,
Draw Card
or Hit Card. The decision to hit is indicated by a sweeping motion on
the felt
by the player or tapping the felt in a Face Up game.
Hole
Card:
Dealer’s card dealt face down.
House Advantage or
House Edge: Refers to the casino % advantage vs. the player.
Blackjack Terms: I - L
Insurance: When dealer’s
up card is an Ace, there will be a call for insurance. If you make an
insurance
bet that the dealer has blackjack, this wager is placed on the
insurance line
displayed on the felt. If the dealer has Blackjack, you win the
insurance bet;
however, your original bet is lost. If there is no Blackjack, you lose
the
insurance bet.The insurance bet is not recommended.
Late Surrender:
Player loses 50% of bet if he/she decides to surrender after seeing the
dealer’s up card.
Blackjack Terms: M - N
Multiple Decks: More
than one deck is in play here.
Natural: Aka as a
Blackjack, a Natural occurs when the first two cards dealt are an Ace
and Ten
for 21. Pays 3 to 2.
Nickel: $5 Chip.
No Hole Card: Blackjack
version where the dealer does not receive a second card until all the
players
have completed their hands.
Blackjack Terms: P
Paint: Term for
face cards—Jack, Queen and King.
Pair: Two cards
of the same value, e.g., pair of tens.
Pat Hand:
Blackjack hand that has a value of hard 17 or better and does not
require a
hit.
Penetration:
Cards played into the shoe before shuffling occurs. This is a factor to
consider for card counters.
Pip: Card spots
indicating the value of the card.
Pitch Game: Term
for ‘tossing’ or pitching cards to players by the dealer. Occurs with
single or double decks games dealt face down.
Play All:
Blackjack players who stay to play during the ups and downs of the
game. Refers
to multiple deck games.
Playing Conditions:
Casino options offered to players. The many options including Double
Down
rules, Early/Late Surrender and Splitting can vary widely between
worldwide
land-based casino and online casinos.
Press: increase
betting, usually by at least 50% after a winning hand.
Progression Betting: Strategy
based on betting(increase/decrease) according to previous
hand(s). Positive Progression is raising or
pressing the bet after a win while Negative Progression is raising the
bet
after a loss.
Push or Tie:
occurs when both dealer and player have the same count neither of which
is 21.
Usually, the player’s bet is returned.
Rainbow Bet: Wagering
with several colors/denominations of chips.
Blackjack Terms: R
Red Chip: $5 Chip.
ReSplit:
Splitting pairs yet again.
RSA: Short form
for ReSplit Aces with no limit. Some casinos have rules for RSA.
Round: occurs
when all players have completed their Blackjack hands.
Running Count:
Total points from card-counting method beginning with first hand dealt
after
new shuffle and updated after each hand.
S17: Short form
for ‘Dealer Stands on all 17’s.
Shoe: Design of
holder, either wood or heavy plastic, of up to 8 decks in play.
Blackjack Terms: S
Shuffle: Blending
the cards before dealing to players.
Side Bet: Additional
bet along with the primary bet. Not recommended.
Soft Hand: Aka
Soft Hand or Soft Total: holds an Ace that is counted as 11.
Example: Ace-7 equals a Soft 18. However, if the value is
changed to 1 later, it is consider a Hard Hand.
Soft Double: Doubling
Down when one card is an Ace.
Spanish 21:
Blackjack version where the 4-Ten cards are removed.
Split or Splitting Pairs: splitting a
matched pair to play separately.
The extra bet is placed on one of the split cards. If a
third like card is dealt, that too can be split based on casino rules.
Splitting Aces: When
you split aces, you receive only additional card for each hand.
However, based on casino rules you may split a third Ace if
dealt.
Stand and Stay:
Player decision not to draw additional cards/hits.
Stand-Off: Aka
tie or push. Occurs when both dealer and player have the same count
neither of
which is 21.
Usually, the player’s bet is returned.
Steam: Term for a
player who increases his/her bets to recoup losses.
Stiff or Stiff Hand:
Card count of 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 that will Bust or go over 21 with
one card.
Aka ‘Breaking Hand’.
Streak: String of
wins or losses.
Surrender: Choose
surrender after receiving first two cards and you lose only 50% of the
bet.
Blackjack Terms: T - U
Team Play:
Several players who utilize one bankroll and are knowledgeable
Blackjack
players.
Tells: Signals in
the form of gestures or attitude expressed by the dealer that may
provide
useful strategies as to the value of their hole card.
Third Base or Third
Baseman: Player to the right of the dealer receiving the last
card. Aka
Anchor.
Tie: Aka Push or
Stand-Off. Occurs when both dealer and player have the same count
neither of
which is 21. Usually, the player’s bet is returned.
Toke: Tip to the
Dealer.
Twenty-One: Term
for the game of Blackjack.
Up Card: Dealt
face up, this is the dealer’s first card.
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