Bet
This one is fairly simple. The bet is the amount of money you wager at the start of each hand.
Blackjack
A Blackjack is a combination of an ace and a ten, jack, queen, or king, in the opening hand to make a two card 21. A blackjack pays back 1.5x your bet rather than the typical 1x. In many casinos, the dealer will check for a blackjack if their face up card is either a ten or an ace. If there is a blackjack, all the players lose right off the bet.
Bust
This is what you call it when someone’s point value goes over 21 and they lose the hand.
Card Counting
This is the process of keeping track of the number of “tens” in the deck to find times when betting is advantageous for the player. The more tens and aces there are in the deck, the more likely the player is to win. So, if a card counter discovers there are a lot of tens left in the deck, they will likely increase their bet to take advantage. While it is not necessarily cheating, card counting does give players an edge over the house, and casinos tend to remove card counters from their institutions because of the ability of card counters to shift the odds.
Count
In Card Counting, the count is the level of high cards left in the deck. A positive count means a lot of high cards are left and it is good for the player, a negative count is means low cards, and is bad.
Dealer
Beyond being the person that deals the cards, the dealer at the casino is the person who’s hand you try to beat. Every hand of blackjack is 1 on 1 against the dealer, even if there are multiple players at the table.
Double Down
This is a player action in which the player can choose to double his bet and receive one, and only one, more card to complete his hand. This is a good play to make with a hand of 10 or 11.
Hard
Hard is typically used ahead of a number, like Hard 17, to show that it is a point total WITHOUT an ace.
Hit
To ask for another card
Hole Card
The face down card of the opening hand
Insurance
A bet that is placed by a player when the dealer is showing an ace or a ten. Insurance is a bet that rewards the player if the dealer has a blackjack, and can therefore offset the loss of a hand.
Martingale
This is a betting pattern in which the player doubles the bet of each consecutive hand to cover the losses of previous bets. This bet is a sure thing if you have infinite wealth, unfortunately most players don’t have infinite wealth and end up losing a lot.
Minimum/Maximum Bet
These are the limits to how much you can bet at a table.
Natural
Another name for a blackjack.
Pitch
A game in which the dealer deals by a hand held deck rather than a shoe is called a pitch game.
Point Total
The total point value of all the cards in a hand. The goal is to get this value to equal 21.
Push
The player gets his bet back. This occurs when player and dealer tie.
Shoe
A plastic device that holds up to 8 decks that the dealer deals out of.
Soft
Like hard, soft typically prefaces a number, like soft 17, to show that the number is calculated using an ace as 11.
Split
This allows a player to split cards of the same number into separate hands. A good move with a hand of 88.
Stand
To stop receiving cards.
Surrender
To forfeit half your bet and get out of the hand before seeing the dealer’s cards. A good move with a hand like 16. The surrender option is not always available.
Tens
A ten in blackjack does not just refer to the card 10, but also to jacks, queens, and kings, which also have a point value of 10.
Blackjack Glossary
Welcome to the GamblingWeb. Info Online Blackjack Glossary, where you’ll learn all the Blackjack terms and Blackjack language you’ll need to master the game and increase your wins. Here, we’ll explain various types of Blackjack Bets and the betting systems and strategies employed by the pros. Use this lingo at the casino or playing blackjack online and you’ll sound like a pro…