Blackjack Dictionary, Terms and Slang

Bankroll
the total available chips held by the playeror the amount of money a player set aside to gamble in a given period

Basic Strategy
a playing system adopted by a player with the idea of optimizing his edge over the house in the longer term.

Basic Strategy - Blackjack
a predetermined set of decisions a player should make to maximize his average gain or expectation, while playing single hand blackjack.

Bet
the amount of chips the player wagers on a blackjack hand.

Bet Spread
the ratio between the maximum and minimum bet size. A game using $100.00 maximum bets and $1.00 minimum bets is using a 10:1 bet spread.

Betting Limit
the set minimum and/or maximum amount of chips that the player can wager on a single bet.

Blackjack
a blackjack hand with the two first cards dealt only that form a hand with a point value of 21.
- an ace and any card having a point value of ten dealt as the initial two cards to a player or a dealer.

BR
an abbreviation for bankroll.

Buck
a $100.00 wager.

Bust
to go over the total of 21 in the game of Blackjack. If the player busts, he loses.

Card Counting
keeping track of all cards that have been played since the shuffle.

Card Shark
a skilled blackjack player.
- a person who is an expert at cards.

Card Weight
the value assigned to each card face in a counting system. This weight is added to the count as each new card is exposed. Weights are usually small integer values like minus one, plus one or plus two.

Case
the last card of a certain rank in the deck.
- the case ten would be the last ten in the deck.

Check
a term for a chip, but it also refers to the word, check, used by a Blackjack player on a multi-player table, who does not wish to bet on a round of cards, but wishes to stay at the table.

Chips
round tokens that are used in tournaments.

Cold
a term for a player on a losing streak.
When refering to a Blackjack session where the player lost several hands in a row;
- I had a Cold, I was Cold

Can be used as a reference to not winning due to something the player could not control such as a Cold (illness) or as a reference to the player not being warm / ready yet.
- I was cold at the first table but did much better at the next one.

Count
a number that represents the players estimate of how favorable or unfavorable the non-dealt cards in the deck may be.

Counter
a player who counts cards.

Crack
to beat a high value hand.
Winning a round of blackjack against a big hand.

Deal
to distribute the cards during a hand.

Dealer
The person or blackjack hand holder that deals the cards in a game of Blackjack

Discard Tray
a tray on the dealers right side that holds all the cards that have been played or discarded.

Double Bet
a wager that is twice the amount of the player's usual wager.

Double Down
to double the original bet in Blackjack in exchange for receiving only one more card.

Down Card
a card that has been dealt face-down on the Blackjack table.

Edge
an advantage over an opponent, or the house, in any wager, or it can be the advantage that the casino has on any given wager.

Even Money Blackjack
when the player takes insurance even while holding a Blackjack.

Face Cards
the jack, queen, and king of any suit of cards.

Firing
the wagering of large sums of money.
- a player who does so is said to be firing.

First Base
the position on the far left of the dealer at the start of each hand at the Blackjack table is considered to be first base, and is the first position dealt during play.

Flat Bet
a bet of the same amount on successive hands, which the player does not vary.

Get Down
make a wager.

Going Down
losing a wager, or series of wagers.

Grinder
a player that place low bets.
- a person who wagers small money.

Hand
the cards that the player holds

Hard Hand
any hand in Blackjack valued at eleven that does not contain an ace, or in which any ace held is counted as one and not as eleven.

Hard Hand
to recieve another card in Blackjack.

Holding Your Own
the result of breaking even, i.e., neither winning nor losing, during a wager, or series of wagers.

Hole-Card
any dealt card, which is played face-down on the table.
- The definition most often refers to the dealers single, face-down card.

Insurance
a side bet in Blackjack of up to one half the original bet, that is offered only when the dealers up-card is an ace.
- The insurance bet wins double if the dealer has a natural, but loses if the dealer does not.

Layout
the imprinted surface of a gaming table, which shows all the areas where bets can be placed.

Surrender
a betting option that allow players to fold at the cost of half their bet.

Limit
the maximum wager accepted in the game

Lock
an easy winner, or a clear no-lose situation.

Longshot
the blackjack player that is extremely unlikely to win.
- an extreme underdog.

Loyalty Points
points earned during real cash play that can be redeemed for cash, bonus amounts or prizes at online casinos.

Natural
a two-card hand of twenty-one points in Blackjack.

Odds
the ratio between the amount to be paid to the winning player and the amount bet.

Pat Hand
a good Blackjack hand worth at least 17 points.
- The player is said to have a pat hand.

Payoff
the winning return or payout the player receives on a wager.

Point Count
the net value of the card count at the end of a hand.

Point Total
the total value of cards in a hand.

Press
to wager a greater amount than usual.

Press a Bet
to increase a bet by doubling it.

Pressing
wagering winnings along with the original bet.
- aA player is pressing a bet when he lets winnings ride.

Puppy
the blackjack player that is least likely to win
- an underdog, Alpo or dog.

Push
a tie hand between a dealer and a player where no money change hands.
- A push in the game of Blackjack occurs when both the player and the dealer have hands with the same total points and both or none have Blackjack.

Rank
the numerical playing value of each card in a set of cards, as opposed to its suit.

Rich Deck
a partial deck that has a disproportionately high percentage of face cards and aces.

Round of Play
a period of play commencing with the removal of the first card from the shoe or shuffling device by the dealer and concluding when the dealer, after drawing the last card, announces a result and if applicable, pays out winnings.

Running Count
the total count of the weights of all cards that have been exposed since the cards were shuffled.

Settlement
the last stage of any particular bet. Either, the dealer takes the player's chips, pays out player winnings or in the case of a push, exchanges no chips with him.

Shoe
a box for holding and dealing multiple decks of cards used in Baccarat and Blackjack. The shoe can hold up to eight decks of cards and is designed to enable a dealer to slide out one card at a time.

Short
the blackjack player that is least likely to win.
- a slang term for Alpo, puppy, dog or underdog. It is often expressed as, the short.

Short Stack
a stack of chips in front of a player that is smaller than the stacks of the other players at the table.

Shuffle
to mix the order of the cards by hand prior to the start of a game.
- at online casinos blackjack decks are shuffled after each game automatically.

Soft Hand
any hand in Blackjack that contains an ace counted as eleven, without having the value of the hand exceed 21.
- It is always possible to draw one card to a soft hand without busting.

Split Hand
a hand in Blackjack, consisting of two dealt cards of the same rank, that is split to form two independent hands.
- The split hand is played as two separate hands after the player adds a new bet to the second hand.

Spread Limit
a betting structure in which a player may bet any amount, within a set range, on every betting round.

Stand
to refrain from taking another card in Blackjack.
- to stop at the current total and await the dealers total to see the outcome of the Blackjack round.

Standoff
a tie in cards between players, or among one or more players and the house. When referring to a wager, it means that it shall neither win nor lose.

Stiff
a hand in Blackjack that is not pat, and may bust if hit once.
- a stiff hand has a small chance of winning regardless of how it is played.

Strategy Variation
varying a basic strategy when the count indicates that it is profitable to do so.

Square
an unsophisticated player.

Surrender
to give up half the value of a bet for the privilege of not playing out a hand of Blackjack.

Tapped Out
a condition experienced by players who are broke.

Ten Poor
a deck that has a lower than average density of tens and face cards.

Ten Rich
a deck that has a higher than average density of tens and face cards.

Third Base
the last player to the buttons right at the Blackjack table.

True Count
an adjustment to the running count, in order to account for the number of cards left to be dealt in the deck or shoe. The true count usually is determined by dividing the running count by the number of undealt decks, or half-decks.

Underdog
the blackjack player that is least likely to win. See also short, puppy, Alpo, or dog.

Under the Gun
the position of the player who acts first on a betting round.

Up Card
the first card the Blackjack dealer deals himself.
The dealers first card is placed face-up for all players to see before they play their hands.
The players decision to draw or stand involves some consideration of the dealers up card.