Blackjack Terms
Ace
The only card in blackjack that holds two possible values. An ace can be a 1 or 11.
Action
The amount of money a player has bet on a single hand or the entire blackjack session, can apply to one player or all players in the table.
Anchorman
The last player at a table to act before the dealer. Typically sits to the right-hand side of the dealer. Some say that if you count cards this is the best seat. This could be because you have more cards to count. The key to card counting is to predict the state of the shoe, so in this position you know more as more cards were revealed to you.
Advantage
The statistically edge one side has over the other. When expressed in the context of casinos, this is what is stated as the house edge. When done right, card counters can turn this edge to their favor.
Advantage Player
A player who uses strategy to gain a mathematical advantage over the casino.
Bankroll
The money a player has available to gamble. For example lets say a player has $300 in his wallet when he entered the casino. From that money he is thinking of using 100 for playing in the casino, the rest he is going to eat and go to see a play. The bankroll amount is $100, not the $300.
Bet Spread
Betting Limits
The lowest and highest bets allowed by a given casino in a game. This could be set at a global level and affect all game in the casino. This is designed to protect the casino from bankrupcy.
Blackjack
While blackjack is the name of the game, it is also used in another context. When a player has a total of 21 in his cards, it is also called blackjack. For example an ace and a ten.
Blackjack Playing Session
A blackjack playing session starts when the user sits on the blackjack table with a starting bankroll. It ends when the user either loses all his money or stops playing for some other reason.
Burn card
These are cards that are placed in the discard rack. This happens in a freshly shuffled deck or cards that uncovered. This impacts card counting as the player is not able to use these cards to know the state of the shoe.
Bust
A blackjack hand whose value exceeds 21. When players bust, their hand lose instantly. Usually a player busts after hitting.
Cold deck
A cold deck is a deck of cards that has dealt several awful hands in a row, causing the players to loose too much.
Card Counting
A strategy that helps the player track the state of the cards in the shoe. It has been proven that when all low cards from 2 to 6 are out of the shoe, then the player has favorable odds of winning. When this is the case, the player should raises hit bet. On the other end, when all the hight cards that are valued at 10 or Aces are out of the deck, then the player should bet less money.
To prove this theory, go to the simulation page and remove all high cards from the deck. You can also force the deck to refresh on .95 that way to force always to be on similar count. You will see that there is a correlation between the state of the deck and your chances of winning.
Cut card
A colored card the dealer gives a player for cutting the shoe. The cut card then signals when a shoe finishes, and a new one is required.
Deck
One deck of card contains 52 cards.
Hit
When you want the dealer to give you another card.
Insurance
Insurance is a side bet that the dealer has a blackjack or natural. It is treated independently of the main bet. Insurances pay 2:1, which means that for every dollar the player gets 2. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, then the player looses the side bet.
Natural
If either the dealer or any other player get 21 points from the value of their first two cards, this is known as a natural. This hand will have an Ace and a 10 point card (Ten, K, Q, J).
Pair
When the first two cards a player receives have the same values. 3-3, 8-8 and K-K are all examples of a pair. The followings are not pairs: K-J and 10-Q
Payout Ratio
The first number tells how much the player could win and the second number is the amount he betd. So, if the odds are listed as 2-1, he will get $2 for every $1 you bet.
| Ratio | Bet | Wins | Bets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | $10 | the player wins $10 | the player bets $10 |
| 2:1 | $10 | the player wins $20 | the player bets $10 |
| 3:2 | $20 | the player wins $30 | the player bets $20 |
| 6:5 | $50 | the player wins $60 | the player bets $50 |
Split
When you receive two identical cards of the same value, you can split. A split places each card in a hand. The dealer than gives you a card for each hand and you play each hand separately.
Stand
Any time you dont want any more cards from the dealer, you stand. When you stand you wait for the dealer to play his hand.
Shoe
The shoe contains multiple decks of cards. One deck of card contains 52 cards, so a shoe with 8 decks contains 416 cards.
Surrender
A playing option that allows the player to recover half of the original bet. For example at the beginning of the
Third Base
Another term used for the term anchorman. This is the last player at a table to act before the dealer. Typically sits to the right-hand side of the dealer..
Upcard
When a dealer distributes cards all player cards are visible but his hand has one card visible and one not. The card that is visible from his hand is the upcard.