Online Blackjack Glossary

Online Blackjack Glossary Blackjack is a game with a culture of its own, and to be part of it you will have to learn the language. Compared to some other types of gambling, though, blackjack terms are actually quite simple. To help you get started, we have compiled a list of some of the most common blackjack terms. This list is far from exhaustive and players in some parts of the world use special jargon that won’t translate elsewhere. Having said that, this list should be enough to get you started; once you know this blackjack terminology, it should be significantly easier for you to get into the game.

Bankroll – The sum of all money that you have access to for gambling purposes.

Burn Card – This is the first card drawn from the top of the deck. Named because it is “burned” (removed from the deck) to foil attempts at cheating.

Bust – A hand that is worth more than 21. This automatically results in a loss of your bet and can only be achieved after “hitting”. Your starting two cards can never be worth more than 21.

Card Counting – A potentially effective system of tracking the cards that remain in a blackjack deck to determine the likelihood of the dealer “busting”.

Deck Penetration – The percentage of cards that have been in play since the previous shuffle.

Double Down – The choice to double your original bet (typically with a strong hand) with the limitation that you must accept exactly one more card. This cannot be performed on a hand that contains more than two cards.

Face Cards – These are the Kings, Queens, and Jacks in a deck.

Flat Betting – Betting the same for each hand. No variation in bet size.

Griffin Book – A listing of known card counters which circulates among casino security workers in brick and mortar casinos. It is named after Griffin Investigations: the company that is responsible for publishing this document.

Hard Hand – A hand that can only have one value – either without any aces, or a hand with a high enough value that any aces can only be worth 1.

Heads Up – When there is only one player playing at the blackjack table. Most online games are played heads-up.

Hit – Requesting an additional card from the dealer in hopes of improving ones blackjack hand.

House Edge – The house’s statistical advantage. With all other things being equal, a lower house edge is better from the player’s perspective.

Natural – A hand that does not require any action to be worth 21. Only contains two cards.

Paint – A slang term used by blackjack players to refer to face cards.

Push – Tying with the dealer with a non-busted hand; this results in neither a win nor a loss.

Soft Hand – Any hand that contains one or more aces that can be worth either 1 or 11.

Surrender – The decision to forfeit a blackjack hand and have half of your wager returned to you. This cannot be performed after any other action (e.g. hitting, doubling down, etc).

Up Card – The dealer’s card which faces up. It provides valuable information for any player attempting to follow basic strategy or count cards.