Use our Blackjack Terminology guide below to help you get top grips with the weird and wonderful saying terms often used around the Blackjack tables.
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Blackjack Terms
Aces – These cards have a value of either 1 or 11, always split them when you receive a pair of them.
Action – This is what a casino will base your comps on and is simply how much you are wagering in your Blackjack session.
Action Jackson – A players who sits down to play for prolonged periods of time.
Anchor – This is the last person to play their hand by virtue of where they are sitting around the Blackjack table.
Ante – This is a must place bet you need to play to be dealt in a game of Blackjack namely your initial stake.
Apron – This is part of the Blackjack table that surrounds the edges.
Bankroll – This is what you have set aside to play or gamble with.
Bankroll Management – This term relates to how you plan to play and stake you wagers whilst playing Blackjack
Blackjack – This is when you have a Ten valued card and an Ace.
Bust – This is when your hand is over 21 in total and refers to a losing Blackjack hand.
Card Counting – This refers to a way of keeping track of the cards in a deck and using it to gain a winning advantage over the casino.
Casino Advantage – This is the expected profit or house edge the casino expects to make from each game over time.
Chips – These are what you use to place a wager in a casino, little clay discs with a monetary value.
Comps – These are little extras a casino will give you for being a loyal player and can be cash, prizes or free food and drink.
Cut – This term refers to splitting a deck of cards into two halves.
Deal – This is when a dealer issues players and himself their playing cards. Dealer – The person who is responsible for dealing out the cards and removing losing bets and paying winning bets at the Blackjack table.
Discards – These are the cards that have been in play but have been removed after a game finishes.
Doubling Down – This is when you double your initial wager to receive another card. Doubling-up – This is when a player doubles his next bet to try and win back a previous loss.
Down Card – This is a card that has been dealt face down.
Draw – The term given for receiving another playing card.
Edge – A theoretical advantage a casino holds over the player.
Eye in the sky – Cameras placed into the ceiling to monitor the casino.
Face Cards – These are the picture cards in a deck I.E. the Jack, Queen and King.
Face Up Blackjack – This is a Blackjack variant in which the Dealers card are always dealt face upwards.
Green action – A lot of bets being placed with a value of $25.
Gross Winnings – This is the amount of money won before any outgoings. potentially win
Hand – These are the cards you are holding.
Hard Hand – Any Blackjack hand that does not contain an Ace. High Roller – A player who wagers very large bets and is often courted by the casino.
Hi Lo Card Count – This is the term given for being able to keep track of the cards in a Blackjack deck by using a counting method.
Hit – This is when you receive another card in the game of Blackjack.
Hole Card – This is the face down card that is dealt to the dealer.
House – This is the name given for the casino.
House Edge – This is theoretical amount that the casino can expect to win from each game, often described by its percentage amount.
House Rules – These are the rules of the casino you are playing in both players and the casino must conform to them.
Inspector – This is the person who is employed by a casino who is in charge of the gaming area.
Insurance – A side bet which players may make that is betting on the dealers hand being a Blackjack.
Last base – The player position nearest the dealers right hand side. Limit – A minimum or maximum amount you can wager on any casino game.
Maximum Bet – The maximum stake permitted on any game by the house.
Misdeal – An errorneous deal is referred too as a misdeal. The game will be declared void by the house and stakes will be returned.
Mirror – A little mirror placed on the table layout to allow the dealer to check whether he has a Blackjack hand.
Money Management – A way of carefully controlling your money at the Blackjack tables