Blackjack Glossary

Anchor - This is the seat to the dealer's right, it will normally be the last seat taken. In other words if there are five chairs at the table and four are filled, the last chair on the right with a player is the anchor.

Banker - This is the person in charge of the betting and money. They collect the winnings and losses.

Bankroll - The bankroll is what you are personally gambling with at the table.

Basic Strategy - A strategy that you use to increase your advantage.

Blackjack - This is the name of the game as well as the objective. You need two cards offering a total of 21 to get the natural Blackjack.

Burn Cards - These are cards that are removed from the deck as the play continues; they are discarded.

Break - When you exceed 21.

Bust - Another term for break.

Camouflage - To camouflage means you are hiding. In the case of gambling it is something you do to hide your methods from the casino. You may have disguises, act drunk, have typical methods at the table or you may just mix up your behavior.

Card Counting - When you count cards you are doing some in your mind by remembering what cards have been played and discarded, to help you figure out the probability of the next card.

Card Sharp - This is an individual who is very handy with cards.

Cut - A method for splitting the deck and placing the cards back together.

Cut Card - This card helps to cut the cards after a shuffle has been completed.

Deal - handing cards to those at the table in the appropriate manner.

Discard Tray - This is the place the discarded cards will be laid.

Double Down - To double down means you are going to place a second bet on the table based on the cards you have in your hand. You may also receive one more card, but no more than that. Only do this when you feel confident you can win the hand. You must be very good at this game and understand your options. The rules for doubling down will vary.

Draw - is when you obtain another card, in blackjack this is usually referred to as a hit.

Early Surrender - In Blackjack you may surrender your bet before the dealer looks for a Blackjack in their hand.

Even Money - In blackjack you can decide to take your pay if you have a natural hand and the dealer is showing an ace. This means the dealer doesn't look at their cards and you get 1 to 1 on the payout.

Face Cards - In a deck of cards you have 4 jacks, 4 queens, and 4 kings- these are considered the face cards.

Face Down Game - In this game one card is dealt face up and the next card is dealt face down, leaving some surprise as to your hand.

Face Up Game - In this round the cards will always be dealt face up.

First Base - Like the description of Anchor above this refers to a seat. First base is the first seat an individual sits in on the dealers left. You would be the first person to get a card.

Hard Hand - This is referred to as Hard Total as well. It is a hand without an ace. The ace is a value of 1 in a hard hand, if you receive one during play. (See soft hand).

Heads Up or Heads On - In this case you only have a dealer and one player at the table playing Blackjack.

Hit - This is when you take another card to help you towards the objective of 21.

Hole Card - The face down card the dealer gets is the hole card. In Poker such as stud or Texas Hold' em it is the card dealt face down to each player.

Insurance - Insurance on your bet is made if the dealer has an ace card face up. It is a secondary bet to the overall game in which you bet whether the dealer having a natural 21. You can win double if the hand is a natural, but will lose if the dealer does not.

Late Surrender - This is an option in some games when the dealer doesn't have blackjack.

Natural - For Blackjack you need to have 21 total points. With a natural hand you are dealt 21 in two cards on the initial deal. For baccarat this is considered to be an 8 or 9 total.

Pat - This is a hand with at least 17 points, in other words you have not over stepped the points needed to win. For poker it means you don't need any more cards.

Perfect Pairs - With blackjack it is possible to get dealt a pair, and you can place a side bet on this pair. You must decide if you are betting on the pair after the initial deal is over. You can have a mixed pair, colored pair, or a perfect pair in Blackjack.

Plug - This refers to action with the decks. In blackjack you have a shoe full of cards. When the discarded cards are shuffled and placed back in the shoe there is a cut card that marks the place for where the cards are re- inserted. This tells where the deck needs to be reshuffled in some cases. When cards are added back into the deck other cards are removed. Play will stop when the cut card is reached so that reshuffling can occur. The inserted cards are called the 'Plug.'

Point Count - This refers to the card counting strategy in which the net value of a card is taken at the end of the hand.

Preferential Shuffling - This happens when the cards remaining in the deck or shoe are going to be desired by the players.

Push - This is a tie in which both the dealer and the player have the same total points. The player does not lose their bet or gain any winnings.

Running Count - With a card counting system you have a card at the beginning of the deck in which you will change the value on the running count after each hand, by the point count.

Shiner - A device used to cheat by trying to see what the dealer's hole card is, often a mirror of sorts.

Shoe - This is a box used to hold the deck for dealing.

Shuffle - When the cards are mixed in a random fashion by the dealer.

Shuffle Up - this is when the dealer will shuffle before it is needed to stop any card counting.

Soft Hand - The ace will be counted as 11 in this hand, but can change to one if you need a hit.

Split Hand - When you have a pair such as two fives you can split the cards to have two hand. A new wager or ante bet must be played for the second hand to be played.

Spooking - This is cheating and very illegal in a casino. It works with a person standing behind the dealer watching the game to peek at the dealer hole card. They then transmit this information to the player.

Standing Hand - It is commonly referred to as stand, where you will hold on 17 and higher. You will not take another card.

Stand-off - Another word for push and tie, see also (Push).

Stand or Stay - You will not take another card.

Steaming - This defines a player's attitude after a streak of losing. Usually they are angry; it is also a term like 'going on tilt' for poker. You may be more off your game in an angered manner where you take more risks.

Stiff Hand - In this type of hand you don't have much of a winning option. In other words you don't have enough to win, but you could bust if you take a hit. Usually this is 12 through 16 points for a hand.

Surrender - In this case you fold, but will get half your bet back.

Tell Play - This term is based on the act of observing your opponent to see what they may have in their hand. In blackjack it is observing the dealer.

Third Base - Another word for Anchor.

Tie - See Push or Standoff.

True Count - When counting cards this term applies to the adjusted amount of cards left in the deck, that have yet to be played.

Upcard - This is a card that is face up on the table and often the dealer's first card, so that players can see the options and whether they want to continue to play.