What
special terminology is used
by blackjack players?
Blackjack
Terminology:
basic
strategy
a playing strategy that is designed to minimize the house edge as much
as possible without using techniques such as card counting, shuffle tracking,
or dealer tells. Basic strategy is used as a foundation for card counting,
but is also used by many non-counters.
burn
card(s)
cards that are discarded without being dealt to the players. After the
cards are shuffled by the dealer and cut by one of the players, one or
more cards are "burned" before any cards are dealt to the players.
bust
after a "hit", the player is said to "bust" if the
new card causes the player's total to exceed 21.
card
counting
a system for improving the player's edge by assigning "weights" to
each card face and summing the card weights as each new card is turned
face up. The "count" indicates when the game is favorable for
the player, so that the player can place larger bets and/or make changes
in playing strategy.
cut
card
a (usually colored plastic) card that is used to cut the cards after they
have been shuffled by the dealer.
double
down
to double the initial bet and receive exactly one more card. The option
to double is often allowed on the players first two cards only, although
some casinos allow doubling after splitting a pair. Many Northern Nevada
casinos allowing doubling only with a two-card total of 10 or 11. It is
very rare to find games that allow doubling of hands that have more than
two cards.
double
for less
to double down with less than 2X the original bet. Generally, when doubling
is allowed, the player does not have to actually double his bet, but may
increase it by any amount up to (but not more than) the original
bet.
early
surrender
surrender which is allowed even when the dealer has a natural. Very valuable
to the player, but rarely offered by the casinos.
even
money
taking insurance when holding a blackjack results in a net gain of one
bet. Some casinos will allow the player to be paid without actually placing
the insurance bet. This is called "taking even money". (See "insurance")
first
base
the first player at a table to act on his/her hand is said to be sitting
at "first base".
flat
bet
to bet the same amount on each successive hand.
hard
hand
any hand that is not a soft hand.
heads
up
playing at a table that has no other players.
hit
drawing a new card to add to the player's or dealer's hand.
hole
card
the dealer's card that is placed face down.
insurance
a side bet, of up to 1/2 the original bet, that is offered when the dealer's
upcard is an ace. This bet pays 2:1 if the dealer has a natural 21. (Also
see "even money")
late
surrender
surrender which is only allowed when the dealer does not have a natural.
If the dealer has a natural 21 (blackjack), the player's bet still loses
in its entirety. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the player loses
half the bet and doesn't play the rest of the hand.
natural
a hand that totals 21 on the first two cards.
over/under
a rare bet that the first two player's cards will total over 13, or under
13, when aces are counted as one.
preferential
shuffling
shuffling when the deck is favorable to the players, while avoiding a shuffle
when the deck is unfavorable to the players.
push
a tie hand, the original bet is returned to the player.
shoe
a "box" for holding the undealt cards, usually used in multi-deck
games.
soft
hand
any hand that includes an ace that can be counted as 11 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
hands that start with two cards of the same rank can be split to form two
independent hands. This option is exercised by adding a new bet to the
second hand, and these hands are played independently.
spread
to place more than one bet before the cards are dealt.
stand
to stop drawing cards.
stiff
(hand)
any hand that has a small chance of winning regardless of how the hand
is played (usually 12 - 16).
surrender
the option to give back the player's first two cards in exchange for a
refund of 1/2 of the original bet (rarely allowed). Some hands, such
as 16 vs. dealer's 10, are so bad that surrender is less costly than
playing the
hand.
third
base
the last player at a table to act on his/her hand is said to be sitting
at"third base".
upcard
the dealer's first card, dealt face up. The correct playing decision often
involves some consideration of the dealer's upcard.
What
special terminology is used
by card counters?
Card Counting Terminology:
betting
correlation
a measure of how well the card weights correlate to the change in the player's
favorability when the cards are seen by the player and removed from the
deck. This gives an estimate of the accuracy of the card counting
system.
back
counting
counting cards and waiting for the count to become favorable before sitting
down to play. Usually done standing in back of the players.
balanced
count
any counting system that has a count starting at zero when the cards are
shuffled, and ending at zero when all cards in the deck(s) have been exposed.
Most counting systems use a balanced count.
bet
spread
the ratio between maximum and minimum bet size. A player who uses $20 maximum
bets and $5 minimum bets is using a 4:1 bet spread.
card
weight
the "value" assigned to each card face. This weight is added
to the"count" as each new card is exposed. Weights are usually
small integer values like -1, +1, or +2.
count
(noun) -- a number that represents the player's estimate of how favorable
or unfavorable.
cover
bet
a bet (usually large) placed at the "wrong" time, in order to
fool the pit critters into thinking that the player is not counting cards.
insurance
correlation
a measure of how well the card weights correlate to the change in the player's
favorability for placing insurance bets. This gives an estimate of the
accuracy of the card counting system for predicting when to take
insurance.
penetration
the number of cards that are dealt before the cards are shuffled. Penetration
is usually expressed as a percentage of the cards, as in "75% penetration".
Good penetration is extremely important to card counters.
playing
efficiency
effectiveness of strategy variations in tracking the optimal playing strategy
as the deck composition changes. Efficiency is given by E = AG / PG, where
AG is the actual gain from making the strategy changes, and PG
is the possible gain that could be made by using a playing strategy that
is "computer perfect".
running
count
the total of the weights of all cards that have been exposed since the
cards were shuffled.
shuffle
tracking
a system to predict which sections of the deck/shoe will be favorable to
the player, based on the locations of favorable sections of the previous
deck/shoe, and on studying the method used to shuffle the cards.
side
count
a count in addition to the "main" count, usually involving a
single card face, as in "ace side count".
strategy
variations
varying from basic strategy when the count indicates that it is profitable
to do so.
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.
true
count
a count that is adjusted according to the number of undealt cards, usually
by dividing the running count by the number of undealt *decks* (or half-decks).
unbalanced
count
any counting system that has a count that starts or ends on a non-zero
value (see "balanced count"). Red 7 is an example of an unbalanced
count.
wonging
improving the player's edge by placing bets only when the count is favorable
for the player, and "sitting out" when the count is unfavorable.
