Blackjack: Introduction to the World’s Most Popular Casino Game

This is the second-best hand and it comprises of three or more cards with a total value of 21. If 2 two cards have the same value, this is blackjack.

Advantage players typically use strategies or track the cards to gain a mathematical advantage over the house.

This is the player’s specific amount of money dedicated to playing blackjack (or any other casino game). The bankroll does not include funds for meals, drinks or tips in the casino.

Any card counting system where the sum of the negative and positively valued cards is zero.

This is the optimal, mathematically proven strategy for playing blackjack, which may vary depending on the specific rules, side bets, and payouts.

These are the minimum and maximum bets that can be placed in every blackjack round.

The best hand in this game and it includes an Ace and 10-value card (10, J, Q, or K).

This is the first card of a new deck after a shuffle. The burn card is placed in the discard tray is not used for play.

Players or dealers having a total over 21 are said to bust, losing immediately.

This is the practice of tracking and counting of the cards that have been dealt according to one of many available systems. Some systems require card counters to track the high and low cards in the deck and how likely a high card is to be dealt next.

This brightly colored plastic card cuts the cards in the shoe and when the dealer reaches it, he reshuffles.

The dealer is the casino employee who deals the cards on the blackjack table. In RNG blackjack, the dealer is simply a representation of the casino that competes against the player.

Blackjack uses standard decks of 52 cards – four suits of 13 cards from 2s to Aces.

This term is used to show the percentage of cards that have been in play before a reshuffle.

Doubling or Doubling Down is usually allowed on the first two cards. Players who choose to Double Down are dealt one more card and their hand is compared to the dealer’s total. The bet is, of course, doubled.

Some blackjack variations allow players to surrender half of their bet and not play out their hand before the dealer peeks for blackjack. This option is called Early Surrender.

The standard payout for a regular win is equal to the bet size. This is even money and is represented as 1:1.

Jacks, Queens, and Kings are face cards and their value in blackjack is always 10.

A rule in some blackjack games, according to which the player wins automatically if he holds 5 cards without busting. Variations of the rule include Six, Seven and Ten Card Charlie.

Flat betting is the practice of wagering the same amount of money throughout the entire gaming session without increasing or decreasing the bet.

Hard hands or hard totals either do not include an Ace in them or the Ace can be counted only as 1 and not 11 to avoid going over 21.

Players who place large bets are called high rollers.

When the player wants another card to the initially dealt hand, he Hits.

The dealer’s second card in standard blackjack is dealt face-down and is called a hole card.

Every casino game, including blackjack, has a built-in advantage determined by the specific rules and payouts. This advantage is referred to as house edge and is expressed as a percentage.

This is a side bet that can be made if the dealer’s first card is an Ace. It is half of the original bet and it pays 2:1 if the dealer gets blackjack.

Some tables allow players to surrender after the dealer checks for blackjack and this rule is referred to as Late Surrender.

Players who receive an Ace and a 10-value card initially are said to have a “natural 21” or blackjack.

Hands totaling 17 or more are called pat hands, as players always stand on such hands, i.e. they refuse to take additional cards.

This is a side bet in many blackjack games and it wins if the player receives two cards of the same rank. Pairs could be mixed, colored or perfect. The perfect pair consists of 2 cards of the same rank and suit and it pays the most.

Progressive systems or simply progressions help players determine when to increase or decrease the bet size. There are positive, negative, and flat betting systems.

When the player and the dealer hold cards that are equal, the two hands are tied and this is referred to as a “push” – the bet is returned to the player.

All card decks used in a game are placed in a device called a shoe.

After a certain percentage of the cards in the shoe have been used in play, the dealer shuffles all decks to mix them. Shuffling is essential because it helps to deal random cards and prevents card counting.

Soft hands or soft totals include an Ace, which can count as either 1 or 11. Soft hands are more versatile and give players more freedom than hard totals, where an Ace is 1.

Spanish decks include 48 cards. These are standard decks but with all 10s removed.

When players receive two cards of the same rank, they can separate them into two single-card hands with the Split option. If they split a hand, they place a second bet that is equal to the original stake.

Players, who believe their hand is good enough, can choose to Stand and refuse taking additional cards.

Any hand that can easily bust (go over 21) when drawing one more card. Hard hands totaling 12 to 16 are stiff.

Some casinos allow players to forfeit half of the original bet to avoid losing it entirely when the dealer’s face-up card is high.

When the player and the dealer’s hands are equal in value, they are tied. Tie is synonymous with Push or Standoff.

This is the minimum, base bet a player is placing in the game. The term is typically used in strategies and progressive systems.

This is the dealer’s first, face-up card.

The term is used as a synonym for a bet.