Blackjack Glossary: The Words You Meet at an Online Table

Blackjack terms are the short words you see on an online table and in a strategy chart, such as hit, stand, bust, push, stiff, soft hand and split. This glossary lists them in alphabetical order with one or two plain sentences for each term, so you can look up a word quickly and get back to the game.

• Blackjack terms A–C
• Blackjack terms D–H
• Blackjack terms I–P
• Blackjack terms R–S
• Blackjack terms T–Z
• Short forms on online tables

01Blackjack terms A–C

These terms cover the cards, the bet and the hand everyone wants. If you are new to the game, read how to play blackjack first.

• Ace – A card that counts as 11 unless that would put your total over 21. Then it counts as 1.
• Bankroll – The money you set aside for blackjack. You decide the amount before you start and stop when it is gone.
• Basic strategy – The move with the best average result for every hand against every dealer up card (the dealer's face-up card). With standard rules it lowers the house edge (the share of each bet the house keeps on average) to about 0.62%, but it does not remove it.
• Bet – The chips you place before the cards are dealt.
• Blackjack – An ace plus a 10, J, Q or K as your first two cards. It pays 3:2 at a standard table, and a paid blackjack comes about once every 22 hands.
• Burn card – A card the dealer removes from the top of the shoe (the box the cards are dealt from) and does not use.
• Bust – Your total goes over 21. You lose your bet right away, even if the dealer busts later.
• Card counting – Keeping track of the cards already dealt to guess which cards are left. Most digital online games reshuffle every round, so the count starts over each time.

This hand is a blackjack: an ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards.

The bar chart shows how often the dealer busts with each up card, counted before the dealer checks for blackjack. A dealer 6 busts about 43.9% of the time, and a dealer ace busts about 13.9% of the time.

Victoria's tip

Set your bankroll before your first hand and do not add to it during the session.

02Blackjack terms D–H

These terms cover your main moves and the rules the dealer follows.

• DAS – Short for "double after split". You may double down on a hand you just made by splitting a pair.
• Dealer – The person or the software that deals the cards and plays the house hand by fixed rules.
• Deck – A set of 52 cards. Online games use 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 decks.
• Double down – You double your bet and take exactly one more card. Some tables allow it only on 10 and 11, which adds about 0.20 percentage points to the house edge.
• ENHC – Short for "European no hole card". The dealer takes a second card only after all players finish their hands.
• Even money – When you have blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, you can take a 1:1 payout right away. It is the same as taking insurance on your blackjack.
• Face card – A J, Q or K. Each one counts as 10.
• First base – The seat to the dealer's left. This seat plays first.
• H17 – Short for "dealer hits soft 17". It adds about 0.21 percentage points to the house edge compared with a dealer who stands. See soft 17.
• Hand – The cards in front of you. The word also means one round of play.
• Hard hand – A hand with no ace, or with an ace that must count as 1. A 10 and a 6 make hard 16.
• Hit – You take another card.
• Hole card – The dealer's face-down card. It is also called the down card.
• House edge – The share of each bet the house keeps on average over many hands.

This chart row shows hard 11: double against every dealer up card from 2 to A. If the table does not let you double, you hit.

03Blackjack terms I–P

These terms cover side choices, ties and how much a bet pays.

• Insurance – A side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace. It costs up to half your original bet and pays 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. The hole card is a ten-value card only about 30.9% of the time, and the house edge on this bet is about 7.4%. More on blackjack insurance.
• Late surrender – Surrender that you may choose after the dealer checks for blackjack. It lowers the house edge by about 0.09 percentage points.
• Natural – Another name for a blackjack.
• Pair – Your first two cards are two cards of the same value, such as two 8s. You may split a pair into two hands.
• Pat hand – A hard total from 17 to 21. Basic strategy stands on hard 17, 18 and 19 against every dealer up card.
• Payout – How much a bet pays. A normal win pays 1:1, and a blackjack pays 3:2 or, at worse tables, 6:5.
• Peek – The dealer checks the hole card for blackjack when the up card is an ace or a ten-value card. If the dealer has blackjack, the hand ends at once.
• Push – A tie. You and the dealer have the same total, and you get your bet back.

The picture shows what a bet of 10 pays at 3:2, 6:5 and 1:1.

04Blackjack terms R–S

These terms include the most common slang: stiff, soft hand and split.

• RNG – Short for "random number generator". It is the software that shuffles the cards in online games.
• S17 – Short for "dealer stands on soft 17". With otherwise standard rules the house edge is about 0.40%.
• Shoe – The box the cards are dealt from. In an online game the shoe is part of the software.
• Shuffle – Mixing the cards. Most digital games reshuffle after every round.
• Side bet – An extra bet you may add, for example on your first two cards being a pair. It is separate from your main hand.
• Six to five (6:5) – A table that pays 6:5 for blackjack instead of 3:2. The house edge rises to about 1.98%. See 6 to 5 blackjack.
• Soft 17 – A hand with an ace counted as 11 that totals 17, such as A,6.
• Soft hand – A hand with an ace counted as 11. One more card cannot bust it.
• Split – You separate a pair into two hands and place a second bet equal to the first.
• Stand – You take no more cards.
• Stiff – A hard 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16. One more card can bust it.
• Surrender – You give up half your bet and end the hand.

This is soft 17. The ace counts as 11, so the total is 17.

Hard 16 is a stiff. The chart says stand against a dealer 2 to 6 and hit against a dealer 7 to A.

Victoria's tip

A stiff and a soft hand can have the same total. Check for an ace before you choose your move.

05Blackjack terms T–Z

These terms cover the table, the dealer's visible card and practice.

• Table rules – The rule set of a table: number of decks, H17 or S17, DAS, surrender and the blackjack payout.
• Ten-value card – A 10, J, Q or K. Each one counts as 10.
• Third base – The last seat to play before the dealer.
• Trainer – A practice tool that deals hands and checks your moves against basic strategy. Try the blackjack trainer.
• Up card – The dealer's face-up card. Basic strategy uses it to choose your move.
• Wager – Another word for bet.

Here your total is hard 16 and the dealer's up card is 10. The full blackjack strategy chart shows the move for every hand like this.

Victoria's tip

Open the table rules before your first hand. The number of decks and the blackjack payout change the house edge.

06Short forms on online tables

Online tables often show rules as short forms. This table explains each one and how it changes the house edge.

Questions people ask