ABOUT BLACKJACK
Blackjack Glossary
The purpose of The Blackjack Player's Virtual Glossary is to provide both experienced and inexperienced players with a well written, authoritative reference that explains the interesting and colorful terminology encountered in the world of Blackjack Tournament play.
Following, you will find the vital inside words and phrases associated with Blackjack wherever it is played on the planet. Most of them are right here. In addition, you will receive many solid hints on how to improve your play, and increase your winnings. In effect, you just select whatever you need.
A sound grasp of the players' vocabulary will not only enable you to better understand and enjoy your favorite sporting activities, but will also make you a better, more complete player.
(Please Note: The words he, his, him, and himself, as used in this glossary, are intended to apply to all genders).
A
Action - a general gambling term that refers to the total amount of money wagered within a specific period of time. For example, ten bets, of 20 dollars each, amount to $200.00 of action. The term, action, typically refers to a wager of any kind. The word, action, may also be used in much the same way that a movie director uses it. For example, if a player appears to be unaware that it is his turn to play, the dealer may say, "Your action, sir."
Active Player - a player who is playing a hand during a Blackjack game, as opposed to someone who occupies a seat at the table, but is sitting out a hand.
Alpo - a dog, puppy or underdog, i.e., the team, side or contestant in any given event considered to be the least likely to win.
Anchor - the last player to the button holders right at the Blackjack table.
B
Back Counting - to count cards in Blackjack and wait for the count to become favorable before sitting down to play. Back counting is usually done while standing behind the active players in the game.
Balanced Count - any counting system in Blackjack, which begins at zero when the cards are shuffled, and ends at zero when all cards in the deck(s) have been exposed. Most counting systems use a balanced count.
Bad Beat - a tough loss, e.g., when winning points are scored against your wager in the dying seconds of an event, or your horse loses by a nose, after leading all the way, or to have a blackjack hand, that is a obvious underdog, beat a heavily favored hand. A normal reaction of a losing player is to mumble something about dumb luck.
Banker - the dealer, or the player, who books the action of the other bettors at the table during a card game.
Bankroll - the total available chips held by the player.
Basic Strategy - a playing system adopted by a player with the idea of optimizing his edge over the house in the longer term. Most strategies take into account the player's cards and the dealer's exposed card(s).
Basic Strategy - Blackjack - a predetermined set of decisions a player should make to maximize his average gain or expectation, while he is playing a single hand against a deck(s) of cards.
Bet - the amount of chips the player wagers on a card hand, or other game or sport.
Bet Spread - the ratio between the maximum and minimum bet size. A game using $50.00 maximum bets and $5.00 minimum bets is using a 10:1 bet spread.
Betting Limit - the set minimum and/or maximum amount of chips that the player can wager on a single bet. The player cannot bet less than the minimum or more than the maximum amount posted.
Blackjack - an ace and any card having a point value of ten dealt as the initial two cards to a player or a dealer, except that this shall not include an ace and a ten point value card dealt to a player who has split pairs.
BR - an abbreviation for bankroll.
Buck - a $100.00 wager.
Bust - to go over the total of twenty-one in the game of Blackjack. If the player busts, he loses.
C
Card Counting - keeping track of all cards that have been played since the shuffle.
Card Shark - a person who is an expert at cards.
Card Weight - the value assigned to each card face in a counting system. This weight is added to the count as each new card is exposed. Weights are usually small integer values like minus one, plus one or plus two.
Case - the last card of a certain rank in the deck, e.g., the case ten would be the last ten in the deck(s).
Cashier's Cage - the place in a casino where players may redeem casino chips for cash, cash checks, or arrange credit. It is often referred to as, the cage, for short.
Check - a term for a chip in casino gambling. It also refers to the word, check, used by a poker player, who does not wish to bet on a round of cards, but wishes to stay in the game with an option to call or raise later in the betting round.
Chips - round tokens that are used in tournaments.
Cold - a term for a player on a losing streak
Count - a number that represents the player's estimate of how favorable or unfavorable the non-dealt cards in the deck may be.
Counter - a player who counts cards.
Crack - to beat a hand, i.e., typically a big hand.
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