Blackjack Terms

Blackjack is a casino card game where players try to beat the dealer without going over 21.

A natural is a two-card blackjack made with an ace and a ten-value card.

Basic strategy is the mathematically best normal blackjack decision for each player hand and dealer upcard.

A hard total is a blackjack hand total with no ace counted as 11.

A soft total is a blackjack total that includes an ace counted as 11 without busting.

A hard hand is a blackjack hand with no ace counted as 11.

A soft hand is a blackjack hand with an ace that can still count as 11 without busting.

A stiff hand is a blackjack hand that can bust easily if the player hits, usually a hard 12 through 16.

An upcard is the dealer’s face-up card in blackjack, used by players to choose hit, stand, double, split, or surrender.

A hole card is the dealer’s hidden face-down card in blackjack, used to complete the dealer’s hand after players act.

Double down means increasing a blackjack bet after the first two cards in exchange for receiving exactly one more card.

Split means separating a pair in blackjack into two hands by adding another bet equal to the original wager.

Re-split means splitting again after a split hand receives another card of the same rank or value.

Surrender is a blackjack rule that lets a player give up the hand and lose only half the original bet.

Insurance is a blackjack side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace, paying 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack.

H17 means the dealer must hit soft 17 in blackjack, a rule that usually increases the house edge.

S17 is the blackjack rule where the dealer stands on all 17s, including soft 17.

H17 and S17 are blackjack dealer rules for soft 17, and the difference changes the game’s math.

Card counting is a blackjack advantage-play method that estimates when the remaining shoe is more favorable to the player.

The Hi-Lo system is a common blackjack counting system that scores low cards as +1, neutral cards as 0, and high cards as -1.

Running count is the live total in a blackjack counting system before adjusting for how many decks remain.

True count is the running count adjusted for the number of decks left in a blackjack shoe.

Deck penetration measures how much of a blackjack deck or shoe is dealt before the dealer shuffles.

Wonging means entering or leaving a blackjack game based on whether the count looks favorable.

Betting spread is the distance between the smallest and largest bets a player makes during blackjack play.

Cover play is behavior used by some blackjack advantage players to make skilled play look less obvious.

Heat is casino attention or scrutiny placed on a player whose action looks unusual, risky, or possibly advantage-based.