Blackjack Terms & Glossary
Blackjack has a vocabulary all its own — some of it obvious, some of it casino jargon. This glossary defines the terms you will actually hear at the table and see in our guides, in plain English, grouped by topic.
Core terms
- Blackjack (natural)
- An Ace plus any 10-value card on your first two cards — the best hand, normally paying 3:2.
- Bust
- A hand total over 21, which loses immediately.
- Push
- A tie with the dealer; your bet is returned.
- Hard hand
- A hand with no Ace, or one where the Ace must count as 1 to avoid busting.
- Soft hand
- A hand with an Ace counted as 11, so it cannot bust on one more card — e.g. a soft 17.
- Stiff hand
- A hard total of 12 through 16 — too low to be safe, but it busts if you hit a 10.
- Pat hand
- A hand of 17 or more that you would normally stand on.
Player actions
- Hit
- Take another card.
- Stand
- Keep your current total and end your turn.
- Double down
- Double your bet for exactly one more card — see when to double down.
- Split
- Separate a pair into two hands, each with its own bet — see when to split.
- Surrender
- Forfeit half your bet to end a bad hand — see surrender.
- Insurance
- A side bet that the dealer has blackjack, offered when they show an Ace — see insurance.
- Even money
- A guaranteed 1:1 payout offered on your blackjack when the dealer shows an Ace — equivalent to taking insurance.
Cards & the table
- Upcard
- The dealer's face-up card.
- Hole card
- The dealer's face-down card.
- Shoe
- The box that holds and dispenses the multiple decks in play.
- Penetration
- How deep into the shoe the dealer deals before shuffling — deeper penetration helps card counters.
- First base
- The seat to the dealer's left, which acts first.
- Third base
- The seat to the dealer's right, which acts last before the dealer.
- Cut card
- A colored card placed in the shoe to mark where reshuffling occurs.
Rules & payouts
- H17 / S17
- Whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17. S17 is better for the player.
- DAS
- Double After Split — a rule allowing you to double down on a hand created by splitting.
- ENHC
- European No Hole Card — the dealer takes only one card until players finish, risking your doubles and splits to a dealer blackjack.
- 3:2 / 6:5
- The blackjack payout ratio. 3:2 is standard; 6:5 is much worse for the player.
- House edge
- The casino\'s long-run mathematical advantage — about 0.5% in a good game. See odds.
Strategy & advantage play
- Basic strategy
- The mathematically optimal play for every hand — see the strategy guide.
- Card counting
- Tracking the ratio of high to low cards to gain an edge — see card counting.
- Running count
- The raw cumulative count of cards seen so far.
- True count
- The running count divided by the decks remaining — the figure used for betting and deviations.
- Deviation (index play)
- Departing from basic strategy based on the count — see deviations.
- Bet spread
- The ratio between a counter's minimum and maximum bets.
Frequently asked questions
What is a push in blackjack?
A push is a tie — your hand total equals the dealer's. Neither side wins: your original bet is simply returned to you. Note that a few variants such as Pontoon and Double Exposure award ties to the dealer instead of pushing.
What is a bust in blackjack?
A bust is a hand whose total goes over 21, which loses immediately. If you bust you lose your bet right away, even if the dealer later busts too — that is why the player always acts first.
What does "soft" mean in blackjack?
A soft hand contains an Ace counted as 11, so it cannot bust on the next card (the Ace can drop to 1). For example, Ace + 6 is a "soft 17." A hand with no flexible Ace, like 10 + 7, is a "hard" hand.
What is the hole card?
The hole card is the dealer's face-down card. The face-up card is the "upcard." In most American games the dealer peeks at the hole card for blackjack when showing an Ace or 10; in European (no hole card) games the dealer takes the second card only after players act.