Select your timezone: Select

Terminologies In Blackjack Explained


If you are in the casino, you will definitely be overwhelmed by the many games to try out. It is a good thing to have a lot of options, that means you’ll spend a lot of time having fun. But if you’re a beginner or want to try games other than slots or baccarat, blackjack might be great. 


Many would find blackjack to be an intimidating game before trying, but everyone does at first. Blackjack is actually a great and simple game. You’ll find information about blackjack whether online or in books and it can be easily understood.


Hence, everyone can play with it, even those who have never encountered it. Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games and has a long history. That proves that many people enjoy playing blackjack. Not only does it give entertainment but blackjack is also known to be one of the most profitable casino games. To get started, let’s explore some terminologies that you might come across and need when playing blackjack.    


Anchor or Anchorman


In blackjack, the place where you sit can help you gain an advantage over the dealer of the game. Anchorman seats are placed at the third base position or the farthest left side of the blackjack table. The anchorman is expected to act last before the dealer and they also determine the card that the dealer would get if the dealer draws. 


Burn Card


A burn card is placed at the top of the deck after the dealer has shuffled the cards. The dealer gets the burn card from the deck to separate it and places it faced down in the discard tray before the deal. When the card is burned, no one can be allowed to use it in the game. More often, a card is burned when there is a new dealer entering the blackjack table.   


Cut Card


The cut card is typically a plastic card that is used to cut or split the deck before it is dealt. The cut card’s purpose is to hide the bottom side of the card which has the card details so that players cannot have the chance to view the card and use it to their advantage. Oftentimes, the dealer selects and asks a player to use the cut card in splitting the deck after shuffling the cards. 


Double or Double Down


If the player is confident enough that the game will be in his or her favor, she or he will most likely choose to put a double down. A double or double down is a kind of bet that players can freely choose which may double their initial bet and receive one more card on their hand from the dealer. Players can double their wins if they win the double bet. Hence, many players take advantage of this bet. 


Early Surrender


Early surrender is when the player declares that he or she has given up after receiving the first two cards but a player must surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack in order to have an early surrender. However, this will cause the player to lose half of the initial bet. Sometimes players choose early surrender to save their entire bet when the game looks unfavorable to them.  


House Edge


House edge is simply the expected casino’s advantage over the player. The casino takes the house edge into account and keeps the percentage of the player’s profit in each bet. House edge may vary depending on the rules given by the casino but typically house edge in blackjack games ranges from 0.5% to 1%. 


Five Card Charlie


Five Card Charlie is one of the rules in the game of blackjack where the player can automatically win if they draw five cards with 21 point value or less and still don’t bust. Moreover, players can take another card or payoff as a bonus if they had the Five Card Charlie. Although this might be tempting, some players got busted while aiming for the Five Card Charlie and it can make the game take much time. 


Insurance


Insurance is one of the proposition bets that players can play in blackjack. In insurance, the players will bet up to half of their initial bet that the dealer has the blackjack. This kind of bet can only be available if the dealer holds an ace in their up card. A player can win an insurance bet if the dealer has 10 in the hole or blackjack. Many players are enticed to bet on insurance as it has a good pay of 2:1. 


Shoe


A shoe or also known as the dealing shoe is a gaming device used by dealers in many casinos which hold the decks of playing cards. The dealing shoe helps dealers to easily shuffle the playing cards and save time. This device could also help to prevent dealers from cheating. It comes in many sizes depending on the number of decks that the shoe can hold. Usually, dealers put up to two to eight decks of cards in the shoe. 

More about Casino online