Blackjack and Card Counting Glossary
Updated
Every term you are likely to meet at a table or in a counting book, in plain language. For the longer versions, start with how card counting works and the rules of blackjack.
Basic strategy
The chart of mathematically correct plays for every combination of your hand and the dealer's upcard. Following it exactly holds the house edge to about 0.44% on a good six-deck game.
Running count
The rolling total of card values as they come out, using your counting system. In Hi‑Lo that is +1 for 2 through 6, 0 for 7 through 9, and −1 for tens and aces.
True count
The running count divided by the decks remaining in the shoe. This is the number that actually reflects your advantage, and it is what you bet from. A running count of +8 means something very different with six decks left than with one.
Hi-Lo
The most widely used counting system. Balanced, level one, and the basis of everything on this site.
Penetration
How deep into the shoe the dealer goes before shuffling. Deeper is better for a counter, and it matters more than which system you use.
Cut card
The colored plastic card placed into the shoe. When it comes out, the current shoe finishes and the cards are shuffled.
Burn card
A card, or several, that the dealer sets aside face down after the shuffle. It needs no adjustment to your count. More in burn cards.
Shoe
The box holding the decks in play, and by extension the set of cards dealt between shuffles. A "shoe game" is one dealt this way, as opposed to a handheld single or double deck.
CSM
Continuous shuffling machine. It returns played cards to the deck as the game goes, so the shoe never depletes and counting is impossible.
Soft hand
A hand with an ace counted as 11, such as A‑6 for a soft 17. It cannot bust on the next card, because the ace drops to 1 if it needs to.
Hard hand
A hand with no ace worth 11, either because there is no ace or because it already dropped to 1.
S17 and H17
Whether the dealer stands on a soft 17 (S17) or draws to it (H17). S17 is better for you by about 0.20%.
DAS
Double after split. The house lets you double a hand created by splitting a pair, which is worth about 0.14% to you.
RSA
Resplit aces. The house lets you split aces again if you catch another one. Worth about 0.08%.
ENHC
European no hole card. The dealer does not check for blackjack until players have finished, so a dealer natural takes your doubled and split money too. Costs about 0.11%. More in European versus American blackjack.
Peek
The American procedure: the dealer checks under an ace or a ten before anyone acts. If they have blackjack the round ends immediately and you lose only your original bet.
Surrender
Giving up a hand and forfeiting half your bet. Late surrender, offered after the dealer peeks, is the version you will see, and it is worth about 0.08% when available.
Insurance
A side bet that the dealer has blackjack, paying 2:1. It carries a 7.4% house edge and is only correct for counters at a true count of +3 or higher. See insurance.
Even money
Being offered a guaranteed 1:1 on your blackjack when the dealer shows an ace, instead of the 3:2 with a risk of pushing. It is insurance under another name, and it costs about four cents on the dollar.
Charlie
A bonus rule where reaching a set number of cards without busting wins automatically, most often a 6 Card Charlie. Genuinely good for the player and rarer than it should be.
House edge
The casino's long-run mathematical advantage, expressed as a percentage of everything you wager. Note that it is per dollar bet, not per dollar you walk in with.
Expected value
What a decision is worth on average, per unit bet. Every cell on a strategy chart is simply the option with the higher expected value.
Bankroll
The money set aside for play. It has to be large enough to survive variance, which is almost always larger than people plan for.
Variance
Short-run swings around the expected result. Variance is why you can play perfectly, hold a real edge, and still lose for weeks.
Bet spread
The ratio between your smallest and largest bet, such as 1 to 6. Counting earns nothing without one, and a wide one is what gets you noticed.
Wonging
Watching a table without playing and joining only when the count turns favorable, named after Stanford Wong. Many casinos now bar mid-shoe entry specifically to stop it.
Index
The true count at which a basic strategy play flips, such as taking insurance at +3. The most valuable ones are collected in what counters call the Illustrious 18.
Deviation
Departing from basic strategy because the count says so. Standing on 16 against a ten at a high count is the classic example.
Bust
Going over 21, which loses immediately. The dealer collects your bet before drawing their own cards, and that is where the house edge comes from.
Push
A tie with the dealer. Your bet comes back and nothing else happens.
Upcard
The dealer's face-up card. Half of every decision you make comes from it.
Hole card
The dealer's face-down card.
Third base
The last seat to act, on the dealer's right. Third base takes the blame for everybody's losses and deserves none of it.
Color up
Exchanging your chips for larger denominations before leaving the table. Say "color me up" and slide your stacks forward.
Back-off
Being told, politely, that you may keep playing anything except blackjack. The standard casino response to a suspected counter, and not a legal matter. See is card counting legal.
Heat
Attention from the pit. Early shuffles, a supervisor watching your bets, and questions about your play are all heat, and they come before a back-off.
Trespass notice
A formal notice barring you from the property. Returning afterward is a criminal offense, and it is the charge counters actually get arrested for.
Pit boss
The supervisor responsible for a group of tables. The person who decides whether you are getting shuffled at or asked to leave.
Keep reading
By Martin Kosek · every number on this site is computed by us, not copied.
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