Online Blackjack Terminology Explained for Beginners

Not everybody who plays blackjack online is a pro. However, you can improve your blackjack gameplay and become a better player with a bit of homework and practice. The first lesson of learning to be a better blackjack player is to understand blackjack terminology. Without this, you simply won’t understand what is going on. Fortunately, you don’t have to venture far to learn a few of the basics. We’re here to help.

The Basics

In blackjack, there are certain moves that are deemed “basic”, and you’re going to need to learn these before you can even hope to land wins. Hitting and standing are two of the most common terms, where hitting involves taking a new card, and standing requires you to stick with what you’ve got. Busting involves going over “twenty-one points” and losing. Meanwhile, when you split, you’re dividing your hand into two hands (at a cost), and when you double down, you’re doubling your stake for just one more card.

Soft vs Hard Hands

You will often hear the gambling terms “soft hand”, or “hard hand” thrown about in blackjack. These terms can mean various things in different games. In blackjack, though, a soft hand is one which gives players more room to manoeuvre because it has an ace in it. By contrast, a hard hand offers more rigidity. As it lacks an ace, it doesn’t offer much wiggle room.

Insurance and House Edges

Two other terms you may wish to note are “insurance” and “house edge”. Insurance is an optional side-bet that you can take while the blackjack game is being played. It can see you potentially pocket earnings of 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack, but it is a risky bet. By contrast, house edge tells you the percentage of each bet that is pure profit and that the house keeps (and that can’t be won by players), with the rest representing RTP. You want as low a house edge as possible when playing blackjack.

Variants Explained

Blackjack is a game that can be played in many different variants. A variant is a “type” of blackjack game. For instance, European Blackjack, American Blackjack, Face-Up 21, Blackjack Switch and Blackjack: Double Exposure are all blackjack variants.

Deck-Related Terminology

Let’s end by looking at some deck-related terminology. We’re sure that you already know that “deck” refers to a complete set of cards (minus jokers). Shoes represent a collection of several decks combined and shuffled. Discards (as their name implies), are any cards that have been dealt, and they remain by the side until the dealer inserts them back into the shoe to be shuffled once more. Finally, we have face-up cards. These are any blackjack cards that appear with their value side facing upwards. In most games, one of the dealer’s cards will be face-down. However, in some games – such as Double Exposure – the dealer with have two face-up cards.