Knowing Blackjack

In this article you will find some other useful technical terms and Blackjack jargon. Make sure you memorize the terminology in order to play at your best and beat your opponents, without letting them think that you are an ingenious beginner!

- Double down: After receiving the first two cards, you can decide to double and being dealt one more card. It is advisable to make this bet only if you have excellent cards and good chances of winning.

- Splitting hand (split pairs): This is when you can split two cards with the same denomination (pairs), and your hand is divided into two separate hands. A bet equal to your original bet is placed on the second hand. A new card is dealt to each hand and you play these hands as normal. If you have two Aces, you can only dispose of one additional card.

- Insurance: If the dealer’s card is an Ace, you can take Insurance by paying half your original bet. Whether the dealer gets Blackjack, you win 2:1 on your bet, otherwise you lose it.

- Even Money: When you are dealt a “natural” (blackjack) and the dealer’s up-card is an Ace, you can ask “even money” and be paid 1:1 on your bet.

- Hard Hand: This is a blackjack hand with no ace, or with an ace that must count as 1 (in this last case your other cards combined usually have a high value).

- Soft Hand: Unlike the Hard Hand, the Soft Hand is any hand that contains an ace counted as 11 (in this case your other cards combined usually have a very low value).

If you take the time to learn some of this jargon you will not make an ass of yourself in the online casinos asking stupid questions. Same goes for poker so you will not be the real noob or fish in the online poker rooms for the same reason. Also do not start referring to everything in the online casino with only jargon, that will also get on everybody’s nerve.