Help for Novices: Blackjack Strategy Terms

Novices will always need help when they're trying to learn the game of blackjack. The hard times when going through the learning curve comes when learning the strategies and reading through blackjack basic strategy charts and tables. One source of the trouble will have to be coming across a term that novices don't quite understand.

To overcome that cloud of unknown terminology we've made a list of things that novices might come across and placed a short definition for each of the items on the list. Most of these blackjack terms will be encountered when reading through basic or fundamental blackjack strategy. So, these will come in handy when figuring out the blackjack strategy tables.

Here's the list of terms you will encounter when learning basic blackjack strategy:

Basic Strategy: term refers to the basic playing system used in the game of blackjack. This basic system has been calculated to bring about an optimal method of playing your hands when looking at it in the long run.

Hole Card: This is one of the cards in the blackjack dealer's hand. This card will be dealt face down in blackjack. The value of this dealer card will usually be just estimated for optimal play in this strategy card game.

Up Card: This is the other card in the blackjack dealer's initial hand. This card will be dealt face down and all players will be allowed to look at its value. Players will then base their blackjack gaming decisions based on what card they have in their hands and what up card will the dealer display on the gaming table for that round.

Hard Hand: Simply put, this is a hand in the game of blackjack where an Ace will take a value of one instead of high value of 11. Another definition is that this is a blackjack hand that doesn't have an Ace in it. For example, you have a hand of Ace, Six, and then were dealt a Ten after you hit. In blackjack, this hand will be called a hard 17.

Soft Hand: This is a blackjack hand that has an Ace in it and that Ace is counted to have a value of 11 and not a low value of one. Let's take for instance that the dealer deals you a six and an Ace, in blackjack this is called a soft 17.

Stand: This is a move in blackjack where you decline to take a new card to add to your initial hand.

Hit: This is a move in blackjack where a player requests to be dealt an additional card.

Bust: When a player hits and the new value of the player's hand exceeds 21, that hand automatically loses.

Push: Simply put, this blackjack term means that both the dealer and the player have equal value hands resulting in a tie.

Novices will learn all these terms in time. These will come in handy as you study basic blackjack strategy.