Basic Blackjack Terms

Terminology continues with the important reference to soft and hard hands. This refers to the impact that a dealt ace will have on the hand and subsequently the next decision the player will make.

Some online sites will sometimes confuse players by referring to games using the terms. It makes sense to be aware of even simple terms.

In turn, this makes the basic strategy easier to follow, before learning about advanced strategies:

• Soft and Hard hands. This refers to hands which have an ace. How that ace is used determines if it’s a soft or hard hand. A hard hand is when the ace’s value is one and not used as eleven. It is also any hand without an ace. However it can also refer to a hand with two or more aces. A soft hand is when the ace’s value is counted as eleven.
• House Advantage. Refers to the gambling house or the casino’s winning percentile advantage in any game of chance. For blackjack this is usually eight percent but it can be reduced to 0.5 percent by a player using basic strategy.
• Pair. A pair in blackjack refers only to the identical numerical value of the first two cards. In blackjack suits are irrelevant as the game is based entirely on the numbers and not the suits.
• Pat Hand. A pat hand refers to a players hand with a total of 17 to 21.
• Hole Card. Any card that is face down, usually in reference to the dealer’s single face down card
Bankroll. The player’s purse or amount of money available for betting from the player. It is up to the player to determine the amounts of each bet, so that the bankroll is not exhausted on the first game.