Blackjack Glossary – T

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Taking the Odds

This refers to a bet where the pay out is higher than the amount of the bet. For instance a $1 bet wins $2 and the bettor has taken the odds on offer of paying two to one.

Tell Play

Refers to a study of the body language of the dealer and their facial expressions in an effort to determine what their hole card is.

Ten Value Card

A ten value card is a card in a deck that has a value of ten or more. This applies to face cards such as the jack, queen and king, and the four suited cards ten of hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs.

Third Base

The final seat at the Blackjack table, next to the dealer’s right hand side and the last player to be dealt a hand.

Thorp, Ed

Ed Thorp is the author of a book entitled ‘Beat the Dealer’. Thorp was a mathematician who outlined a strategy of card counting at casinos in an effort to beat the dealer and therefore win at blackjack.

Tie

In a tie, both the player and dealer have the same value hand so scores are effectively tied. In this instance the player is allowed to keep the bet.

True Odds

Refers to the actual odds of a particular hand being dealt, taking into account the house edge. Casinos rarely post the true odds, rather the odds without taking into consideration the house advantage.

Twenty One

Alternative name for Blackjack and commonly used amongst home based or amateur players. 21 is also the total required to win at blackjack. By going over 21, the player loses. The aim is to get as close as possible to 21 without going over. 21 can be attained with two cards, a card with a value of 10 and an ace with a value of 11