thoughts

A-J Bonus is a rule for bonus payouts when an Ace and Jack of Spades are used.

Ace-Five Count is a way of counting Aces and fives.

Ace Adjustment is a method used in adjusting the size of a bet depending on a number of Aces left in a deck.

Ace Poor is a term used when a deck lacks Aces.

Ace Rich is also a term used when the deck has lots of Aces.

Action is a term used for the amount of money on a bet. These can also be the total bets in a Blackjack game.

Advantage is a percentage used in a wager. It measures the edge of the other side over the other one.

Advantage Player is a person who uses mathematical skills, i.e., basic blackjack strategy, with a purpose of winning the game.

Bar is a way of banning a player from playing at the casino.

Basic Strategy is a method used in blackjack when counting is not performed. This strategy is for players who used different ways of getting into the game without considering ways of counting to win.

Blackjack is also referred to as a "natural" and is a two-card hand worth exactly 21 points.

Break is another word for "bust," and refers to a losing hand that has exceeded a 21 point value.

Burn Card is the first card of a new Blackjack deck that has been cut and shuffled, either by hand or via an automatic shuffling shoe. The dealer always discards the burn card before dealing.

Bust refers to when a hand that has exceeded a point value of 21, and thus becomes a losing hand.

Camoflauge refers to tactics employed by a player to disguise card counting or from drawing notice from casino personnel in general.

Card Counting is a highly difficult and tedious strategy which essentially tracks the ratio of high cards to low value cards already played. While card counting is mathematically proven to give the player advantage (the player wagers more in situations where the cards are in their favor and less when the dealer has the edge), the effects of card counting  are significantly diminished when more decks and an automatic shuffling shoe is used by the casino.

Charlie (5 Card Charlie) is a rule sometimes offered that says if you get five cards in your hand without busting, the wager wins.

Double Down is the act of placing a second wager in the amount of one's initial bet. It is offered only upon the player's first move, and requires that the hand is hit with one additional card and no more. Most casinos allow doubling down on any two cards, including split hands, while some only permit it on hands with a point value of 10 or 11. Doubling down is an instrumental move in basic Blackjack strategy, and should be used to maximize winnings.

Double Exposure is a variation of traditional Blackjack in which the dealer's cards are upturned. To compensate for this player advantage, a Blackjack is usually only paid even money and all pushes result in a lost bet.

Draw is also referred to as a "hit." This is the act of receiving a card from the dealer.

Early Surrender is a rule that is used in some Black games that allows players to forfeit half their wager if the dealer is suspected of carrying a Natural 21. It is similar to taking insurance.

Edge is the amount of advantage, expressed in percent, the casino or player has over one another. If the casino edge is a negative value, that means the player holds advantage.

Face Cards are the royalty of all card decks - Jacks, Queens and Kings. They count for 10 points each.

Face Down Game is a way of playing Blackjack in which the first dealt card is face-up and the second card is dealt face-down.

Face Up Game is the opposite of face-down, this is the more common way of playing Blackjack, in which both the player's cards are dealt face-up.

First Base is the first seating position to be dealt cards at the Blackjack table, to the dealer's far left.

Hard Hand is the hand without an Ace or one in which the Ace counts for only one point. Being a fixed value at this stage, the hand is referred to as hard.

Head's Up is one-one-one Blackjack play between the dealer and one player.

Hit is the act of being dealt an additional card, also called a draw.

Hole Card refers to a face-down card, which, in the case of Blackjack, belongs to the dealer's hand.

Insurance is a side bet predicting the dealer is holding a Blackjack when the dealer's upturn card is an Ace. It must be made on the player's first move and can only be up to half the amount of the original wager. Insurance pays 2 to 1 if the dealer is indeed holding a Blackjack, but is lost otherwise.

Late Surrender is offfered in some Blackjack games, this rule allows players to forfeit half their bet once the dealer's hole card is revealed (contingent on the dealer not holding a blackjack).

Natural is a two-card hand worth 21 points, also called a Blackjack or 21.

Pat is a Blackjack hand that has not yet busted and is worth no less than 17 points.

Perfect Pairs is a variety of Blackjack.

Point Count is used in card counting. This is the net value of a card count at the end of a hand.

Push is when the dealer and player hand tie. The player keeps their bet for the next hand.

Soft Double is doubling down on soft hand (see below).

Soft Hand is a hand carrying an Ace that can count as 11 points without busting the hand. If a card is drawn that would cause the 11 point value to bust the hand, a soft hand turns to a hard hand and will count only 1 point. Since the value is not fixed at 11, it is deemed soft as opposed to hard.

Split Hand is splitting a hand into two separate hands played side by side. When a player's two initially dealt cards are of equal value, the option of splitting the hand is available. Blackjack strategy often makes use of the split rule when it is advantageous to do so.

Standing Hand is a hard hand totalling 17 points or more. Being so close to busting, this hand is expected to stand.

Stand is the act of declining any more cards and playing the current hand.

Stand Off is the same as a push or tie. The dealer and player have the same card total and the wager is returned to the player.

Steaming is akin to 'going on tilt' in poker, a Blackjack player is said to be "steaming" when they have become emotional and lost control of their judgement at the Blackjack table.

Stiff Hand has the least chance of winning - Hard 12-16. Stiff hands are more likely to bust and less likely to get closer to 21 than pat hands.

Surrender is offered either early or late in play, surrendering is the act of giving up half of one's wager when the dealer is suspected of holding a Blackjack.

Up Card is the dealer's very first card, which is turned face-up for all the player's to see.