Jargon Used in Blackjack Tournaments

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 862

Taking a page from the poker book, many land-based and online casinos have begun offering players Blackjack tournaments. These chances to compete against other players are popular amongst fans simply because Blackjack is a one-on-one game, player versus dealer. Blackjack tournaments therefore provide players with an excellent way to prove who the best Blackjack player is.

In order to compete successfully in Blackjack tournaments, players need to have sharp skills. They also need to know essential terminology likely to crop up during Blackjack play. Without knowing what these phrases mean, a player can severely minimize his or her chances of winning.

First of all, players need to know if the game is a multiple-deck game or a single-deck game. Knowing this information in advance gives players a heads-up before they enter Blackjack tournaments. Strategy and counting methods will shift greatly depending on how many decks are in play.

When going into a game, players need to know if they're entering a shoe game where dealers stand on soft 17 hands (that use 11-point Aces).

The most desired hand in Blackjack is a natural, a two-card hand that equals 21. Natural hands pay out 3-to-2.

Some games allow players the opportunity to re-split while others allow players to only split their pairs one time.

A push occurs in Blackjack tournaments when both the player and the dealer end up with equal hand totals. In this scenario, the player's original bet is simply returned to him.