When you first begin playing blackjack, and you’ve never played before, you may start noticing that there are quite a lot of terms being used and you have NO idea what they mean! The blackjack terms are pretty important because not knowing them can? well it can make you look like an idiot okay? And you don?t want that to happen on a casino poker table.

If need be, get someone to quiz you so you can make sure you get all the terms right! Playing blackjack, but not knowing the terms is somewhat like riding a horse, without the horse. And if you don’t want to be the horses(you know what), you should take these terms into consideration when playing your next game.

5, 6 or 7 Charlie: I’ve had this quite a few times when playing blackjack. This happens when you have 5, 6 or 7 cards equaling out to be under 21! Very simple!

Bankroll: This is the player?s starting out money, or the money you walk up to the table with. Usually at the table this will refer to the amount the player invests in the game rather than the money the player has.

Break / Broke: This is when a player has something like a 14, then he or she hits and gets an 8 ? You just broke the bank, aka ?the hand?. This means you lost, since the point of blackjack is to get 21 pts! Some people may also know this is a “bust”.

Card Shark: As with a similar term “pool shark” this is a person that played it off like they were inexperienced, when really they are an expert marksman and YOU were their mark. Chances are, they whooped ya? hard!

DOA or Double On Anything: This is said when you want to double down on any two first cards you receive.

Face Card: You should know this one and I hope you do because it’s an easy one – a face card is a King Queen or Jack.

High Roller: A person that places large bets – this can be down out of intimidation or simply because they can afford to do so.

Hit Me: This is used when you want to get another card from the dealer. You can keep on adding cards or hitting until you reach 21 or the number you want to stop at. In an actual casino while playing at casino poker tables, this is done by tapping your forefinger on the casino poker tables.

Mid Shoe Entry: This is when you join a blackjack game that is already in process. Most casinos will NOT allow a Mid Shoe Entry simply because there is always that chance that the person entering late, may have cheated and brought extra cards with them. If they want to play, they have to wait until the game is over and the dealer reshuffles the card for a new game.

Sweeten A Bet: This is always a big one when watching casino Poker tables on television. It simply means to increase the wager when it’s possible to do so. Ultimately you can wager as much as you want to unless there is a cap off, which there usually isn’t – not in a casino anyway.

Quarters: This is a confusing term! It should mean quarters, but it doesn’t! Instead, it’s a chip!

As aforementioned, there are MANY more terms than the ones listed above, probably a good 200 or so. These terms are important to learn to make YOU look like a professional when working the poker chips or when playing at casino poker tables. At home? You can be a little more relaxed in how you play and what you do. But in an actual casino setting you need to know what all of these terms mean. It’s especially important if you are ever in a tournament!