Blackjack Terms - Part Five

We've finally arrived at the final installment of our Blackjack terms series. We're about to bring it all together. It's been a fun ride. Once you finish this series, consider yourself a Blackjack terms expert. Let's go.

Session - This term is used most when talking about money management. A session is a period of time spent gambling.

Shill - These guys are casino employees. To facilitate action, a shill will go up to a table-usually an empty one-and play. The idea is that if you're walking around and see action, you'll play. Shills are more likely to be used at a Craps table, because not many people like being the only player in Craps.

Soft Hand - This is any hand where an Ace is being used as an 11.

Stand - When you're happy with your hand, you can stand, which ends your turn.

Surrender - Some casinos allow you to surrender. When you surrender, you throw in your hand and get half your wager back. A common surrender situation is when you have a hard 16 and the dealer has a face card showing.

Third Base - It's the opposite of first base. Third base is the last seat to get cards. If the table is full, it will be the seat immediately to the dealer's right hand.

Toke - Also called a tip. Dealers work for tips, so they love players who tip them. One common way to tip in Blackjack is to place a bet for the dealer. You do this by placing your tip bet above your wager on the layout. Let the dealer know it's for him/her, so they can make sure the placement is right. This is a good way to get the dealer to root for you.

True Count - It's another card counting term. When there are multiple decks, you take the running count and divide it by the number of decks being used. This gives you a more accurate picture.

Up Card - The dealer gets two cards in Blackjack to start with. The Up Card is the card that you can see. The bottom one you can't see is called a hole card.

Unit - A measurement of betting. For instance, a unit could be $5, $10, $1 or whatever.

Vig - This is the money that goes to the house. A popular vig in sports betting, for example, is 10%.

Whale - This is the big-time player-the high roller. Casinos-and dealers-love to see a whale coming. It usually means there's a chance for a nice payday.

And there you have it. We've come to the end of our Blackjack terms series. Do you feel like a Blackjack terms expert now? We've covered a lot of ground in this series.

Good luck at the tables!