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| Back Counting |
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Counting cards while standing behind the players at a table and not playing. This technique is particularly useful with multiple-deck shoes.
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| Back Off |
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To ask a player to not play Blackjack. This occurs when casino personnel, usually a manager or a pit boss asks a blackjack player to no longer play the game of blackjack in that casino. It can also refer to less harsh anti counter measures, such as restricting a player to flat betting or a very small bet spread, such as a 1-2 spread.
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| Bak |
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An abbreviation for Back At the Keyboard, used during chat.
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| Balanced Count |
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Any counting system which has an exact balance between plus cards and minus cards. A card counting system is balanced when the sum of the card point values for the whole deck is equal to 0. An unbalanced count is when the sum of the point values is anything other than 0. Balanced counts include Hi-Low, Halves, Zen etc. Unbalanced counts include Red 7, K-O and Uston's Unbalanced Zen count.
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| Bank |
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This usually refers to the total amount of money a team of players and/or investors has set aside for blackjack play. It can also refer to a single player's bankroll.
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| Bankroll |
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The amount of money a player sets aside for gambling purposes. It can be expressed as the player's overall bankroll for the total amount of play or a session bankroll, which is the amount of money a player is prepared to bet in any individual gaming session. Another expression of bankroll often used is a player's trip bankroll, which is the amount of money a player is willing to wager during a single trip to a casino or to a gambling venue. A casino is said to have an unlimited bankroll and will cover all bets within the table limits.
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| Bar / Barring |
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To exclude from play at certain tables, such as blackjack for counting or Poker for being obnoxious or cheating. Some people are "barred" from the whole casino. See also "86.",,,When a player has been prohibited from playing blackjack in a casino, usually under the threat of arrest if he tries to continue playing. Does not necessarily imply cheating or illegal activity. Not legal in Atlantic City.
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| Barber Pole |
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A bet consisting of varying colors of chips. "Barber poles are to be broken down and paid color for color." Dealers must make sure the smallest value chip is on the top to discourage "capping" of the bet.
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| Barge |
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An abbreviation for Big August Rec. Gambling Excursion in Las Vegas.
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| Basic Strategy |
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A playing system defining the optimum play for any given situation. A set of rules that enables one to obtain the best possible advantage for a neutral deck situation using a given set of rules. Also called the "Zero-memory strategy" or just "Basic". Playing perfect basic strategy gives the casino between 0.5% and 1.5% advantage depending on the casino rules. If the rules or number of decks are changed, the basic strategy is also likely to change. Basic strategy is not based upon the count, but rather upon the total of the player's hand and the dealer's up card.
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| Bc |
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[1] The acronym for Betting Correlation. [2] The acronym for Bryce Carlson, the author of Blackjack for Blood. [3] An abbreviation for Barbary Coast, a casino. [4] An abbreviation for Back Count.
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| Bca |
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The acronym for a software program called Blackjack Count Analyzer
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| Be |
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The acronym for Betting Efficiency.
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| Beef |
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An argument with a customer or a boss, a complaint. "He had a beef about the way I turned my hole-card."
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| Bep |
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The acronym for Break-Even Point.
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| Bet Sizing |
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A system of varying one's bets according to the advantage that he has in a given situation.
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| Bet Spread |
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A reference to the amount of a player's minimum bet and maximum bet while playing blackjack. A 1-4 spread would mean the player's maximum bet is four times the size of the player's minimum bet. If a player spreads to two hands, the bet spread may be described as 1 - 2X4, which would mean one hand at one unit to two hands of four units each.
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| Betting Correlation / Bc |
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A term used to illustrate the efficiency of a counting system's ability to inform the player when to increase or decrease his bet. It is usually expressed as a decimal, such as 0.95. This would mean that a count with a 0.95 betting correlation is correct 95% of the time in determining the proper bet size.
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| Betting Efficiency / Be |
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Measure of how accurate a card counting system is for choosing the optimal time to raise your bets in relation to the true count. In other words, how well a card counting system can exploit the favor ability in the deck when using a fixed playing strategy. Betting efficiency is typically measured on a scale between 0.0 and 1.0, where 1.0 is best.
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| Betting Handle |
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The total amount of money that a player bets during a session or more extended period of time
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| Betting Limits |
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Establishes the minimum and maximum amounts that can be wagered on one bet.
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| Betting Ratio / Betting Spread |
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The range of bets which one makes while playing. If a player sizes his bets between one and ten units, then his betting spread is one to 10.
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| Betting True Count |
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The value of the true count, adjusted to reflect the number of aces, rich or poor.
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| Bettor |
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A customer who places wagers at any of the casino gaming tables.
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| Bib |
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The acronym for Blackbelt In Blackjack, book by Arnold Snyder
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| Big Player / Bp |
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Someone who plays in conjunction with a team of counters. A counter at a table keeps track of the count and secretly signals the big player when the count is high enough for the big player to enter the game and make a large bet or series of bets. The Big Player is signaled to come to a table by a sub-ordinate member of the team who has been placing minimum bets and counting down the deck. When the count is very positive, the Big Player or "BP" will come to the table and place maximum bets until the deck returns to a neutral of negative condition.
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| Big Six |
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The large, vertical wheel of fortune type apparatus normally set near the main entrance of a casino.
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| Bj |
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[1] An abbreviation for Black Jack, the game. [2] An abbreviation for a two-card total of 21
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| Bja |
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An abbreviation for Don Schlesinger's book entitled Black Jack Attack.
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| Bjf |
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An abbreviation for Black Jack Forum, Arnold Snyder's newsletter.
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| Bjfb |
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An abbreviation for Bryce Carlson's book entitled Black Jack For Blood.
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| Black & Whites |
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The traditional dress worn by dealers while job hunting and often after being hired. It consists of white shirt or blouse, black trousers or pants, and black shoes.
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| Blackjack / 21 / Twenty-One |
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[1] Name of the game in which a player makes a bet, plays his cards and tries to get closer than the dealer to a count of 21, without going over. [2] To deal an ace and a ten-count card as the first two cards, also called a "Snapper" or "Natural." Blackjack usually pays 3/2, meaning you win $3 for every $2 bet.
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| Blackjack Table |
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The Blackjack table typically has between 5 and 7 playing places. The position to the leftmost side of the table ( closest to the Dealer ) typically is referred to as the First Baseman.
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| Blacks |
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$100 table checks. "I've been dealing to blacks all night."
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| Bleed |
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To worry about a player winning on a gaming table
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| Bleeder |
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A person, usually a pit boss or a floorman who worries or gets upset if a player is winning.
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| Blow it |
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To lose a bet for the dealers. "I've blown every bet they've made for me tonight."
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| Body Language |
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A set of non-verbal signals radiated by a dealer, which can be distinguished by the player; (i.e. a dealer standing at an empty table with his arms folded across his chest is telling the player that he doesn't want to deal.) One reason some casino's do not allow the dealer to look under a 10-value card for a Blackjack is that the dealer may inadvertently give information about the value of the hole card to an astute player (i.e. if the dealer looks at the hole card and then looks back again to double check, then the value of the hole card is probably a "4."
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| Bonus |
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Large pay-off for a specific rare hand, as in paying 5-1 for 6-7-8 suited, provided by some casinos, temporarily as promotions, or permanently as part of house rules. Payoffs for bonuses are very high - but mostly do not affect significantly, if at all, the house advantage.
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| Box the Cards |
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Part of the shuffling procedure where portions of 5-12 cards are taken off the top of the deck and set down on the table in order to rearrange the deck. Also "box shuffle" and "strip the cards."
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| Boxed Card |
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A card that is face-up in the deck as the rest of the cards are face down. It is usually treated as if it were non-existent in the sequence as the cards come out of the deck.
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| Bp |
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The acronym for a Big Player in a team effort.
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| Br |
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[1] Bankroll. [2] The acronym for Beau Rivage, the casino
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| Brain Lock |
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To have your mind go blank and not know what to do next. Practicing the procedure over and over until it ingrained in your mind will prevent this condition.
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| Break |
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[1] To have a final card total which exceeds 21. Also called "Bust" or "Go over". [2] A period of time during his shift in which a dealer is not responsible for a table. Usually a period of 20-30 minutes during which a dealer may eat, smoke, use the restroom, etc.
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| Break it Down |
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To place chips into countable piles or to separate them into colors.
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| Break-in (Dealer) |
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[1] To get on-the-job training after passing an audition or otherwise. "I broke-in on a Riverboat." [2] A beginning or novice dealer.
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| Breaking Hand |
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A hand that will go over 21 with a one-card draw, such as 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16. Also called a "stiff hand."
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| Bs |
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The acronym for Basic Strategy.
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| Btd |
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The acronym for Beat The Dealer by Ed Thorp.
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| Btw |
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The acronym for By The Way.
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| Bump into |
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To push a larger stack of chips into a smaller stack of chips and take the excess off so that the stacks are equal. The proper way to pay a Blackjack is to break down the bet into two stacks and bump into it three times. Also "Cut into" or "Size into".
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| Burn |
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The dealer's act of removing the first (or more) cards after the shuffle and placing the card(s) in the discard pile or at the bottom of the deck.
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| Burn Joint |
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Slang for casino with nearly unbeatable rules.
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| Burn/Ing Card |
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A card taken off the deck - at the beginning of a new deck or shoe after it has been shuffled and before you start dealing or when a new dealer comes on duty or in the middle of a hand if a card comes out of the shoe by mistake- which the dealer slides across the table from his/her left on the right and puts into the discard rack face down or sometimes merely placed under the deck face up. This card is discarded "burned". The card may or may not be shown face up (which can affect the count if you are counting cards). It is procedure to burn a card when you are relieved to go on break. In hand-held games it is never shown. In multi-deck games it may be shown on request at some casinos.
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| Bust Card |
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The bust cards are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and usually refer to the dealer's up card. If the dealer has to take a hit on hard totals of 12-16 there is a chance he'll go bust. Of course the odds get progressively better from the 2 to the 6 since there are progressively more cards that will bust him.
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| Bust/Busted ("Too many") |
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To exceed the count of 21 on a hand (You go bust). You cannot go bust on the initial deal. If you go bust you always loose, even if the dealer ends up busted as well. When the dealer busts, all players who have a valid playing hand ( hand total not exceeding 21 ) automatically win. Also "Go over" or "break." The fundamental advantage, which the casino has over the player in 21, arises from this fact.
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| Button (Marker Button) |
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A laminated plastic disk with a white number painted on it used to keep track of markers. Also "lamer".
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| Buy-in |
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To exchange cash money for chips.
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| Buzz |
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To hustle or ask for a bet for the dealer.
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