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| D'alembert |
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A betting progression. It is a system where the bettor raises the bet one unit after each loss and lowers the bet one unit after each win. A series of numbers equidistant from one another is established, such as 1, 2, 3, 4. The player starts out by betting 1 unit. If he wins, he continues to bet one unit. If he loses, he cancels out the 1 and moves to the 2 and adds one unit to the last number, now having a series of 2, 3, 4, 5. At any point in the series where the player wins his bet, he reduces his bet by one unit. If he wins enough bets to return to a one unit bet, he starts over. If he loses during the series, he cancels out the last number he played and adds another number to the series. This system has many variations. It has never been proven to win, and in fact, cannot win in any game with a negative expectation.
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| Da or Da2 |
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Abbreviations for double down on any first two cards.
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| Das |
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An abbreviation for a rule that allows the player to double after splits. See double after split.
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| Daub |
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A paste or fluid used to mark cards for the purpose of cheating.
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| Day Shift |
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Casino workers on day shift generally start at 10 AM, but may start a couple of hours earlier or later than that.
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| Days |
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A work shift usually starting between 8:00 a.m. and noon.
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| Dd |
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1. An abbreviation commonly used by posters to describe a Double-Deck game. 2. The acronym for Double Down.
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| De |
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The acronym for Double Exposure, a variety of blackjack in which both dealer cards are dealt face up and ties lose.
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| Dead |
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No action or very slow activity. "The casino is dead on Graveyard (shift)."
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| Dead Table |
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A table with no players. "You can't go home until there is one more dead table."
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| Deal |
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The distribution of the cards to the players during the play of the game.
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| Deal Around |
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To deliberately not give cards to a player even though he has a bet in place. "If he swears at you again deal around him."
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| Dealer |
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An employee of the casino who handles the gambling apparatus, cards, dice, tiles, roulette wheel, etc., makes the payoffs, and enforces the house rules at his table.
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| Dealer School |
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A tuition-charging training facility which teaches students the theory, standard methods, and rudimentary practice of dealing one or more of the games offered by a typical casino.
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| Dealing Seconds |
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A method of cheating in which the dealer peeks at the card on the top of the deck and deals the second from the top if the first is beneficial to the player. The use of the shoe virtually eliminates the possibility of dealing seconds.
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| Decision / Play Decision |
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1. The option you are given on your particular turn. Play decisions include hitting, doubling down, standing, splitting, insuring and surrendering 2. A ruling by a floor person or supervisor when an error in procedure has occurred at a gaming table
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| Deck |
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52 playing cards, the same as is used in poker. Commonly, blackjack players refer to a deck when discussing a single deck game. If a game uses more than one deck, but is still handheld by the dealer, such as a two deck game, the cards are often referred to as a pack.
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| Deck Stacking |
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A method of cheating in which cards favorable to the player are clumped at the end of the deck or shoe thus removing them from play.
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| Def |
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An abbreviation for defenestrate, which means to be thrown out of a window. If you are accidentally kicked out of chat, you have been defenestrated.
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| Delivery |
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Method of getting cards to the players. "In the single deck game we pitch the cards to the players."
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| Depth-Charging |
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A method of play described by Arnold Snyder in his book "Black belt in Blackjack", in which a player would either make flat bets or bet the table minimum on the first round of play after a shuffle and then raise his bets regardless of the count as play continues until the next shuffle. It is dependent upon the player seeing as many cards as possible, counting them using a counting system and making strategy variations based upon the count. In order to be successful, this method of play requires a count with a high playing efficiency and a deeply dealt single deck game.
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| Designated Shuffler |
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The designated shuffler will shuffle the cards on a small area attached to the back of the blackjack table while the dealer deals from the one in use on the table. A method of speeding up the game of Blackjack by using two sets of cards at a table (one in play and one on the side).
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| Desirability Index |
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A term coined by Don Schlesinger in his book Blackjack Attack. It is a number derived by dividing the win rate by the standard deviation for the particular game being examined and multiplying the result by 100. The lowest desirability index number given in Schlesinger's book is -0.52 and the highest is 16.04. The higher the number, the better the game. In general terms, a player would look for a desirability index of 6.6 or higher to find game which would be considered to be playable to most counters.
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| Deuce |
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An expression used for a card numbered two (2)
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| Device |
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"computers" or any other calculating or note taking instrument that can be used by players. Casinos are using "devices" (i.e. computers) freely so far, in Nevada and elsewhere, to identify counting play, track customers, recognize faces etc. You cannot use a device to play Blackjack in Nevada by law. Also in most other places, in the US and abroad. The definition of "device" has not been determined exactly through legal precedent.
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| Di |
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1. The acronym for "Desirability Index". 2. The acronym for Desert Inn, a Las Vegas casino.
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| Discard Holder / Discard Rack / Discard Pile / Discard Tray |
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A plastic holder to the right of the dealer attached firmly to the table. It is used to store the discards until they are ready to be re-shuffled. Red plastic is commonly used so that any marks on the cards will be amplified enough to be noticed by the floor man.
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| Discards |
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The cards which have already been played since the last shuffle. They are placed by the dealer in a discard tray on the left side of the table from the player's perspective.
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| Double Deck |
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A form of 21 where two decks are shuffled together and dealt out of the hand. The forms of 21 are: single deck, double deck, and four, six, or eight deck shoe.
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| Double Down / Doubling Down |
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To double the size of one's initial bet before taking one more card. Once a player doubles down, the player may receive only one more card. Usually, but not always, a player may only double down after receiving the first two cards. Occasionally, a casino may allow players to double down after receiving three or more cards. Normally, the player places a bet equal to the size of the original bet next to the original bet in the betting square to let the dealer know he wishes to double down. He does this by placing an amount which may be less than, or equal to (but may not exceed) the original stake, behind his initial bet. In some casinos the player may double down after splitting and in some casinos the player may only double on 10 or 11. The blackjack chart tells you when this is a good idea. For example, if you have a hard 10 and the dealer's up card is a bust card, let's say a 5, you would want to double down. You have a good chance of drawing an 8, 9, or 10, which is a hard hand for the dealer to beat. And there's an equally good chance that the dealer will go bust. A player may "Double Down" on any two cards except "Blackjack". If the dealer gets a "Blackjack", only the original bet will lose. If the player is playing in a game where the cards are held by the players, he places his cards face up in front of the betting square and the dealer places a third card either face-down under the player's bet or face up on the player's existing cards, usually at an angle opposite to the cards already in play.
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| Double Exposure 21 |
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A blackjack game in which both dealer cards are shown to the player (before) he plays his hand. Other house rules are usually changed, such as players losing pushes, and blackjacks are paid even money to restore the advantage the house loses by exposing the dealer's hole card.
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| Double Up |
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To double down with less than 2X the original bet. Generally, when doubling is allowed, the player does not have to actually double his bet, but may increase it by any amount up to (but not more than) the original bet.
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| Doubling for Less |
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Placing an additional bet that is less than one's original wager and receiving only one additional card. Dealers must inform the floor man and receive confirmation
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| Down / Down Table |
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A table with no player, which is to be closed. "After 2:00 a.m., we close any table that goes down."
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| Downtown |
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The area of Las Vegas which begins north of Sahara Blvd. and continues to Stewart Avenue on the north. It is bounded by Main Street to the west and Maryland Parkway to the east. Some of the casinos considered to be downtown would include the Stratosphere, the Golden Nugget, the Horseshoe, the Lady Luck, Main Street Station, and the El Cortez, to name a few.
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| Drag / Dragging |
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Usually refers to an illegal move by a player in which he takes back some chips from his bet after he sees his cards. It is why the smallest denomination chip must be on the top of a bet and the dealer must be able to see all the bets all the time.
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| Drop |
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1. The total amount of money and markers cashed in by players. 2. Term used to describe the total amount of money wagered in a casino. At table games, a drop box is used to collect the money.
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| Drop Box |
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A box affixed to a playing table to store the money and markers exchanged at the table for chips.
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| Drop Cut |
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The technique of holding a stack of chips in one hand, touching them to the table, then lifting them, leaving a small stack of chips in the desired amount. Usually used on the Crap table.
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| Drop the Deck |
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In a single deck game the dealer may reshuffle after any hand is over and may be told by the floorperson to drop the deck for some reason.
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| Ds |
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1. See DAS. 2. The acronym for Don Schlesinger, author.
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| Duke |
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A very good hand, a long winning hand at craps.
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| Dummy Up and Deal |
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A common expression spoken to dealers to remind them to keep their mind on their game and refrain from talking to the customers (too) much.
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| Dumping |
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To lose a large amount of the casino's bankroll to a player in a short amount of time. "I dumped over two grand to him in less than an hour."
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| Dumping Table |
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A table where the dealer is losing frequently and the chip tray is constantly being refilled.
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