ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BLACKJACK
Penetration Notes | Sources | Strategy Types
The following blackjack abbreviations and acronyms are used throughout this book and are typical of those used in the literature. When evaluating a game, you should assume Las Vegas Strip rules which include double on any first 2 cards, re-splits to 4 hands, dealer stands on soft-17, insurance allowed and, of course, a natural blackjack pays 3 to 2. Assume all one- and two-deck games are dealt face down and all multi-deck games are dealt face up. Rule variations are exactly that – variations from the norm1)Well, at least what used to be the norm. The Las Vegas Strip is not what it used to be..
Stanford Wong’s Current Blackjack News was the original source for many of the abbreviations shown in this table. If you can’t find it below, it may still be listed in the general A-Z section in this book. See the Numbers of 21 section for additional information on the numbers of blackjack.
RULE VARIATIONS / OPTIONS / CONDITIONS | |
| 1:1 | Naturals (blackjacks) pay even money instead of 3 to 2 |
| 21C / 21D / 21H / 21S | Suited blackjack pays 2 to 1 (C=Clubs, D=Diamonds, H=Hearts, S=Spades) |
| 21E | Naturals (blackjacks) pay even money instead of 3 to 2 |
| 21L | Dealer BJ beats player BJ |
| 21P | Dealer’s BJ with 10 up pushes player’s 21 |
| 21S | Suited blackjack pays 2 to 1 (any suit) |
| 21W | BJ wins regardless of dealer’s hand |
| 21+3 | Sidebet available. See 21+3. |
| 22P | Player pushes against dealer 22 |
| 3UP | Play one hand against 3 dealer upcards |
| 5 | Five card 21 pays 2 to 1 |
| 5555 | Bonus hand available. See 5-5-5-5. |
| 6 | Six card unbusted hand wins automatically |
| 678 | Any 6-7-8 pays double or there is a bonus for this hand – See 6-7-8 |
| 6:5 | Blackjacks pay 6 to 5 (normal pay is 3 to 2) |
| 7:5 | Blackjacks pay 7 to 5 (normal pay is 3 to 2) |
| 777 | Any 7-7-7 pays double or there is a bonus for this hand – See Royal 21 |
| A8 | Splitting allowed on AA and 88 only |
| AJ | Ace-Jack of spades pays double – See AJ |
| ALL | Lose all on doubles or splits if dealer has BJ |
| B | Bonuses may be available |
| C | Coupons may be available |
| COL | Casino collects a fee per hand, generally at least 1% |
| CS | Casino Surrender. A two-card twenty can be surrendered for a half-win against a dealer 10, as long as the dealer does not have a natural. |
| CSM | Continuous shuffle machine used |
| DA | Double down on any two or more cards – See DSA |
| DAB | Double Attack Blackjack |
| DAS or DS | Double after splits allowed |
| DACE | Double but not hit after splitting aces |
| DC17 | Dealer’s choice on whether to hit or stand on S-17 |
| DDD | Double again after doubling and getting a card. |
| DDR | Double Down Rescue |
| DE / DX | Double Exposure |
| DOA | Double on any first two cards – See D2 |
| DS or DAS | Double after splits allowed |
| DSA | Double after splitting aces – See DACE |
| DS10 | Double on a ten or 11 after splitting |
| D2 | Double on any first two cards – See DOA |
| D3 | Double on first three cards |
| D4 | Double on first four or fewer cards |
| D8 | Double on 8, 9, 10, 11 and generally soft hands |
| D9 | Double on 9, 10 or 11 |
| D10 | Double on 10 or 11 |
| D11 | Double on 11 only |
| ENHC | No-hole card (European Rules) – See NH |
| ES | Early surrender |
| ES10 | Early surrender against 10, late surrender against others |
| FD | Face down game shoe game. |
| FAK1 / FAK2 | Games using 6 or 8 decks that can be mistaken for single- or double-deck games. |
| FU | Face up single or double deck game |
| H-17 / H17 | Dealer hits on soft 17 rule |
| HIDE | Dealer shows player cards only when necessary to decide winner. |
| HSA | Hit after splitting aces |
| I | Reference to an American Indian casino |
| J / JOKER | One or more jokers are in the pack |
| KB | King’s Bounty side-bet available |
| LL | Lucky Ladies side-bet available |
| LS | Late surrender |
| LSN / LSNXA / LSXA | See Late surrender |
| MA | Multiple-Action blackjack |
| MIN | Mid-shoe entry restricted to table minimum |
| NB / NB21 | No Bust 21 |
| NC | No cards – digital blackjack game |
| NCH | No chips – digital blackjack game chips |
| NH / NHC | No-hole card (European Rules) – See ENHC |
| NI | No Insurance |
| NM | No mid-shoe or mid-game entry |
| NMM | No mid-shoe entry and no spreading to multiple hands |
| NMO | No mid-shoe entry on request |
| NMS | In mid-shoe you cannot go from two to one to two hands and you can not sit out hands |
NOBJ | If dealer has Ace and 10, the hand plays as ordinary 21 |
| NR / NRS | No ReSplits |
| NSA | No splitting of aces |
| NSJQ | No splits of unlike 10-valued cards |
| NS10 | No splits of any 10-valued cards |
| OU / O/U | Over / Under 13 side bet |
| PB | Player banked game |
| PD | If doubling on 10 or 11, player can request a new third card |
| PK | Dealer manually peeks under 10 valued cards |
| PS | Split 15 or 16 as if you had a pair |
| PUSH | Dealer wins pushes |
| RB | Red / Black sidebet |
| RM | Royal Match 21 sidebet |
| RS# | Resplit non-Aces to # number of hands |
| RSA | Resplit Aces |
| RSA3 | Resplit Aces once only to make 3 hands |
| S-17 / S17 | Dealer stands on soft 17 rule |
| SC | Card used to determine shuffle point in 1 or 2-deck games |
| SF21 | Super Fun 21 |
| SHOE | 1 or 2-deck game cards are dealt from a shoe |
| SLOT | Slot machine |
| SP21 / Spanish | Spanish 21 rules – All tens removed from deck |
| STBJ | Ten-Ace after splitting tens pays 3:2 |
| T / TOKE | Dealers keep their own tokes |
| TU | Triple down on 9, 10, or 11 allowed |
| TU10 | Triple down on 10 or 11 allowed |
| UR / URS | Unlimited resplits of non-aces |
| * | Other special/unusual rules |
| #XX | Number of tables available |
| ¢ | Low stakes only ( typically < $25) |
| $25 | Minimum bet $25 usually |
| $ | High stakes only ( typically > $100) |
GENERAL | |
| 1:X | A bet spread of 1 to X (e.g., 1:6 or 1:8) |
| ? | uncertain |
| A | ace |
| aka / a.k.a. | also known as |
| AW | Casino Actual Win. See a-win. |
| BC | betting correlation |
| BJ | blackjack or a natural |
| BS | basic strategy |
| C | circa |
| D | double |
| eg / e.g. | for example |
| et al | and other |
| EV | expected value |
| HA | house advantage |
| IC | insurance correlation |
| ie / i.e. | that is |
| J | Jack |
| K | King |
| LVS | Las Vegas Strip |
NN OOP | Non-Negotiable chips. See Rolling Chips Program. out of print |
| P | split |
| PA | player advantage |
| PE | playing efficiency |
| Q | Queen |
| ROR | risk of ruin |
| S | stand |
| SD | standard deviation |
| SE | standard error |
| TBD | to be determined |
| TW | casino theoretical win. See t-win. |
| Vs | versus |
| X | ten valued card |
| XD | X number of decks (e.g., 1D, 2D, 6D, 8D) |
| = | equals |
| > | is greater than |
| > | is greater than or equal to |
| < | is less than |
| < | is less than or equal to |
PENETRATION NOTES | |
| A or blank | Average penetration |
| P or B | Poor or Bad (Typically < 65%) |
| G | Good (Typically > 75%) |
| V | Varies or conflicting information was received |
Footnotes
| ↑1 | Well, at least what used to be the norm. The Las Vegas Strip is not what it used to be. |
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