If you’re ready to play blackjack, then you will really need to make sure that you learn the jargon of online blackjack before you do anything else. Thankfully, it’s really not hard at all to figure out all of the terms that you’ll see floating around the blackjack table. Knowing the terms of any game that you play is the basis of building the right strategy. You must make sure that you know what’s going on before you can get any further in your quest to have fun at blackjack online.

So, what are the terms, and what can they do for you? As mentioned earlier, it really is all about learning the terms so that you can build your strategy. As you get more interested in playing blackjack, you will naturally want to read more strategy guides and online community boards. People that have been playing blackjack for a while will use jargon freely, so you have to make sure that you know what’s being said. If you want to ask for help, knowing the terms will be one of the first requirements that veteran players will ask of you.

The terms are pretty basic, so let’s begin shall we?

The first set of terms is concepts you might already be familiar with, like hit or stand. These are two terms that will form the core of your gameplay, but they aren’t the only ones. Hit means that you are asking for another card from the dealer, and stand means that you’re going to keep the cards that you have. Naturally, if you know that you’re close to 21, you don’t want to hit — that would only work in the dealer’s favor.

You can also double down on your bet, which means that if you win against the dealer you will get double your bet. There is also the concept of insurance, which is simply a side bet that pays out if the dealer hits a natural blackjack. You don’t need insurance, but some players swear by it.

There is also the concept of going “heads up” — squaring off against the dealer, versus going against other players that are also going against the dealer. Gameplay does change when it’s heads up, so it’s important to make sure that you’re actually taking this into consideration.

Then there’s the concept of the true count, which is one of the hardest concepts to master. Indeed, you have to make sure that you are getting a real count of the cards in play, which might be a little tricky when it’s online. This is where an online community can help you sort things out, which is why it’s not a bad idea to make sure that you’re also part of a community when you start playing blackjack online. Most online casino houses will also have a forum or community attached to them for this reason — it makes the gameplay flow so much easier when you have a community to fall back on!

Overall, now that you know more of the jargon of online blackjack, there’s only one thing to do — play, of course!