BLACK JACK RULES:

Each player competes against the dealer (i.e. the bank/casino), not against other players. Your goal as the player is to draw cards until your hand adds up to 21, or comes as close as possible without exceeding 21. If your first two cards total 21, you have black jack. If the dealer gets closer to 21 than you without going over themselves, they win.

Cards - 
Ace = 1 or 11
King, Queen, Jack = 10
Numbered Cards = Their face value (ex. 2 of hearts = 2)

Black Jack - If the player's first two cards are an ace and a 10 or face card, she wins. However, if the dealer also has a black jack, it is a push or a tie, and you receive your bet back. According to the most common black jack rules, a winning black jack usually pays the player 3 to 2.

Hit or Stand - Hit means to draw another card (which the player signifies by scraping the table with her cards or a similar hand motion). Stand means no more cards (which the player signals by placing the corner of her cards under her wager or moving her hand in a horizontal direction. If the player hits and busts (goes over 21), she immediately turns her cards over and her wager is lost.

Double Down - The player is allowed to double the bet on her first two cards and draw one additional card only to improve her hand. This is usually done if you are dealt an 11 or a 10, so your next card will most likely bring you to a 21 or 20. Always take into account the dealers up-card, if they are showing busting cards it is a good idea to double down even if your total is as little as 9.


TERMS USED IN BLACK JACK:

Action: This is a general Black Jack gambling term that refers to the total amount of money bet in a Black Jack game in a specific period of time. Ten bets of ten dollars each is $100 of action.

BankRoll: The stake (available money) a player plans to bet with.

Bust: When a hand's value exceeds 21... a losing hand.

Drop Percentage: That portion of the player's money that the casino will win because of the house percentage. It is a measure of the amount of a player's initial stake that he or she will eventually lose. On average this number is around 20 percent. That is, on average, Joe Gambler will lose $20 of every $100 he begins with.

Flat Bet: A bet which you do not vary ie, if you are flat betting ten dollars, you are betting $10 each and every hand without changing the betting amount from one hand to the next.

Hard Hand: A hand in which any Ace is counted as a 1 and not as an 11.  Most allow the Ace to be used as a "1" or "11".

Hit: To request another card.

Hole Card: Any face down card. The definition most often refers to the dealer's single face down card.

Pair: When a player's first two cards are numerically identical (ie, 7,7).

Pat Hand: A hand with a total of 17 to 21.

Point Count: The net value of the card count at the end of a hand.

Push: A player-dealer tie. 

Soft Hand: A hand in which any Ace is counted as an 11 and not as a 1.

Stand: To decline another card.

True Count: The running count adjusted to account for the number of cards left in the deck.