Blackjack Terminology: Cuts and Burns
“Cuts and Burns”, you ask? What kind of dangerous game is Blackjack if there is cutting and burning involved??? Sheesh, it’s enough to drive one to the slot machines (nice and safe over there!)
Ok, we’re kidding, so there won’t be any need to ask the casino cashier for some bandages and antiseptic spray. Stay with us and we’ll explain what “cuts and burns” means in terms of Blackjack.
Cut and Burn techniques are used by Casinos for both single deck card play and multiple deck play in an effort to make the game up-front and fair. It can also throw off amateur card counters. While there is no one-hundred percent certain way to eliminate card counting, whatever works to throw card counters off a little bit is always explored.
A “Cut” card is done before play begins, and in what may come as a surprise, is done without scissors. Before any round, the dealer will shuffle the cards, and give one of the players the deck along with something known as a “Cut” card. A cut card is usually different than the other cards, as it is not a regular playing card, but a solid color card (which is usually made out of plastic.) The player will then proceed to use this card to cut the deck, and hand it back to the dealer. This essentially gives an assurance that everything is on the up and up – a player cut the cards, so there’s no chance of a card placed at a certain place in the deck, etc.
At this point, a “Burn” card is something a dealer does. Again, we are not talking in extremes, so don’t expect the dealer to produce a lighter and set fire to the selected card. What it does mean in regards to a “Burn” card is that the dealer will take a top card from the deck, and proceeds to show the card to everyone at the table. After doing this, the dealer will then place the card at the bottom of the deck, keeping the card face up. This prevents an assertion of “dealing from the bottom of the deck” (this technique is also used in many poker games). After exhausting the current deck and reaching the face up card at the bottom, the dealer will then take the deck and reshuffle it.
Cutting and burning in Blackjack is used ensure that the players at the table feel that an honest game is going on (well, as honest as a house edge game can be!)
Have fun out there, and watch out for those burning cuts!
