Blackjack Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One: F

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Fab Four. A term coined by Don Schlesinger and used to describe the top four most profitable surrender plays using the Hi-Lo counting system. These plays include those shown below. See Illustrous 18.

14 vs 10

15 vs 10

15 vs 9

15 vs Ace

[97 Schlesinger Blackjack Attack 70]]

face card. Also called court card. Any king, queen, or jack.

face down. (FD) As in a face down game. The method of dealing cards so that the first two cards are seen only by the player controlling the hand.

face up. (FU) As in a face up game. The method of dealing cards so that all player cards are visible.

face up blackjack. See double exposure.

falling sequence. See sequence.

false cut. {CHS}. Also called an elevator. The slight of hand technique of restoring the deck to its original position after the dealer shuffles and a player cuts the cards. See false shuffle.
[82 Martin Intro. to Casino Management 24]

false identification. (false ID) What a card counter may carry in order to protect his real identity. See identification.

false shuffle. {CHS}. The slight of hand technique of appearing to shuffle but actually not disturbing the order of the cards. See false cut.

FAQ. Acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. See Michael Dalton's Twenty-One Frequently Asked Questions About Blackjack on the Blackjack Review Network web site and the rec.gambling.blackjack FAQ for useful information on the game of blackjack.
[ http://www.BJRnet.com/faq21.htm ]
[ http://www.conjelco.com/faq/ ]

faro shuffle. See perfect shuffle.

FCBJ. Acronym for First Church of Blackjack.

FD. Acronym for face down. Typically used to indicate a face down shoe game.

feet. A player's foot has a number of uses to the card counter. He can keep track of aces or other cards or more importantly, he can kick his partner when she* makes a stupid play.
[81 Uston Million Dollar Blackjack]
* Note to my wife - sorry about that one, honey!

felt. The material used on most blackjack table layouts. Felt has a soft feel to it, is usually padded, and makes it easier to pick up and shuffle cards on.

female players. It has often been stated that due to the sexist attitude in our society and especially in casinos, women who can manage to become expert blackjack players have an additional edge. Women often get friendlier treatment at the tables and, more importantly, better deck and shoe penetration.
[80 Revere Playing Blackjack as a Business]
[90 Gaffney Winning BJ in A. C. and ...33]

Fibonacci System. {PBS} The progression of 1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,55,...,n (where n is the sum of preceding two levels). Named after its discoverer Leonardo Fibonacci da Pisa, a medieval mathematician.
[84 Barstow Beat the Casino 75]

field bet. A optional side bet that your first two cards will total 12 - 16. Ace-ace and 8-8 pay double. This bet was first seen at the Lady Luck casino in Las Vegas in 1991 (1992?). HA = 8.9%
[92 Wong Basic Blackjack]

fill. As in to fill the rack. A casino term referring to the refilling of a dealer's chip tray from checks brought in from the cashier's cage. See fill slip.

fill slip. Also called credit slip. The slip of paper, where the player often sees the pink copy, that accompanies a fill. The fill slip is checked by the dealer, signed, and one copy is deposited in the drop box and one copy returned to the floorman.

first base. The first seat and betting space at a blackjack table. The seat to the dealer's far left. The position that receives the first card of a new round and the first to play his hand.

first basing. 1) {HCS} The technique of playing at first base and peeking at the hole-card as the dealer checks it to see if he has a blackjack. The player can then vary how he plays his hand, depending on whether the dealer has a pat or a stiff hand. See front loading. See spooking. See alternate meaning below. PA = 2-3% (Approximate ??)
[86 Uston Ken Uston on Blackjack 134]
[9/86 Snyder First-baser Sues Golden Nugget BJF]
[6/87 Snyder Is Spooking Legal BJF 7]

first basing. 2) {RWC}. An alternate meaning for the tactic used in severely insufficiently shuffled shoe games of playing at first base when the table is full or nearly full. These players believe that first base has the greatest expectation of any spot at the table. See alternate meaning above.

First Church of Blackjack. (FCBJ) See Bishop.

Fitch, Ron. (a.k.a. Boris) Author of the Boris Blackjack Simulation Software.

Five Card 21. A favorable rule option that gives the player with a winning 5-card hand of exactly 21 a 2 to 1 payoff instead of the normal even money. There are a total of 24 changes required from basic strategy to optimally play this rule. See Atlantic City rules. See Six Card 21. PA = +.2% (multi-deck)
[9/92 Schlesinger Lost in the Maze of New Rules BJF]
[92 Wong Basic Blackjack]

five card Charlie. A bonus popular in caddy and other social blackjack games where a five-card total that is equal to or less than 21 pays the player 2 to 1. A few casinos have occasionally offered a 6-card bonus of an automatic win.

five card surrender. A very advantageous rule popular in some casinos in Asia (e.g., Macau). If the player succeeds in getting five cards without going over 21 he may show his hand receiving back his original wager plus winnings of one-half his original wager. PA = +.7 (approximate)
[79 Wong Blackjack in Asia]
[80 Braun How to Play Winning Blackjack 71]
[9/89 Brahms Blackjack in Asia BJF 12]
[2/90 Patterson Blackjack in Macau... WIN 24]

five-count. {RCS} A simplified rank count where the player keeps track of fives only. See Revere Five-Count, Thorp Five-Count.

five deck. An uncommon arrangement of decks always dealt from a shoe. PA = -.53%

flash. To show a card, whether intentional or not. Usually refers to showing the dealer's hole-card. See exposed card.

flash card. See cut card.

flasher. A dealer who flashes his/her hole-card.
[90 Patterson Blackjack: A Winner's Handbook]

flat-bet. 1) To bet the same amount on every hand. Various strategies recommend the use of flat betting such as Wonging, hole-card play, and for cover purposes. Flat betting might also be a viable way of playing single- and double-deck games, provided penetration is adequate and you are willing to walk away from most negative counts. 2) A casino counter-measure where the player is told he must bet the same amount in the future. See back-off.
[5/83 Wong Win With Flat Bets - Nevada Blackjack 80]

flea. A reference to a slot player who only plays positive expectation slot machines.
[Lund Robbing the One Armed Bandits 99]

floating advantage. The proven theory that the same true count implies more advantage later in the deck(s) than it does earlier in the deck(s). Although studies by Don Schlesinger and John Gwynn prove that a player's true count advantage does increase with penetration it is of a very small nature unless penetration is very deep (e.g., > 5 1/2 decks out of 6).
[9/82 Snyder How True is Your True Count BJF]
[3/89 Schlesinger/Gwynn The Floating Advantage BJF]

floorman. The supervisor of one or more blackjack tables. This is the person who walks behind the tables and watches over the games. He is responsible for keeping the chip trays full, taking care of any problems and the general supervision of the dealers. The floormen report to the pit boss or the shift boss.

Florida. At time of writing, legal games were available off-shore on cruise ships only. Several cruise ships offer casino gambling to players on half-day and full-day sailings. A few of the largest companies offering these cruises are SunCruz, Europa and Sea Escape. The following ports have had day cruise opportunities in the past:

Fort Lauderdale
Fort Myers
Jacksonville
Key West
Miami
Palm Beach
Port Canaveral
St. Petersburg

Florida rules. TBD

fluctuation. See standard deviation.

foreign checks. Chips from another casino.

Forte, Steve. An expert in card manipulation and the author of one of the best instructional Gambler's Protection Series videos on cheating at cards and dice.
[ http://www.BJRnet.com/shop/cat_video.htm ]

four deck. A game dealt from four decks and dealt from a shoe. Unfortunately, most shoe games dealt in the USA favor to be either six or eight deck. PA = -.50%
[81 4-Deck Game Analyzed BJF]
[82 Gwynn 4-Deck Computer Simulations BJF]
[82 Fisher 4 & 6 Deck Comparisons BJF]

Frank, Scott. See Core System.

Francis, Mike. See R&T Point Count.

Fred. A concealed blackjack computer developed by Frank Dracman (c1983? - Great Britain). This was a perfect-strategy computer that advises the player how to play his hands based on the exact mix of cards remaining in the pack. See David.
[3/84 Wong Nevada Blackjack 40]

frequency distribution. As used in the blackjack literature, this is usually defined as "a table of numbers that tell us how frequently any player (or house) advantage occurs in a casino blackjack game." Five conditions must be specified:

Rules of the game.

System that player uses.

Number of players at table.

Number of decks used.

Depth of penetration.

[6/82 Snyder Frequency Distributions BJF 9]
[87 Snyder Beat the X-Deck Game 5]

Fristedt-Head System. {PCS/U}. TBD

front loader. A dealer who exposes (usually unintentionally) his hole-card while dealing.

front loading. 1) The dealing practice of loading the hole-card from the front of the up-card. This is standard practice in casinos. See side loading. 2) {HCS}. The strategy of observing (peeking) the value of the dealer's hole-card as it is accidentally exposed. Opportunities arise to see the dealer's hole-card when he initially deals himself one and when he peeks under tens and aces to check for naturals. The term front loading refers to the first case when the dealer loads the hole-card beneath his up-card. This type of play is made possible by a dealer who tips the card up towards the players to slide it beneath his up-card. A player who is either short or is lounging at the table may be able to read the value of the card. The basic strategy for front loading is not the same as the strategy for double exposure. The reason is ties lose at double exposure. See hole-card play. See first basing.
[80 Wong Winning Without Counting]
[81 Uston Million Dollar Blackjack 197]
[83 How Casinos Detect Cheaters C&S Vol.23,71]
[6/87 Snyder Is Spooking Legal BJF 7]
[90 Patterson Blackjack: A Winner's Handbook 76]
[92 Wong Basic Blackjack]

front money. Money that has been deposited with the casino's cashier by a player for the purpose of gambling off it. See marker. See credit player.
[81 Casino & Sports Vol.17, 17]

FU. Acronym for face up single or double deck game.

funbook. A collection of discount or lucky buck coupons that often provide the low stakes player with a positive expectation in a game. Occasionally, but usually due to casino error, highly advantageous coupons have been issued that can be used with greater than minimum dollar bets. See couponomy. See matchplay.

Last Update 05/13/00