Gambling terms, explained straight

Casino & Table Games

Hold (blackjack terms)

The cards a player chooses to keep during a hand, rather than exchanging or discarding them.

Also called
Holding2
Applies to
Blackjack, poker, and other card games1

Key points

  • A player's hold is the portion of a hand they retain during a draw or exchange.1
  • The term is general card-game jargon, not a blackjack-specific rule or wager.1
  • In blackjack, a player may hold their current total and choose to stand rather than hit.1

Where this term is used

Casino games Blackjack terms and phrases A glossary of common blackjack terminology. Casino games Hit (blackjack) Explains the 'hit' action in blackjack. Casino games Stand (blackjack) Explains the 'stand' action in blackjack. Casino games Blackjack Overview of the casino card game blackjack. Casino games Insurance blackjack Explains the insurance side bet in blackjack. Casino games Basic strategy blackjack Covers the mathematically optimal way to play blackjack.

Sources

  1. Hold - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Defines 'hold' in card-game jargon and confirms its use in blackjack and poker.
  2. Glossary of contract bridge terms - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Provides the alternative term 'holding'.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.