- Basic Rules
- Blackjack is played with 1-8 deck of cards. The cards are ranked as followed:
- Cards ranking 2 – 10 have their face value.
- Jack, Queen and King have a value of 10 points.
- Aces have the value of either 1 or 11 points
The player (you) wins when his cards have a higher point score than the dealers without going over 21 points which is known as busting (at online casinos always remember to turn off the sounds, the busted sound can sometimes make you very depressive )
The best hand is when you are being dealt blackjack, which is a combination of an ace and a card worth 10 points. Three or more cards with the value of 21 points are not considered a blackjack. The dealers blackjack always wins over three cards totalling 21 points.
If you have at least one ace its value can be either 1 or 11 points plus your second card. This is known as a hard and a soft hand (you will need to remember this terminology when you read my blackjack playing sheets later). An example is an ace and a six, which is a hard 7 or a soft 17. If you choose not to stay (you never do on a soft 17!) and the next card is a fiver you will not bust, because your new hand will be worth either 12 or 22 – the hand worth 12 will count. 2. Payouts
Scoring blackjack pays 3:
2 i.e. if you bet $10 then you will win a total of $25. A normal win (the dealer bust or you get a better hand than the dealer) pays 1:1 i.e. if you bet $10 then you will win a total of $20. If you get the same hand as the dealer you will keep your bet also if you have doubled your hand. If you loose the hand you will loose your entire bet on that hand. If the dealer has an ace you get the opportunity to buy insurance. Statistically this a bad idea and I will not introduce you to this rule. Never buy insurance! 3. The Play
After placing your initial bet the dealer deals cards one at a time in a clock wise direction with the dealer receiving the last card. Players are all dealt two cards face up and the dealer one card face up, one card face down – known as the hole card. Depending on which game variation, if the dealer is dealt a 10 or an ace then he will immediately check for blackjack (see my articles about the different casino software for further details!).
At this stage each player now plays out their hand with the dealer playing last. Your options are as described below:
Stand: You can stand, meaning no more cards are dealt to you.
Hit: You may hit and receive another card.
Double:
You can double your bet and receive one more card. If you win you will double your payout and reverse if you loose.
Split: If the first two cards are of the same face value for example 2 eights or 2 aces you can split your hand. The two new hands must have bets equal to the initial bet and are played out individually. Some casinos allow multiple splits and may or may not allow doubling after splitting.
Surrender:
Not always available, this option allows you to surrender your cards and half your bet. This is an option if you do not like your chances when seeing your first two cards and the dealers first card. If it is only possible to surrender after the dealer checked for blackjack it is known as a late surrender. If you can surrender immediately it is known as an early surrender.
Once all players have played each of their hands the dealer plays out his. The dealer will follow a set of rules which means he has no free will to take advantage of knowing what the players hands are. The most common rule is that the dealer will hit on any combination below 17, and stand on 17 (including a soft 17) and above.
Different Blackjack games may have one of the following hole card rules or none at all.
US Hole Card Rule:
After the dealer has dealt the cards and the dealer has an ace or a 10 he will check for blackjack before you get the opportunity to stand, hit etc.. If an ace is showing the casino will offer you to buy insurance first (never do that!).
This rule is an advantage for the player because you either immediately loose to the dealers blackjack or get the knowledge that the dealer does not have a blackjack. Immediately loosing means you effectively cut you loses in case you had the opportunity to split your hand or double. These strategies cannot be learned overnight. You have to practice and keep on playing so you will acquire these strategies and techniques naturally. Also, your choice of platform matters. Hence, make sure to play on reliable sites only like Situs Judi Bola.
