| Blackjack or twenty-one has always been a casino
favorite and online it is no different. It is an easy game to
learn and combines elements of both luck and skill. By utilizing
a strategy card (see strategies) you can reduce a casinos advantage
to less than one percent, which gives a player a pretty good chance
of coming out a winner. We will give you a basic understanding
of the game including rules, strategies, and tips. Soon you will
be playing like a pro… Basic
Rules
The beauty of blackjack is that you play against the house
rather than your fellow gambler. So in essence all you have
to worry about is getting a better hand than the dealer. The
aim of blackjack is to get a total as close to 21 as is possible
without going over (bust). The value of the cards is as follows:
2-10: face value
Jack, queen, king: value of 10
Ace: value of 1 or 11
Once all the bets have been placed, each player will get a
card, with the dealer getting the last card, the players then
get dealt a second card. At this point if you have a natural
21
(An ace and any 10) you have blackjack and will immediately
get paid out 3:2 but if the dealer is showing an ace you will
have the option of taking even money. If you don’t have
blackjack you will have the option of taking more cards (hit)
or if you are happy with your total you will stick.
At this point the dealer will take their second card (see below
table). It is not up to the dealer’s discretion whether
to take more cards after this, there are certain rules which
the dealer has to adhere to. The dealer must draw cards on any
total up to and including 16 and stick on 17 and above, however,
if the 17 is soft i.e. an ace with a six (counted as 7 or 17)
as opposed to a hard 17 (a jack and a seven), the rules vary
from casino to casino. Las Vegas casinos generally stand while
Atlantic City and Reno casinos typically hit.
If you go over 21 (bust), you immediately lose the hand, if
the dealer goes over 21 you immediately win.
If you and the dealer have the same value, it is known as a
push and you will neither win nor lose and your bet remains
until the next hand is played.
Special
Plays
These bets allow a gambler under certain conditions to increase
their bet which will obviously increase the amount they win
and they are as follows:
Splitting pairs - If you have been dealt
two identical cards, then you have the option to split them
and play them as two separate hands, increasing your bet to
equal that of your original bet. If you split aces then in most
casinos you will only be allowed one more card on each hand
and if your total is 21 it is not considered blackjack but rather
a straight 21.
(See strategy card to decide when it is best to split)
Doubling – This play allows you
to double your bet and receive one further card only. Some casinos
will only let you double if you have the totals of 9, 10 or
11. However most casinos will let you double on any total.
There is also a double after splitting rule whereby you can
do just that, once you have split your pair and you feel you
have a good doubling opportunity, you can increase you bet and
receive one extra card just like in normal doubling. This can
be done on one or both of the splits. (See strategy card to
decide when it is best to double)
Surrender – The most common
type of surrender is a late surrender whereby the dealer will
check his cards for blackjack and if there is no blackjack the
dealer will ask for surrenders and allow you to forfeit half
you bet if you feel it is a lost hand.
Insurance
– If the dealer is showing an ace he will announce
insurance (insurance against the dealer getting blackjack) which
is a side bet offering odds of 2:1. If you play insurance and
the dealer gets blackjack then you will win but will lose your
original bet unless you have blackjack in which case it will
be a push on the original bet and you win on insurance. We don’t
suggest you play insurance as it increases the casinos advantage.
See table below:
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