Playing
blackjackOnce the original hand of two cards is
dealt, the player has several options. The player can Hit
(take another card), Stand (stay with the current hand), Split
(split a pair into two independent hands), Double (double
your initial wager and take one and only one more card), Surrender
(surrender half of your wager instead of playing out the hand),
or take Insurance (a side bet allowed when the dealer has
an ace to protect the player against a dealer blackjack).
Not all casino blackjack games offer the double, surrender,
or insurance options. The decision on which option to choose
can be influenced by your hand value, the value of the dealer's
face card, the number of decks in the game and even which
cards have been played since the last shuffle of the stack.
The Dealer's Hand
The dealer does not have the freedom to make decisions.
They must follow the openly declared rules of the casino
or the table at which they are dealing. The most common
rule is "Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17's".
This means that the dealer is required hits his hand until
it totals at least 17 (soft or hard). Some casinos play
under the "Dealer hits soft 17's" rule in which
the dealer hits his hand until it totals a hard 17 or higher
or a soft 18 or higher
Play Blackjack
To win you need to beat the dealer without busting.
You bust when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose
automatically. The winner is whoever has closest to a total
of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards.
The blackjack table seats about 6 players. Either six or
eight decks of cards are used and are shuffled together
by the dealer and placed in a card dispensing box called
'Shoe'.
Before receiving any cards players must place a wager.
Then the players are dealt two cards face up. The dealer
gets one face up, one face down. Each player in turn either
stays or takes more cards to try and get closer to 21 without
busting. Players who do not bust wait for the dealer's turn.
When all the players are done, the dealer turns up the down
card. By rule, on counts of 17 or higher the dealer must
stay; on counts of 16 or lower the dealer must draw.
If you make a total of 21 with the first two cards (a 10
or a face and an Ace), you win automatically. This is called
'Blackjack'. If you have Blackjack, you will win one and
one-half times your bet unless the dealer also has Blackjack,
in which case it is a Push or a Tie (or a Stand-off) and
you get your bet back.
The remaining players with a higher count than the dealer
win an amount equal to their bet. Players with a lower count
than the dealer lose their bet. If the dealer busts, all
the remaining players win.
Betting Options
There are other betting options namely Insurance,
Surrender, Double Down, Even Money and Split .
- Insurance: side bet up to half the initial bet against
the dealer having a natural 21 - allowed only when the
dealer's showing card is an Ace. If the dealer has a 10
face down and makes a blackjack, insurance pays at 2-1
odds, but loses if the dealer does not.
- Surrender: giving up your hand and lose only half the
bet.
- Early Surrender: surrender allowed before the dealer
checks for blackjack.
- Late Surrender: the dealer first checks to see if he
has blackjack. If he does, surrender is not permitted.
- Double Down: double your initial bet following the initial
two-card deal, but you can hit one card only. A good bet
if the player is in a strong situation.
- Even Money: cashing in your bet immediately at a 1:1
payout ratio when you are dealt a natural blackjack and
the dealer's showing card is an Ace.
- Split Hand: split the initial two-card hand into two
and play them separately - allowed only when the two first
cards are of equal value. Use each card as the start to
a separate hand and place a second bet equal to the first.
- Hard Hand: A hand without an Ace, or with an Ace valued
at 1 is said to be Hard in that it can only be given one
value, unlike a Soft Hand. (You can value an Ace 1 or
11 to suit you).
- Soft Hand: A hand that contains an Ace counted as 11
is called a Soft Hand.
House advantage (approximate, may vary with different
rules)
- Without basic strategy 7% average.
- With basic strategy 0.5% or less.
Card counting can reverse the advantage up to 1% to the
player.
Some blackjack variations
Using different number of decks: all other conditions
being the same, as a general rule the fewer the decks, the
better for the player.
Allowing the dealer to hit a soft 17: a disadvantage to
the player. It gives the dealer a chance to improve.
Allowing a double down after splitting pairs: can be advantageous
to the player if used wisely.
Allowing re-splitting of Aces: a clear advantage to the
player.
No dealer hole card: common on cruise ships, this variation
is a disadvantage to the player. The dealer does not deal
himself a second card until the players have played and
they can lose the doubles and splits.
