| |
BLACKJACK RULES
The National Council on Problem las vegas gambling is the national advocate for programs to legislate las vegas gambling
jackpot bingo this blog. The world's most friendly game offering an exciting thrilling play.
What follows is a beginner's guide to the rules of Blackjack. Blackjack is one of the simplest and most player-friendly games in the casino repertoire, and Blackjack rules are easy to understand.
The game is played with a deck (or several decks) of cards, from which the dealer draws. In this game, you (the player) are playing against the house, which is represented by the dealer. The object of the game is to for the sum of your cards to be closer to 21 than the sum of the dealer's cards. If the sum of your cards exceeds 21, however, you will automatically lose and the dealer will win.
Number cards are worth their face value, face cards (king, queen, jack) are worth 10, and aces can be either 1 or 11, depending on the situation. Blackjack rules in your favor, allowing for a certain amount of flexibilty, that an ace can go from being worth 11 to being worth just 1, if your hand exceeds 21.
The dealer will begin the game by giving you two cards, both face up, and giving himself one card face up, and one face down. Now it is your turn to try to approach 21. If you would like to be dealt another card, ask for a "hit". When you are satisfied with the sum of your cards, tell the dealer that you would like to "stand". It is now the dealer's turn to play, and he attempts to approach 21 as you did. Whoever manages to achieve the higher sum, 21 or less, is the winner, and will receive the money that was bet. Going over 21 is called a "bust". If you and the dealer end up with the same sum, Blackjack rules say that no one wins, the bets are returned, and it is called a "push". If you get exactly 21, then you have a "Blackjack" and in this case you win.
This page should get you started right, and let you check up on any blackjack rules you not be aware of. If you can't find what you're looking for, just email us and we will provide an answer.
Generally stated, each blackjack player competes only against the dealer (i.e. the bank/casino), not against other players. Your goal as the player is to draw cards until your hand adds up to 21, or comes as close as possible without exceeding 21. Actually your goal is to beat the dealer, and your best hope of doing so is to get as close to 21 as you can without going over. If your first two cards total 21, you have blackjack. If the dealer gets closer to 21 than you without going over themselves, they win. The dealer follows a strict set of blackjack rules written just for them, and knowing what the dealer must do at the table is as important as knowing what you yourself can do.
Before any cards are dealt, the player must wager. You may do so by placing a bet in the designated space in front of your table position. The dealer then deals two cards to each of the players at the table, and two to himself (one of the dealer's cards is dealt face up and one is dealt facing down). Face cards (kings, queens and jacks) count as 10, an ace counts as one or 11 (as the player chooses, whichever is more advantageous) and all other cards are counted at their face value.
After all the bets are placed on the table, the dealer puts two cards in front of each player, one at a time, from left to right. In some casinos, players get both cards face down. If this is the case, be sure to only handle your cards with one hand! In Atlantic City and most everywhere else, blackjack rules usually state the player's cards are dealt face up. If the cards are dealt face up, don't touch them! Check out our blackjack table guide for tips to not look foolish. The dealer receives one card face down and one card face up.
Since a casino can be very noisy, hand signals are usually the preferred method of signaling hit, stand, etc. There are no hard and steadfast rules to hand signals, but there are norms. If the cards are dealt face down and you want a hit, lightly and gently (as to not hurt the cards) draw the corner of the cards across the felt two times. If the cards were dealt face up, point at them while saying hit, or scratch the table with your finger. You may also want to nod your head in approval at the same time.
If the dealer's hand totals 16 or less, they have to take a card. If the dealer's hand is 17 or more, they have to stand. Sometimes a casino lets the dealer hit on a soft seventeen, adding to the casino edge.
Should a player get a Natural Blackjack (first 2 cards are an Ace and a ten) standard blackjack rules pay back at 3 to 2, or 1.5 to 1. This means if you bet $25.00 the payoff on a natural is $37.50.
Doubling down is your option to double your bet after recieving your first two cards. Some casinos only allow doubling on a total of 9, 10, or 11 although some casinos allow doubling down on any 2-card hand. If your first two cards provide you with the appropriate total and your cards were dealt face down, turn them over and put place the same amount as your original bet down beside your other chips.
For face up play just place an equal amount of chips next to your original bet and say double. The dealer will give you one more card only, and will move on to the next hand.
If you have a pair that you want to split them, tell the dealer and they will place your two cards a few inches apart. The original bet will go with one card and you will have to place an equal amount of chips down beside the new hand. You are now playing two hands, each as though they were independent, normal blackjack hands following standard rules. If you were splitting aces however, you only get one more card on each hand after the split. If you manage to split aces and draw a ten, it is not considered a natural Blackjack, so you don't get paid 3 to 2.
Second part:
Basic Blackjack Rules.
The online blackjack game is played with 1 to 8 shuffled decks of standard playing cards. Each card has a value, kings, queens and jacks, (face cards) are counted as ten, aces can be valued as one or eleven, every other card, (2-10), is taken at face value.
A typical online casino table, this one from Windows Casino, is shown to the right. Click the thumbnail for a full size view.
Overview of blackjack game play.
All players must make their bets before commencement of dealing. The dealer then starts with the player to their left and deals each player one card, face up, finishing with themselves. Everyone is then dealt a second card face-up. The dealer either deals themself another card face down, (or, especially in European casinos, they wait until all players have completed their play and then give themselves another face up card and play their hand.)
The dealer now starts with the player to their left. A player's turn involves taking more cards, if required, until they are happy with their total or they bust, (get more than 21). Once every player has finished the dealer plays their hand adhering to the rules as displayed on the table. Basically this means that that keep taking cards until their hand totals 17 or more.
The online table.
Most online blackjack tables are similar in layout to the one above. You click on the chips to place your bet or drag them off to reduce your bet. The split, double, stand, hit and deal buttons will be lit when the option is available.
Warning: some tables change the deal button into the hit button once the deal is made so be careful when you make your selection. If the dealer gets an ace insurance will be offered where available.
The total of your cards and the dealers will be shown as the cards are dealt, and win, lose or push are shown at the end of the hand. To play the next hand make sure your bet amount is correct then press deal again and continue.
Soft and hard hands.
As mentioned previously, an Ace may be counted as 1 or 11. A hand where the ace may be counted as 1 or 11 is know as a soft hand. For example ace/7 may be valued at 8 or 18. A hand where the ace may only be counted as 1 without busting is a hard hand. An example is 7/5/ace, value 13 or 23 and bust.
Object of the blackjack game.
The object of the game is to get a card point total closer to 21 than the dealer, without busting. Two points worth emphasing here: you must beat the dealer, it doesn't matter how small the total of your cards as long as you beat the dealer. Although you may be playing in a multi player game each player plays the dealer in turn and their fortunes have nothing to do with you winning or losing.
The player's choices.
When the players turn arrives they can choose between standing, hitting, splitting or doubling down or surrender.
Standing - If a player is happy their total they take no more cards and wait for the dealer to play their hand.
Hitting - The player wants another card to be dealt to try and improve their total.
Doubling Down - The player doubles their bet and takes one more card. An example of when this action may be beneficial is if the player has a hand totalling 9, 10 or 11 and the dealer has a poor card, 2-6. The reasoning being that they have a good chance that they recieve a ten value card.
Splitting - If the player has two cards of the same value they may Split the cards and play them as two separate hands, this requires making an extra equal bet on the second hand. If they decide to hit they may also be allowed to double down if advatageous.
Surrender - Not offered in all casinos, surrender allows you to give up your hand and lose half your stake. There are two types of surrender the first and least common is allowing surrender before the dealer has checked for blackjack, this is the most advantageous to the player. The second option allows surrender after the dealer has checked for blackjack.
There is also a further option:
Insurance - Offered by most casinos, insurance allows you to place a bet, equal to your original stake, which pays out 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack. You still play your hand and win or lose your original stake, but the best you can do is come out even. This is generally considered to be a separate bet and is not used in the basic strategy.
The decision that the player makes is determined by the value of the player's hand and the dealer's face up card. Full details in the Blackjack Basic Strategy section.
Betting
Each player must make their bet before the first card is dealt.
If the player beats the dealer they win 1 to 1 and if they have Blackjack they win 3 to 2. If the player's hand equals the dealer's then their stake is returned, this is called a "push". If the player splits or doubles down they must bet an equal stake to the first bet.
The dealer's hand
Once all of the players are finished the dealer will play their hand. The main difference between the dealer and player playing their hands is that the dealer can not make any descisions for themselves, they are governed by the rules of the table. These rules usually state that if the dealer has 16 or less they must take another card and if they have 17 or greater they must stand. Some online casinos make the dealer hit a soft 17 (ace/6).
One advantage to the player is that the dealer cannot split a pair or double down on a 10 or 11, and only gets paid 1 to 1 for a blackjack. If the dealer busts then all players that have not bust themselves win.
Once the dealer has reached 17 or above they will pay winning bets and collect bets from losers, or in the case of a tie there is a push where the dealer simply returns the player's stake. The next hand is then dealt.
|