| The rules of
Blackjack |
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The basic premise of the game
is that you want to have a hand value that is
closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without
going over 21. Other players at the table are of
no concern. Your hand is strictly played out
against the hand of the dealer. The rules of play
for the dealer are strictly dictated, leaving no
decisions up to the dealer. Therefore, there is
not a problem with the dealer or any of the other
players at the table seeing the cards in your
hand. Indeed, if you're playing at a shoe game,
the player cards are all dealt face up. In any
event, when you're just learning to play, don't
hesitate to show the dealer or other players your
cards and ask questions.
In blackjack, the cards are valued as
follows:
An Ace can count as either 1 or 11, as
demonstrated below.
The cards from 2 through 9 are valued as
indicated.
The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at
10.
The suits of the cards do not have any meaning in
the game.The value of a hand is simply the sum of
the point counts of each card in the hand. For
example, a hand containing (5,7,9) has the value
of 21. The Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11.
You need not specify which value the Ace has. It's
assumed to always have the value that makes the
best hand. An example will illustrate: Suppose
that you have the beginning hand (Ace, 6). This
hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, it
will be 17. Let's assume that you draw another
card to the hand and now have (Ace, 6, 3). Your
total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11.
Let's backtrack and assume that you had instead
drawn a third card which was an 8. The hand is now
(Ace, 6, 8) which totals 15. Notice that now the
Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over
21.
A hand that contains an Ace is called a
"soft" total if the Ace can be counted
as either 1 or 11 without the total going over 21.
For example (Ace, 6) is a soft 17. The description
stems from the fact that the player can always
draw another card to a soft total with no danger
of "busting" by going over 21. The hand
(Ace,6,10) on the other hand is a "hard"
17, since now the Ace must be counted as only 1,
again because counting it as 11 would make the
hand go over 21.
Some people think the object of the game is to get
21, or to get closer to 21 than the dealer without
"busting," which means going over 21.
This is incorrect! The real objective of the game
is to beat the dealer. There are 3 ways in which a
player can beat the dealer:
1. The player receives an ace and a 10-value card
for blackjack.
2. The player gets closer to 21 than the dealer.
3. The dealer goes over 21 and the player,
regardless of what the total is in his hand, does
not.
The game starts with every player making their
opening bets. Make sure to read the sign next to
the dealer which indicates the minimum and maximum
table limit. Most online casinos have table limits
from as low as $1 up to $100. After all the
players placed their bets the dealer will start
dealing the cards. Starting with the player to his
left he gives every player one card, face down,
including himself. This is the dealers down card.
Then he deals a second round of cards, face down
but this time the card he deals himself will be
face up. This is the dealers up card. You now can
look at both of your cards and find your total by
simply adding the values of your cards.
By turn each player will have to make one
of the following five decisions:
| Hit |
If you are
not satisfied with your current total you
can ask the dealer to hit you which means
he deals you another card in addition to
your two. You are hit until you are
satisfied with your total, or until you
bust. |
|
|
| Stand |
You stand
if you don't want any more cards. |
|
|
| Double |
If you
think you will win without getting more
than one card you double. You have to add
an amount equal to your original wager and
receive only one card. If your total is
higher than the dealer's after receiving
the card you win. |
|
|
| Split |
IIf your
starting hand contains two cards of the
same type (i.e. two 9's) you can split
them up into two new hands. You have to
add an equal amount to your wager and get
two more cards dealt forming two separate
new starting hands. |
|
|
| Insurance |
Insurance
is offered to the players if the dealer's
up card is an Ace, to protect against a
dealers Black Jack. You will have to pay
half of your original bet and will get 2:1
odds when the dealer has a Black Jack.
Unless you also have a black jack your
original bet is lost. |
|
|
| Surrender |
This
decision is quite rare and not offered is
most casinos. After you see your starting
hand and the dealers up card and you don't
think you can win, you have to give your
cards back to the dealer immediately. If
you surrender you will only lose half of
your original bet. You cannot surrender if
the dealer has a Black Jack. |
After all the players have made their decision the
dealer will then play his hand. The playing of the
dealer's hand must follow certain rules. He must
hit on every total less than 17 or otherwise
stand. Some casinos even let the dealer hit when
he has a soft 17. The rules which the dealer has
to follow will be written clearly on the Black
Jack table, so there will be no confusion.
You win if either the dealer busts or has a
total less than yours. The odds are 1:1. If the
total is the same it's a draw or a push and your
original wager is returned to you. A black jack
beats an ordinary 21 and is paid 3:2 odds.
Do you want to read more about
Blackjack:
• Introduction
• Rules
• Strategy
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