Blackjack

The object of blackjack is to acheive a score of 21 or as close to 21 as possible without going over. The player competes with the dealer, where the dealer is the house, and follows a set of house rules. To bet, place any number of chips in front of you (be aware of the min/max bets of the table before you start playing) the player is then delt 2 cards face up, while the dealer deals himself the first card up, and the second down.

All face cards have a value of 10, cards 2-9 are face value, and aces can count as 1 or 11, depending upon the rest of the player’s or dealer’s hand.

If the dealer’s card is an ace, the player has the option of placing a side bet called “insurance”. This bet is half of the player’s initial bet and pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack. The dealer then checks the hole card to see if it’s a value of 10. If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack the bet is lost. If he does, the player loses the insurance bet as well as the table bet.

If the dealer does not have an ace upcard, betting continues and the player has the following options:

Stand

The player sticks with whatever cards have been dealt, this happens when the player is contempt with what he/she is holding, or feels as though the dealer has a good chance of busting.

Hit

The player takes an additional card to add to the existing hand.

Double-Down

The player doubles their bet and is dealt only one more card. This is only an option on the initiall 2 card hand.

Split

If the player is dealt 2 cards of equal value (ie. 2 aces) he has the option of splitting them into 2 seperate hands. An additional bet for the new hand equal to the first bet. Now there are 2 hands available for the player to wager on. Blackjack does not pay 3 to 2 in this case.

Surrender

The player has the option to give up half of the initial bet instead of playing out the hand. Surrendering is only avaible on the initall 2 card hand. This option is not available at every casino, check the rules before you start playing.

If a player’s hand reaches a sum greater than 21, they bust. If the player is dealt an ace and a card with a value of 10, this is blackjack and the player is automatically credited (most casinos pay 3 to 2 for blackjack). However, if the dealer has blackjack as well, it’s a push.

After all players have played their hands, it is the dealer’s turn to play out his hand. The dealer has no options on how to play out his hand, he follows a set of rules provided by the casino (house rules). If the dealer busts, everyone at the table who didn’t bust, wins. If a player’s hand is higher than the dealers without going over 21, they win. If the dealer has a higher hand than the player without going over 21, the dealer wins. If the player and dealer tie, the player’s bet is returned and is called a push.

Blackjack Strategy Cards

Use these tables to help when playing blackjack online, they are designed specifically for online gambling use.