Blackjack Rules

Blackjack is an easy game to learn; it is also a game in which it is possible to have an edge over the casino. The rules are quite simple, but in order to win, you must play the game correctly and only place your bet when the odds are in your favor.

The game is usually played with six players, if you are not playing online Blackjack. In this game, six decks of cards are used, so that you cannot count the cards and gain an advantage over the casino. These six decks are shuffled together by the dealer, who then places all of them into a card dealing box known as the “shoe.”

Your goal in this game is to to have a hand where the total value of your cards gets as close to 21 as possible, without going over. Face cards all have a value of 10, and when you’re dealt an ace, you can choose whether it has a value of 1 or 11, depending on which is more advantageous for your hand.

All bets are placed before the dealer deals two cards to each player. These may be dealt either face up or face down; the dealer’s cards are always dealt one up and one down. At this point, each player in turn decides whether they want to “stay” or be “hit.” In the latter case, this means being dealt another card, to add to the total of your hand. If you wish, you can keep getting hit with another card until you reach 21, or “bust” by going over.

In order to win at blackjack, you have to beat the dealer without having the cards in your hand total more than 21. If the player and the dealer tie, this is a “push,” and there is no winner. If you are dealt an ace and a ten as your first two cards, this is called a “natural” or a “blackjack,” and you automatically win, unless the dealer also has one.

There is some other terminology you need to know in order to play online Blackjack succesfully:

1. Double Down: This is when you double your first bet, which is good if you have a strong hand. If you double down, you can only take one more card.
2. Early Surrender: This is when you surrender your cards before the dealer checks for blackjack.
3. Even Money: This is when you cash in your bet immediately because you have been dealt a “blackjack.”
4. Hard Hand: This is a hand that does not have an ace, or has an ace that you have said totals 1.
5. Late Surrender: This happens when you try to surrender your hand after the dealer checks for “blackjack,” and thus are not permitted to.
6. Soft Hand: This occurs whenever you have an ace that you have said equals 11.
7. Split Hand: This is when you split your original two-card hand into two different hands, which are to be played separately. You can only do this if the first two cards that you are dealt are of the same value. Your bet for both hands needs to be equal.
8. Surrender: This means that you give up your hand, but only lose half of your initial bet.

Blackjack Table and Rules

When you do not have a strategy for this game, the odds are against you, as the casino has a house edge of about 7%. However, if you have a good strategy which you stick to consistently, the house edge is only o.5o% or less.

 Payoffs

Basic Blackjack Chart:

Legend: 
S = Stand
H = Hit
D = Double
Y = Yes, split
N = No, don’t split