Blackjack

Blackjack Game info

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There are several basic rules governing the game of blackjack that apply to both online and real world variations of the game. First it is necessary to know the value of the cards.

Aces count as either 1 or 11 points as best suits your hand. When your hand contains an ace and when another card is drawn cannot exceed 21, the hand is said to be “soft.” All other hands are “hard”

Numbered cards 2 to 10 count at their face value

Court cards, ie Jack, Queen and King all count 10 points

Your hand is scored simply by adding the cards together to form a total.

The game begins by you placing your bet from the choice of chips on the table before you. You then hit the deal button and the dealer deals your two cards face up. The dealer also gets two cards, one face up the other face down. You then get to make the following choices.

Surrender: This is an option open to players in live casinos and also to online casinos that have live dealers, as the real life game is more closely emulated. In this situation, you fold your hand before the dealer checks his hand for blackjack and you forfeit half your bet. In an online casino where it’s you versus the computer, there is no option to surrender so you must play your hand.

Hit: This where you request another card to be dealt to you

Stand: When you do not require another card, you press the stand button to indicate that you have completed your decision making and the dealer may now reveal his cards 

Double: Press this button if you wish to double the value of your initial bet and also hit another card. Doubling is done if you decide your first two cards have a good chance of making a winning hand with a third card. You may only hit one card when you double

Split Pairs: If you receive a pair (two cards of identical value, such as a 10 and a court card or two 9s) you may divide them into two independent hands which are each dealt a second card. When splitting pairs, your original bet is matched for the second hand, effectively doubling your bet. In some casinos, you may double after splitting pairs and some even allow doubling after re-splitting further pairs. If you have a pair of aces that you decide to split, you may only hit one card on each new hand. If you hit a 10 on a split ace it is not considered as natural and therefore may be beaten by a dealer blackjack

Insurance: This is an additional bet that is offered if the dealer’s up card is an ace. The value of an insurance bet can be up to half your original bet. This bet pays you double if the dealer has blackjack, effectively covering your original bet, which of course you lose. If the dealer does not have blackjack, you lose the insurance bet regardless of whether you win or lose the hand

After you have made your decisions, completed your betting and require no further cards, it’s the dealer’s turn to play and he turns over the hole card to reveal his hand. Dealer rules on what decisions can be made are strict, although simple and straightforward and are as follows:

The dealer cannot split pairs

As the dealer does not have a bet, he cannot double.

The dealer must stand on hard 17 (this may vary occasionally with different casinos), which means that the dealer must hit if the score is less than 17.

The dealer must hit on soft 17, meaning that if the dealer hand has an ace and a 6 , he must hit one or more further cards.

In online blackjack where there is a live dealer, it is accepted practice when you win to tip the dealer, as in live casinos. Naturally this is not possible when you are playing against the software!