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Blackjack rules vary depending on the casino you at which are playing at the time. Most casinos usually match the Las Vegas or Atlantic City rules and most correct moves are pretty basic and conventional. Some of the more common Blackjack Rules are:
- The goal of blackjack is to beat
the dealer's hand without going over 21.
- Face cards and 10-cards are worth
10 and Aces are worth 1 or 11.
- The game proceeds with the Dealer
dealing the Player and himself two cards each. One of the
Dealer’s cards is face down until the end.
- If the Player is dealt an Ace and a
10 or Face card right from the start, he has a Blackjack.
- In most instances, Blackjack pays
3:2 (original version of Blackjack).
- To 'Hit' is to ask for another
card.
- To 'Stand' is to end your turn and
keep your current hand.
- A hand totalling 21 is a bust. The
dealer wins in the case of a bust regardless of his hand.
- The Dealer will hit until his/her
cards total 17 or higher. In some instances, depending on
the casino, the Dealer must Stand on 17.
- To ‘Double’ is to double the amount
of the original bet and you are dealt only one more card.
- To ‘Split’ is to separate a pair of
dealt cards and play them as 2 separate hands. You can only
double/split on the first move or the first move of a hand
created by a split. Most casinos do not allow resplitting of
Aces (i.e. splitting 2 Aces after they are split).
- You can double on a hand resulting from a split, tripling or quadrupling your bet.
Blackjack is not only the name of the game but it is also the object of the game. A Blackjack is any hand consisting of 2 cards, the total of which is 21. These cards are an Ace and a 10-card or a Face card. Blackjacks pay out at 3:2 (i.e. for every $10 you wager, you receive $15 in winnings and your original $10 bet is returned). If a dealer also has a Blackjack, this is considered a Push (i.e. no one wins) and your original bet is returned. If you get 21 with 3 or more cards, this is NOT considered a Blackjack and the payout is not the same as an authentic Blackjack.
The standard deck of cards contains 52 cards and 4 suits (Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and Diamonds). Each suit contains cards labelled: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. The value of each card goes according to the number which they are labelled (i.e. a 2-card is valued at 2 points while a 9-card is valued at 9 points). The only exceptions are Jacks, Queens, and Kings (also known as Face cards), which are valued at 10 points, and Aces, which are valued at 1-point or 11-points. The cards valued at 10 are the most common cards as 16 of them exist in each deck. The Ace is the most desired card because it can be used to form a Blackjack.
In order to begin playing, the Player must place a bet. If playing in a multi-player game, the dealer will begin dealing to the first Player on his far left and continue in a clockwise position. Depending on the game, the cards may either be dealt face up or face down. The original version of Blackjack calls for the Players’ cards to be dealt face up. The dealers’ cards are dealt face down until the end of the game. The dealer gives each Player one card after they have placed their bets and then deals one card face down for himself. This is called the ‘Hole’ card. The name came from early Blackjack tables, which had a hole on the top. The dealer proceeds to give each Player a second card face up and one for himself which is placed face up as well.
Once the Player receives 2 cards, he can decide to make any one of the usual Blackjack plays such as:
Standing – If a Player is pleased with his hand total and does not want to take any more cards, he can opt to Stand. The Player’s turn ends if he Stands.
Hitting – If a Player wants to continue taking cards to get his total as close as possible to 21, the dealer will give one or more cards until the Player is satisfied with his hand or until he busts.
Doubling – If a Player opts to Double, he doubles the amount of his original bet and is dealt only one more card. It is important to read the Blackjack rules of a casino carefully before beginning to play because some casinos do not allow doubling after splitting. Likewise others do not allow doubling when the first or second card dealt to a Player is an Ace. Some casinos allow doubling only on totals of 10 or 11.
Splitting – If a Player is dealt 2 like cards (i.e. two 7s or two Queens although Splitting 2 Face cards is not recommended), he has the option of Splitting both cards. When the cards are Split, the Player intends to play each card as a separate hand and must place a bet equivalent to the original bet. The dealer then deals a card to the Player’s right hand card that was split and continues in this way until the Player Stands, Busts, or passes. The same action is repeated for the left hand card that was split. The reason that Splitting 2 Face Cards is not recommended is because the total value of 2 Face Cards is 20, which is just 1 point shy of 21 and a very good chance of winning. Two Aces can be split, however, you will only be dealt one more card per hand. If you receive 2 like cards after Splitting, you may have the option to Resplit. The rules vary depending on the casino, so Players are cautioned to read the Blackjack rules before Splitting.
Taking Insurance – Though optional, Insurance is a sucker bet. It requires a Player to bet 50% of his original bet if the dealer’s face up card shows an Ace. If the dealer’s face down card is valued at 10 (i.e. he has a Blackjack), then Insurance bets are paid off immediately. The Player/s however lose his/their original bets. It’s definitely not a win-win situation for the Player who will either lose his Insurance bet or his original wager.
Surrendering – There are 2 types of Surrender – Early Surrender and Late Surrender. Early Surrender has since been phased out. It gave the Player the opportunity to throw in his hands before the dealer revealed his hole card. Late Surrender is still in effect at many casinos. The Player is allowed to throw in his hand after the dealer confirms he does not have a Blackjack. In this instance, the Player forfeits 50% of his wager. This is a good strategy because the Player has already viewed the dealer’s up card and determines that the odds are against him. Rather than proceeding with game play and risking a total loss, he only loses half his bet.
If the Player’s hand total is over 21, this is considered a Bust. The Player automatically loses with this hand, even if the dealer's hand is a Bust as well.
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