 Rules
and how to play Blackjack:
The object of the blackjack game is to accumulate
cards with point totals as close to 21 without going over
21. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings)
are worth 10 points. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is
preferable. Other cards are represented by their number.
If player and the House tie, it is a push and no one wins.
Ace and 10 (Blackjack) on the first two cards
dealt is an automatic player win at 1.5 to 1, unless the house
ties. A player may stand at any time.
Playing blackjack
To win you need to beat the dealer without busting. You bust
when your cards total to more than 21 and you lose
automatically. The winner is whoever has closest to a total
of 21. You reach 21 by adding up the values of the cards.
The blackjack table seats about 6 players. Either
six or eight decks of cards are used and are shuffled
together by the dealer and placed in a card dispensing box
called 'Shoe'.
Before receiving any cards players must place a wager. Then
the players are dealt two cards face up. The dealer gets one
face up, one face down. Each player in turn either stays or
takes more cards to try and get closer to 21 without busting.
Players who do not bust wait for the dealer's turn. When all
the players are done, the dealer turns up the down card. By
rule, on counts of 17 or higher the dealer must stay; on counts
of 16 or lower the dealer must draw.
If you make a total of 21 with the first two cards (a 10
or a face and an Ace), you win automatically. This is called
'Blackjack'. If you have Blackjack, you will win one and one-half
times your bet unless the dealer also has Blackjack, in which
case it is a Push or a Tie (or a Stand-off) and you get your
bet back.
The remaining players with a higher count than the dealer
win an amount equal to their bet. Players with a lower count
than the dealer lose their bet. If the dealer busts, all the
remaining players win. There are other betting options namely
Insurance, Surrender, Double Down, Even Money and Split.
- Insurance: side bet up to half the initial bet
against the dealer having a natural 21 - allowed only when
the dealer's showing card is an Ace. If the dealer has a
10 face down and makes a blackjack, insurance pays at 2-1
odds, but loses if the dealer does not.
- Surrender: giving up your hand and lose only half
the bet.
- Early Surrender: surrender allowed before the dealer
checks for blackjack.
- Late Surrender: the dealer first checks to see
if he has blackjack. If he does, surrender is not permitted.
- Double Down: double your initial bet following
the initial two-card deal, but you can hit one card only.
A good bet if the player is in a strong situation.
- Even Money: cashing in your bet immediately at
a 1:1 payout ratio when you are dealt a natural blackjack
and the dealer's showing card is an Ace.
- Split Hand: split the initial two-card hand into
two and play them separately - allowed only when the two
first cards are of equal value. Use each card as the start
to a separate hand and place a second bet equal to the first.
- Hard Hand: A hand without an Ace, or with an Ace
valued at 1 is said to be Hard in that it can only be given
one value, unlike a Soft Hand. (You can value an Ace 1 or
11 to suit you).
- Soft Hand: A hand that contains an Ace counted
as 11 is called a Soft Hand.
House advantage (approximate, may vary with different
rules)
Without basic strategy 7% average.
With basic strategy 0.5% or less.
Card counting can reverse the advantage up to 1% to the player.
Some blackjack variations
Using different number of decks: all other conditions being
the same, as a general rule the fewer the decks, the better
for the player.
Allowing the dealer to hit a soft 17: a disadvantage to the
player. It gives the dealer a chance to improve.
Allowing a double down after splitting pairs:
can be advantageous to the player if used wisely.
Allowing re-splitting of Aces: a clear advantage to the player.
No dealer hole card: common on cruise ships, this
variation is a disadvantage to the player. The dealer does
not deal himself a second card until the players have played
and they can lose the doubles and splits.
Las Vegas and Atlantic City variants
Las Vegas blackjack:
Las Vegas games are played with two decks and the House
must hit on hands less than soft 17 (17 involving an Ace)
and must stand on hands of 17 or greater.
Atlantic City blackjack:
Atlantic City games are played with four decks and
the House must hit on 16 and stand all 17's.
Rules
Each player is dealt two cards and is then offered the opportunity to take more. The hand with the highest total wins as long as it doesn't exceed 21; a hand with a higher total than 21 is said to bust or have too many. Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value, and face cards (jack, queen, king) are also worth 10. An ace's value is 11 unless this would cause the player to bust, in which case it is worth 1. A hand in which an ace's value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card.
The goal of each player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, unbusted hand. Note that if the player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts (therefore Blackjack favors the dealer). If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a "push", and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player has an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player, but still beat the other players in the same round.
The minimum bet is printed on a sign on the table and varies from casino to casino and even table to table. After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the cards, either from one or two hand-held decks of cards, known as a "pitch" game, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks. The dealer gives two cards to each player, including himself. One of the dealer's two cards is face-up so all the players can see it, and the other is face down. (The face-down card is known as the "hole card". In European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands.) The cards are dealt face up from a shoe, or face down if it is a pitch game.
A two-card hand of 21 (an ace plus a ten-value card) is called a "blackjack" or a "natural", and is an automatic winner. A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet. Some casinos pay only 6:5 on blackjacks; although this reduced payout has generally been restricted to single-deck games where card counting would otherwise be a viable strategy. The move was decried by longtime blackjack players.
The player's options for playing his or her hand are:
- Hit: Take another card.
- Stand: Take no more cards.
- Double down: Double the wager, take exactly one more card, and then stand.
- Split: Double the wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand. This option is available only when both cards have the same value.
- Surrender: Forfeit half the bet and give up the hand. Surrender was common during the early- and mid-20th century, but is no longer offered at most casinos.
The player's turn is over after deciding to stand, doubling down to take a single card, or busting. If the player busts, he or she loses the bet even if the dealer goes on to bust.
After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand. House rules say that the dealer must hit until he or she has at least 17, regardless of what the players have. In some casinos a dealer must also hit a soft 17 (a combination of cards adding up to either 7 or 17, such as an ace and a 6).
If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1.
Some common rules variations include:
- Only one card for split Aces: a single new card is added to each Ace and the turn ends. They are thus regarded as 11-point cards. No other denomination is subject to this process.
- Multiple splits: If a player splits 2 cards and receives a third card of identical value, the hand can be split again, resulting in 3 hands. However, some casinos only allow a single split of the first 2 cards.
- Early surrender: Player has the option to surrender before dealer checks for Blackjack.
- Late surrender: Player has the option to surrender after dealer checks for Blackjack.
- Double-down restrictions: Double-down may only be allowed on certain combinations of cards (usually totaling 9, 10 or 11).
- Double-down after split: Double-down may not be allowed after splitting cards. The split hands are played normally otherwise.
- Split any tens: Players may split any 2 cards which are both worth 10 points, such as a Jack and Queen. This rule is rarely used, since 20 is a very strong hand which is unlikely to be split.
- European No-Hole-Card Rule: the dealer receives only one card, dealt face-up, and does not receive a second card (and thus does not check for blackjack) until players have acted. This means players lose not only their original bet, but also any additional money invested from splitting and doubling down. A game that has no-hole-card doesn't necessarily mean you will lose additional bets as well as original bets. In Australia for example, a player beaten by a dealer blackjack may keep all split and double bets and lose only the original bet, thus the game plays the same as it would if there were a hole card.
There are more than a few blackjack variations which can be found in the casinos, each has its own set of rules, strategies and odds. It is advised to take a look at the rules of the specific variation before playing. Many countries have legal acts and laws, which determine how a casino game of Blackjack must be played.
The push: When you and the dealer get the same numbers, you can either stay in the game and take a chance at winning double your money or take your money back and start a new hand.
Insurance
If the dealer's upcard is an Ace, the player is offered the option of taking Insurance before the dealer checks his 'hole card'.
The player who wishes to take Insurance can bet an amount up to half his original bet. The Insurance bet is placed separately on a special portion of the table, which usually carries the words "Insurance Pays 2:1". The player who is taking Insurance is betting that the dealer was dealt a natural, i.e. a two-card 21 (a blackjack), and this bet by the player pays off 2:1 if it wins. It is called insurance since if the dealer has a blackjack, the bet wins the same amount of the players Blackjack wager, such that if insurance is taken and the player doesn't have blackjack but dealer does, no money is lost. Of course the dealer can end up not having blackjack and the player can still win or lose the blackjack bet.
Insurance is a bad bet for the player who has no knowledge of the hole card because it has a house edge of approximately 7%.[2] Even for the player who has been dealt a natural (a two-card 21) it is unwise to take Insurance. In such a case, the dealer usually asks the player "Even money?" This means that instead of 3:2, the player with the natural accepts to be paid off at 1:1. Thus it is exactly the same thing as buying Insurance, losing the Insurance bet and getting paid 3:2 on the natural.
In casinos where a hole card is dealt, a dealer who is showing a card with a value of Ace or 10 may slide the corner of his or her facedown card over a small mirror or electronic sensor on the tabletop in order to check whether he has a natural. This practice minimizes the risk of inadvertently revealing the hole card, which would give the sharp-eyed player a considerable advantage. In some countries, such as Australia, no face down card is dealt to the dealer until it is his turn to play his hand. This makes the game more complicated since the dealer must keep track of busted split bets since if the dealer ends up drawing a BlackJack the players lose only their original bets and do not lose double or busted split bets.
Card counting
Basic strategy provides the player with the optimal play for any blackjack situation, based on millions of hands played in the long run. However in the short run, as the cards are dealt from the deck, the remaining deck is no longer complete. By keeping track of the cards that have already been played, it is possible to know when the cards remaining in the deck are advantageous for the player.
Card counting creates two opportunities:
- The player can make larger bets when he or she has the advantage. For example, the player can increase the starting bet if there are many aces and tens left in the deck, in the hope of hitting a blackjack.
- The player can use information about the remaining cards to improve upon the basic strategy rules for specific hands played. For example, with many tens left in the deck, the player may double down in more situations since there is a better chance of making a strong hand.
There are several card counting systems which do not require that the player remembers which cards have been played. Rather, a point system is established for the cards, and the player keeps track of a simple point count as the cards are played out from the dealer.
Depending on the particular blackjack rules in a given casino, basic strategy reduces the house advantage to less than one percent. Card counting typically gives the player an advantage of 0.5 to 1.5% over the house. To counter card counting, some casinos play with multiple decks.
In most US jurisdictions, card counting is legal and is not considered cheating. However, most casinos have the right to ban players, with or without cause, and card counting is frequently used as a justification to ban a player. Usually, the casino host will simply inform the player that he is no longer welcome to play at that casino. Players must be careful not to signal the fact that they are counting. The use of electronic or other counting devices is usually illegal and almost always prohibited by the casino.
Variants
Pontoon is an English variation of Blackjack with large rule and strategy differences. In Australia, however, Pontoon is exactly the same as the American game Spanish 21 but played without a hole card.
Spanish 21 provides players with many liberal blackjack rules, such as doubling down any number of cards (with the option to 'rescue', or surrender only one wager to the house), payout bonuses for five or more card 21's, 6-7-8 21's, 7-7-7 21's, late surrender, and player blackjacks always winning and player 21's always winning, at the cost of having no 10 cards in the deck (though there are jacks, queens, and kings). With correct basic strategy, a Spanish 21 almost always has a higher house edge than a comparable BlackJack game. Another casino game similar to blackjack is Pontoon.
Certain rules changes are employed to create new variant games. These changes, while attracting the novice player, actually increase the house edge in these games. Double Exposure Blackjack is a variant in which the dealer's cards are both face-up. This game increases house edge by paying even money on blackjacks and players losing ties. Double Attack Blackjack has very liberal blackjack rules and the option of increasing one's wager after seeing the dealer's up card. This game is dealt from a Spanish shoe, and blackjacks only pay even money.
The French and German variant "Vingt-et-un" (Twenty-one) and "Siebzehn und Vier" (Seventeen and Four) don't include splitting. An ace can only count as eleven, but two aces count as a Blackjack. This variant is seldom found in casinos, but in private circles and barracks.
Chinese Blackjack is played by many in Asia, having no splitting of cards, but with other card combination regulations.
Another variant is Blackjack Switch, a version of blackjack in which a player is dealt two hands and is allowed to switch cards. For example, if the player is dealt 10-6 and 10-5, then the player can switch two cards to make hands of 10-10 and 6-5. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer 22 is a push.
Recently, thanks to the popularity of poker, Elimination Blackjack has begun to gain a following. Elimination Blackjack is a tournament format of blackjack.
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