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Blackjack
 
Home / Blackjack / Rules
 
The rules of Blackjack
 
The basic premise of the game is that you want to have a hand value that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without going over 21. Other players at the table are of no concern. Your hand is strictly played out against the hand of the dealer. The rules of play for the dealer are strictly dictated, leaving no decisions up to the dealer. Therefore, there is not a problem with the dealer or any of the other players at the table seeing the cards in your hand. Indeed, if you're playing at a shoe game, the player cards are all dealt face up. In any event, when you're just learning to play, don't hesitate to show the dealer or other players your cards and ask questions.

In blackjack, the cards are valued as follows:

An Ace can count as either 1 or 11, as demonstrated below.
The cards from 2 through 9 are valued as indicated.
The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.

The suits of the cards do not have any meaning in the game.The value of a hand is simply the sum of the point counts of each card in the hand. For example, a hand containing (5,7,9) has the value of 21. The Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. You need not specify which value the Ace has. It's assumed to always have the value that makes the best hand. An example will illustrate: Suppose that you have the beginning hand (Ace, 6). This hand can be either 7 or 17. If you stop there, it will be 17. Let's assume that you draw another card to the hand and now have (Ace, 6, 3). Your total hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Let's backtrack and assume that you had instead drawn a third card which was an 8. The hand is now (Ace, 6, 8) which totals 15. Notice that now the Ace must be counted as only 1 to avoid going over 21.

A hand that contains an Ace is called a "soft" total if the Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total going over 21. For example (Ace, 6) is a soft 17. The description stems from the fact that the player can always draw another card to a soft total with no danger of "busting" by going over 21. The hand (Ace,6,10) on the other hand is a "hard" 17, since now the Ace must be counted as only 1, again because counting it as 11 would make the hand go over 21.

Some people think the object of the game is to get 21, or to get closer to 21 than the dealer without "busting," which means going over 21. This is incorrect! The real objective of the game is to beat the dealer. There are 3 ways in which a player can beat the dealer:

1. The player receives an ace and a 10-value card for blackjack.
2. The player gets closer to 21 than the dealer.
3. The dealer goes over 21 and the player, regardless of what the total is in his hand, does not.

The game starts with every player making their opening bets. Make sure to read the sign next to the dealer which indicates the minimum and maximum table limit. Most online casinos have table limits from as low as $1 up to $100. After all the players placed their bets the dealer will start dealing the cards. Starting with the player to his left he gives every player one card, face down, including himself. This is the dealers down card. Then he deals a second round of cards, face down but this time the card he deals himself will be face up. This is the dealers up card. You now can look at both of your cards and find your total by simply adding the values of your cards.

By turn each player will have to make one of the following five decisions:

Hit If you are not satisfied with your current total you can ask the dealer to hit you which means he deals you another card in addition to your two. You are hit until you are satisfied with your total, or until you bust.
Stand You stand if you don't want any more cards.
Double If you think you will win without getting more than one card you double. You have to add an amount equal to your original wager and receive only one card. If your total is higher than the dealer's after receiving the card you win.
Split IIf your starting hand contains two cards of the same type (i.e. two 9's) you can split them up into two new hands. You have to add an equal amount to your wager and get two more cards dealt forming two separate new starting hands.
Insurance Insurance is offered to the players if the dealer's up card is an Ace, to protect against a dealers Black Jack. You will have to pay half of your original bet and will get 2:1 odds when the dealer has a Black Jack. Unless you also have a black jack your original bet is lost.
Surrender This decision is quite rare and not offered is most casinos. After you see your starting hand and the dealers up card and you don't think you can win, you have to give your cards back to the dealer immediately. If you surrender you will only lose half of your original bet. You cannot surrender if the dealer has a Black Jack.


After all the players have made their decision the dealer will then play his hand. The playing of the dealer's hand must follow certain rules. He must hit on every total less than 17 or otherwise stand. Some casinos even let the dealer hit when he has a soft 17. The rules which the dealer has to follow will be written clearly on the Black Jack table, so there will be no confusion.

You win if either the dealer busts or has a total less than yours. The odds are 1:1. If the total is the same it's a draw or a push and your original wager is returned to you. A black jack beats an ordinary 21 and is paid 3:2 odds.

Do you want to read more about Blackjack:
Introduction
Rules
Strategy

Or play the game online?

 
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