Blackjack rules
The Objective Of Blackjack
Your goal as a blackjack gambler is to end up with a hand total that is closer to 21 than the dealers hand - without going over 21. Should you go over 21 you lose. (According to blackjack rules and terms you have BUSTED your hand if you go above 21.)
According to the rules of blackjack you only play against the dealer - so whatever the other players at the table have is not really of importance (unless you are counting the cards).
After you have been dealt your first cards, you can choose to HIT and thereby get yet another card dealt to you, or to choose STAND and simply keep the cards that you already have.
After all the players have played their hands, dealer plays his hand out. The dealer always plays according to fixed blackjack rules - no decision is left up to him. The blackjack dealer must always follow the same rules of blackjack for how to play his hand. This would normally mean that he must draw cards until his hand has a value of 17. In most blackjack rules it says "Dealer Must Stand On All 17's" - as soon as he get to that total or above he cannot take any more cards.
The Card Values (for all blackjack rules variations)
- 2 to 9 - Are valued as indicated
- ACE - Can be either 1 OR 11
- 10's & Face cards - both have the value 10
- The suit of the cards has no meaning in blackjack
- A Blackjack is a two card hand consisting of an Ace and a card with the value 10
- A Blackjack beats a 3 card hand with the value 21
Rules of Blackjack - Soft & Hard Hands
As an ACE can represent either the value 1 OR 11; which means getting an Ace to your cards is generally good as the risks of going over 21 gets smaller. When an Ace is used with the value 1, it is refered to as a Soft Hand. For Example you have an ACE and a 7 - can add up to the hand value 8 OR 18, depending on what value you give the ACE. The choice is yours, and you can change it back and forth as you please during the play, blackjack rules doesn't restrict that.
A Hard Hand is a hand with an ACE where you don't have the choice to use the ACE as a 1 OR 11. Example: If you have an ACE, 8 and 6 you can only count the ACE as a 1. Because otherwise you would have gone above 21 and according to blackjack rules you are busted. Counting the ACE as 1, the hands value adds up to 15. A hand consisting of ACE, 8 and 6 is called a HARD hand.
The Cards Are Dealt
After all players have placed their bets on the table (in the wager box in front of them) blackjack dealer starts out by giving every player 2 cards each. According to blackjack rules he must start to his left - your right. The dealer also gives himself two cards - one of his cards are dealt face-up so that you can see it's value, the other card is dealt face down and you will only see the value of this card at the end of the round.
Your Choices according to blackjack rules
After you have been dealt your first cards - it's time to decide how to play your blackjack hand the most effective way. Getting yet another card is an option, staying with your current hand total is another option. If you have a pair of cards with the same value you can choose to split the hand into two separate blackjack hands: Or if your hands look like a winner compared to the dealers hand - you can double your bet size. None of blackjack rules can help you making a choice, everything depends on your skills.
HIT
Choosing HIT will make blackjack dealer give you another card.
Signaling HIT: If you are playing in a real casino, pointing with one finger to your existing cards on the table you will indicate HIT.
STAND
If you choose to Stand another card will not be given to you and you will stop at your current hand total; this is the value that will be competing with the dealers hand.
SPLIT
If you are dealt a matching pair of cards you can choose to split this pair into two separate hands. In a shoe game this is done by placing another wager of the same size as your initial bet beside the stack of chips you initially wagered. The dealer will then split your hand into two separate. The ideal is to always split a pair of aces and pairs of 8's. For more advice on when to split pairs consult the blackjack chart.
DOUBLE
If you believe that you have a stronger hand than the dealer has you often have the opportunity to double your bet size - called a DOUBLE DOWN. If you choose to Double Down the dealer gives you only one more card. However Doubling Down can only be done with your initial two card hand, BEFORE you are dealt additional cards. As an example; if your first two cards are 5 and 6 - adding up to 11, and the dealers Face-up card is a 6, your chances of winning that hand are very good and therefore you may choose to double your bet.
INSURANCE
If dealers Face-Up card is an ACE, according to the rules of blackjack, dealer will offer the players a chance to buy INSURANCE against the dealer getting a blackjack. Insurance bets can be made by betting half your original bet amount in the insurance betting strip in front of your bet. The dealer will check to see if he has a 10-valued card underneath his Ace, and if he does have Blackjack, your winning Insurance bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. You'll lose your original bet of course (unless you also have a Blackjack), so the net effect is that you break even (assuming you bet the full half bet for insurance - there are tables with different rules of blackjack, at some of them you're allowed to bet up to half, including less.) This is why this bet in blackjack rules is described as "insurance", since it seems to protect your original bet against a dealer blackjack. Of course, if the dealer does not have blackjack, you'll lose the insurance bet, and still have to play the original bet out. Of course the insurance bet is to be a poor bet for the player, with a high house advantage.
SURRENDER
Not many casinos has this option in their blackjack rules - but a few do. Surrendering offers you as a player the choice to fold your hand, at the cost of half of the original bet. If it is your choice to surrender your hand this must be done before starting to play your hand. There are two different kinds of surrender; EARLY SURRENDER and LATE SURRENDER. In an EARLY SURRENDER game according to blackjack rules, a player may choose to surrender before dealer checks his cards for a blackjack. This version is rarely offered because this offers a healthy advantage to the player. Late Surrender, is a more common variation where dealer checks for blackjack first, and then only if he does not have a blackjack will he allow players to surrender.
