Blackjack Rules
Most everybody knows how to Play the Game of Blackjack. Afterall, it is by far the most popular card game in casinos today. There are many reasons for Blackjacks popularity, it is an easy game to learn and it's an easy game to play. It is fast paced, and it creates a lot of excitement around the Blackjack Table.
Whether you Play Blackjack Online or Play Blackjack at your traditional land-based Blackjack Casino, there are numerous plays involved and a number of basic strategies that need to be understood if one is expecting to Play the Game of Blackjack Successfully. The following list of Blackjack Rules and Play Strategies can Help!
Official Blackjack Rules for Casino Blackjack
Table of Contents...
Blackjack Rules and Player's Strategies
Blackjack Play
- Find a Blackjack Table that best suits your limits.
- You'll find the lower limit three or five dollare tables are often crowded.
- Red for a Five Dollar Minimum Blackjack Table
- Green for a Twenty Five Dollare Minimum Blackjack Table
- Black for a One Hundred Dollar Minimum Blackjack Table
Blackjack Table Selection
The first thing you need to do before you can Play Blackjack, is find an appropriate Blackjack Table at which to play. Sounds simple enough, however, there are a few things to keep in mind... especially if you are a new comer to the Game of Blackjack. Pay attention to the details as you approach each Blackjack Table.
Betting Limits - Minimum and maximum allowable bets should be clearly posted at each Blackjack Table.
In most casinos, the betting limit signs are color-coded to match the minimum bets posted on them...
Make sure the Blackjack Table you have selected is actually for Blackjack, and not another of the various table games offered at the casino. Blackjack Tables generally have the phrase "Blackjack Pays 3 to 2" printed right on the Blackjack Table felt.
Observe the type of game being dealt. If you are a new comer, you're better off playing "Shoe" games. Shoe Blackjack Games are played with 6 or 8 decks, and the advantage for beginners is that the cards are all dealt face-up in front of each Blackjack Player. This allows the Blackjack Dealer to help with Blackjack Game Playing questions and decisions. Once you've become a seasoned pro at the Game of Blackjack, you'll definately be favoring the Blackjack Game that use fewer decks, because the casino's advantage goes down the less decks used.
- Red Blackjack Chips are worth Five Dollars
- Green Blackjack Chips are worth Twenty Five Dollars
- Black Blackjack Chips are worth One Hundred Dollars
- White Blackjack Chips or Silver Tokens are generally worth One Dollar
- Some Blackjack Casinos use a Pink Blackjack Chip woth Two and a Half Dollars
Blackjack Chips
Once you've chosen a Blackjack Table to Play at, and you are seated, you'll need to purchase some Blackjack Chips from the dealer so you can place bets. When there is a break in the Blackjack action, put your cash on the table in front of you so the dealer knows you want to buy into the next Blackjack Game Played. At some casinos they let the dealer shuffles before you can join the game.
You need to know that a standard buy-in amount is generally between 10 and 20 times what your average bet is going to be. When buying your Blackjack Chips, don't hand your cash to the dealer, they cannot take anything from your hands. This is a matter of security and it is enforced at all times. The Blackjack Dealer will change the entire amount of cash you place on the table in front of into Blackjack Chips, push the chips across the table to you, and then drop the cash into a slot in the top of the Blackjack Table
Blackjack Chips are colors according to their value...
Blackjack Chips worth more than One Hundred Dollars vary widely in color, although Purple is the most common Five Hundred Dollar Blackjack Chip. Pay close attention to the Blackjack Chips and know their value, and be sure you have been given the correct Blackjack Chips for the cash you put out. If you have questions, are confused, or simply don't understand, then ask the Blackjack Dealer... it is part of his job to help players learn How to Play Blackjack!
Blackjack Betting
Before each hand of Blackjack begins, you have to Place Your Blackjack Bet into the circle or box in front of you in one stack. If you bet multiple denominations of chips, the larger valued chips go on the bottom of the stack always, and once the cards have been dealt, you Cannot Touch Your Bet on the Blackjack Table. In the instance you need to check to see how much you have bet, the Blackjack Dealer will gladly count down the chips for you.
When the Blackjack Hand is over, the dealer moves about the Blackjack Table, collecting up the chips and paying out the winners. Once the dealer has paid you, assuming you won, you can then remove your chips from the circle and place your next bet. If you choose to let your winnings ride, simply take the stacks left by the dealer and restack them into one stack of chips, making sure the big ones go on the bottom.
Cashing in Blackjack
When you're done with Playing Blackjack, you'll want to cash your chips in. The Blackjack Dealer will generally take your smaller denomination chips and exchange them for fewer, larger denomination chips. This is called "coloring up your chips". Simply wait until the end of the last hand you want to play, then push your chips out in front of you between the betting boxes. The dealer will then count down you chips, returning to you a smaller stack of chips of equal value. Then you take these to the cashier for cash, or to another table for more play.Blackjack Basics
Objective of Blackjack
For most people, the object of a Blackjack Game is always to get 21, but that is not the best way of looking at the game, nor is it the best winning strategy. The object of Blackjack is to have a hand closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over 21. The other Blackjack Player's at the table don't matter, you are not Playing Blackjack against them, nor are they playing against you. Your Blackjack Hand is strictly played out against the hand of the dealer.
Understand too, that the rules of play for the Casino Blackjack Dealer are strictly dictated, leaving no decisions up to the dealer himself. What all this means is that it's not a problem if the dealer or others at the table see your cards. Remember, you're only Playing Blackjack against the dealer, and he has no say in how he plays his hand because it is dictated to him by the Casino. In fact, if you're playing a shoe game, the cards are all dealt face up anyway.
Regardless, if you are a new comer and just learning to play, don't hesitate to show the dealer or other players your cards and ask questions.
- Ace can count as either 1 or 11
- Cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their face value
- The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all worht 10
- Suits of the cards don't matter in Blackjack
Card Values in Blackjack
Blackjack Cards are valued as follows...
In the case of an Ace, you do not have to specify whether it is worth one or eleven. It's assumed to always have the value that makes for the best Blackjack hand. For example, let assume you started with an Ace and a Six. you have 7 or 17, and if you stopped there, it would be 17. If however, you decided to draw another card and the card was a Three, you now have 20 in your hand counting the Ace as an Eleven. Now, if your third card had been an Eight instead of a Three, then the Ace would have to be counted as a One, so as to not go over 21, and you have a total of 15 in your hand.
If you have a hand that contains an Ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total going over 21, you are said to have a "soft" total. If the Ace must be counted as One to avoid going over 21 then you are said to have a "hard" total.
- You can only touch the cards with one hand, which is a difficult habit to break if you are a Poker Player.
- The cards must stay over the Blackjack Table at all times.
- Subsequent cards dealt must be left on the table and not added to the cards in your hand.
Dealing Blackjack
After all the Blackjack Player's have placed their bets, the dealer will deal the cards to the players sequencially beginning on his left. The dealer makes two passes around the table so that the players and the dealer all have two cards each. The dealer then will flip one of his cards over, exposing its value.
In the case of Shoe Blackjack, the cards are dealt face-up, and the players are not allowed to touch the cards. The Shoe Game is the game of choice for the beginner Blackjack Player, although the odds are in the dealers favor.
In Hand-held Blackjack Games, the player's cards are dealt face down, and the players pick up the cards. When handling the cards in a hand-held game, here are a few important things to remember...
Once dealt, Blackjack Play proceeds around the Blackjack Table, starting at the first seat to the dealer's left, commonly referred to as first base. Each player in turn then indicates to the dealer how he wishes to play their hand, according to the different plays of choice outlined below. The dealer will finish out his hand, only after all the other players have had their turn to finish out theirs.
The European No Hole Card Rule... In some casinos, albeit mostly in Europe, the dealer only gets one card face up until all the players have finished their hands. The dealer then deals his second card, and finishes his hand. This can change a player's strategy if, and only if, the dealer collects all player bets in the event of a dealer blackjack. When a casino deals this way but refunds any double-down or split bets, on the occassion the dealer turns out to have a blackjack, it's not European No Hole Card Rules. Other than that, this type of Blackjack Play does not effect over all Blackjack Strategy.
Blackjack Dealer Strategy
Blackjack Dealers must always play their hand in a specific way. That's right, the Blackjack Dealer has no choice as to how to play his hand, it is all decided for him. There are only two common rule variations that will determine when a Blackjack Dealer will draw to. It is not a secret as to which rule any one particular casino is using because you can tell by looking at the Blackjack Table top. One of the following rules will be clearly stated on a Blackjack Casino Table."Dealer stands on all 17s"... This is the most common rule and means the dealer must keep taking cards until his hand total is 17 or greater. An Ace in the dealer's hand is always counted as 11 so long as the total remains under 21.
"Dealer hits soft 17"... This is a variation on the "Dealer stands on all 17's" rule, and is used by some casinos. When the dealer has a "soft" total of 17, he hits. Otherwise the rules the same. When this rule is used, the house advantage against the players is slightly increased.
The Blackjack Dealer also cannot split pairs, but must instead simply hit until he reaches at least 17 or busts by going over 21.
So, it would appear that the real Objective of Casino Blackjack is to "Break the Blackjack Dealer".
Blackjack (Natural)
To get Blackjack, or have a natural, is to have a total of 21 in your first two cards. Blackjack is therefore an Ace and any Ten card or Face Card dealt to you up front. When you split a pair of Aces and draw a ten-valued card on one of them, it's not Blackjack, but rather a total of 21. The distinction betweeen the two is important, because a winning Blackjack pays the player odds of 3 to 2, so a bet of $10 wins $15 if the player is dealt Blackjack.
Also, a Player Blackjack beats any dealer total except a Dealer's Blackjack, and that includes a dealer getting a regular 21. If both a player and the dealer make Blackjack, the hand is a tie or push.
Because the dealer usually pays out a Winning Blackjack immediately, in the face down games of Blackjack you should always show the winning Blackjack to the dealer as soon as your turn comes round. Some Blackjack Casinos don't pay out the winning Blackjack until after the hand is over if the dealer has a 10 card up and has not checked his face down card. In other Blackjack Casinos they check under both 10-valued cards and Ace's and then, so long as the dealer didn't have Blackjack as well, pay the winning Blackjack out immediately. Either way, when dealt a blackjack, turn the cards face up, and smile... becuase it only happens about once in every 21 hands!
Blackjack Player's Strategies
The Surrender
In Blackjack, the Surrender is one of the least common plays. It is however, a decision that must be made before any other during a game of Blackjack. Not all Blackjack Games offers the Surrender options, but those that do fall into two different categories... Early versus Late Surrender!
The Surrender in Blackjack offers the player the choice to fold his or her hand, and give up half the original bet. The Surrender must be made prior to taking any other action on the hand. For example, once you draw a third card, or split, or double down, Surrender is no longer an option.
In an "early surrender" game, the Blackjack Player chooses to surrender before the dealer checks his cards for a blackjack. This is a cheap way out even if the dealer turns out to have a blackjack. Nice way to bail for the Blackjack Player, but unfortunately it is seldom offered.
The more common Blackjack Surrender is "late surrender", whereby the dealer checks for blackjack first, and only if he does not have blackjack will surrender be allowed that game.
Surrender is a great rule to have available for Blackjack Player's who use it wisely. Unfortunately, many Blackjack Player's surrender far too many hands. Understand that in order for a surrender to cost you less than a regular loss, you must be 25% likely to win or less (not including the push). In other words, if you lose 75% of the time, and win only 25% of the time, your net loss is about 50% of your bets, equal to the amount you're guaranteed to lose by surrendering. So, take advantage of the surrender rule when Playing Blackjack, but learn to use it appropriately.
Hitting and Standing
When Playing a Game of Blackjack, the most common decision you'll make is whether to draw another card to the hand, called "hit", or not hit and hold what you have, called "stand". How you indicate whether you are going to Hit or Stand depends on which Blackjack Game you are playing.
In Face-up Shoe style Blackjack, you indicate your intention to Hit (take another card) by tapping the table behind your cards with a finger. If your intention is to Stand, simply wave your hand in a horizontal motion over your cards.You must make these hand signals to eliminate any confusion or ambiguity in what you choose. This technique is also for the benefit of the ever-present surveillance cameras. If you Hit and go over 21, or "bust", the dealer will collect your bet, and remove your cards from the Blackjack Table immediately.
In Face-down Blackjack, things are a little different. You'll be holding your two dealt cards with one hand. To Hit, or draw another card to your hand, scrape your cards across the table felt gently in order to indicate your intention to the Blackjack Dealer. If you are new to Casino Blackjack, it's best to watch another player first to see how it's done.
Leave the drawn cards on the table in front of you. If you bust, toss the two dealt cards in your hand face up on the table so the dealer can collect your bet and discard your hand. If your intention is to Stand, simply tuck your two dealt cards face-down under the chips that are your bet. This can be a little tricky the first few times, so be careful and whatever you do, don't pick up the bet in order to place the cards underneath. Once the cards are dealt in a game of Blackjack, you can't touch the chips bet, so simply slide the corner of the cards under the chips.
Pair Splitting
When dealt a pair, you can choose to "Split" the cards into two separate hands, and play them independently. This is particularly advantageous if you're dealt two eights for a total of 16. Sixteen is not likely to win, but at the same time it is likely to bust if you Hit. Bottom line, 16 is the worst hand a Blackjack Player can be dealt. So, the thing to do is Split the hand into two independant hands.
When playing a hand-held game, toss the cards face-up in front of your bet as if doubling down. Then, once the cards are on the table exposed, place a matching bet beside the original bet in the circle. Your bet must be the same amount as the original bet, unlike a double-down, where you are allowed to double for less. The Blackjack Dealer will then separates the two cards, and treats them as two independent hands.
Now comes the tricky part... If you draw a 3 on the first 8, for a total of 11, some Blackjack Casino's let you double down at this point. This is called "Double after Split". You can play out the first hand, at which point the Blackjack Dealer will deal a second card to the remaining hand so you can play that hand out.
In the situation where you again end up with a pair in one hand, most Blackjack Casinos will allow you to "Resplit", making yet another hand. The most common Rule for Casino Blackjack allows a player to split up to 3 times, making 4 separate hands, with 4 separate bets. If the "double after split" rule applies, you could end up with 8 times your initial bet on the table. Exceptions to the rule are some Blackjack Casinos restricting resplitting, or in some cases allowing unlimited splitting.
Interestly enough, you can also split any 10-valued cards, for example a Ten and a King, but this is not usually a Good Blackjack Strategy, keep the 20 hand!
Because Splitting Aces is a such a strong player strategy, Blackjack Casino's restrict you to drawing only one additional card on each Ace, and if you draw a Ten or Face Card it is not considered Blackjack, but is instead treated as a normal 21 and does not collect the 3:2 odds paid out for Blackjack. Some casinos allow Resplitting Aces while others do not. So, is Splitting Aces a good thing to do.... Always!
Doubling Down Your Bet
The most exciting Blackjack Rule of Playis the "Double Down". You can Double Down on a two card hand. Once you draw a card into your hand, it is too late to Double Down. Doubling down allows you to double your bet and receive one, and only one, additional card to the hand.
An example of when Doubling Down is Great Blackjack Strategy is when you hold a total of 11 against a dealer's upcard of say 5. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet. Simply toss the two cards face-up onto the Blackjack Table in front of your bet, then add the additional bet. Always place the additional bet adjacent to the original bet, not on top of it. The dealer will deal one additional card to the hand. In face-down Blackjack, he'll probably tuck the card face-down under your bet, to be revealed later.
When Doubling Down, th player can choose to be any amount up to the original bet amount, so you could "Double Down for Less". Remember, when you Double Down, you give up the ability to draw more than one additional card to your hand. Generally speaking, if the correct play is to Double Down, you should match your original bet amount.
Insurance and Even Money
Insurance is the Rule for Casino Blackjack that is most commonly misunderstood, and unfortunately it can carry with it a high house advantage.
When a Blackjack Dealer is dealt an Ace up-card, he will offer "Insurance" to the players. Insurance bets can be up to half your original bet amount, and they are placed in the insurance betting stripe in front of your original bet. The dealer then looks to see if he has Blackjack, and if he does have Blackjack your Winning Insurance bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. You will lose your original bet, unless you also have Blackjack, so in the end you break even when your Insurance is half your original bet.
Basically, Blackjack Insurance Strategy protects your original bet against a dealer blackjack. If the dealer does not have Blackjack, you'll lose the Iinsurance bet, and then play the original bet out as would be the case.
When you have a Blackjack, the dealer will likely offer you "Even Money" instead of Insurance. Don't be confused by this, in the end it amounts to exactly the same thing. The Blackjack Casino is simply allowing you to eliminate the Insurance bet altogether, and simply declare that you want even money for your Blackjack when the dealer has an Ace showing.
In Basic Blackjack Strategy, the player should never take the Insurance bet or the "Even Money", because in the long run it is not to your advantage. On the other hand, Card Counters can detect when more than a third of the remaining deck is Ten-valued cards, in which case this type of bet is appropriate. So, unless you know the bet is favorable, just ignore it.
Summary
There you have them, The Official Rules of Blackjack!
If you have never Played Blackjack before it can be a little intimidating at first, especially when you don't know or understand the Rules of Blackjack Play or Casino Protocol. So, find yourself a friendly looking Blackjack Dealer at your favorite Blackjack Casino, or Play Blackjack Online. Give it a try... now that you've read our Official Blackjack Rules and Strategy Guide, within a few short hands you'll be in the full swing of things. Like so many other things in life, Blackjack is easier to do than it is to explain how to do, so go ahead and and enjoy!
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