Blackjack rules
Blackjack is an exciting and popular card game that has been enjoyed for centuries. The rules of Blackjack are simple, making it a great game for newcomers and experienced players alike. The goal of the game is to get a hand that is closer to 21 than the dealer’s hand without going over.
The game is played with one or more decks of 52 cards. Before the game begins, each player places a bet. The dealer then deals two cards to each player, including themselves. The players’ cards are dealt face up, while the dealer’s first card is dealt face down.
The players then have the option to hit (take another card) or stand (keep their current hand). If a player’s hand is over 21, they are bust and the dealer wins. If a player’s hand is 21, they have blackjack and automatically win unless the dealer also has blackjack.
If the players and the dealer all have the same hand, it’s a tie and the players get their bets back. If the dealer has a hand of 17 or more, they must stand. If the dealer has a hand of 16 or less, they must hit.
Players can also double down, which means they double their bet and are only allowed to take one more card. They can also split their hand if their first two cards are the same value. This means they can split their hand into two separate hands and take additional cards on each one.
How to play blackjack？Blackjack is a simple and popular casino game. Players can win with many different strategies. If you want to learn how to play Blackjack, you must understand the rules and betting strategies. In this article, we will introduce the basic rules and reveal card counting skills of Blackjack, as well as the strategies to Blackjack to increase your winning rate.
What is Blackjack?
The first record of Blackjack was in a France casino around 1700 and called “vingt-et-un” (French: 21) and it was not a popular game at that time until gambling houses offered bonus payouts to stimulate players’ interest. One such bonus was a ten-to-one payout if the player’s hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black jack (either the jack of clubs or the jack of spades). This hand was called a “blackjack” in America, and the name stuck even after the ten-to-one bonus was withdrawn
Rules of Blackjack
How to deal cards
In one game, there will be 2 to 5 players and will use 4 to 8 card decks. The dealer deals every player 2 cards visible to people. The dealer’s hand gets its first card face up, and gets a second card face down (the hole card).
After the initial two visible cards, the dealer will ask players to see if they need to take another card (a visible card).
A player total of 21 (a 10 and an Ace) on the first two cards is a “blackjack,” and the player wins immediately unless dealer also has one. The player can win the rewards with 1.5 times of the player’s stake. Other players who don’t have a Blackjack can take another card until reach 21 points without going over. If a player’s points go over 21, he will lose and lose his bet.
If the points of the dealer is under 16, he shall continue to take another card until his point equals to or is more than 17. (When the dealer’s points equals to or is more than 17, he has to stop taking another card.)
Card counting
A = one or eleven (up to players)
2 to 10 = based on its point
J / Q / K = 10 points
How to Play Blackjack？
Shuffle
The dealer deals each player a card
The dealer deals himself a card
The dealer deals each player a second card and deals himself a second one
If the dealer shows an ace, an “insurance” bet is allowed. The dealer asks the players for insurance bets.
The dealer clock-wisely asks each player if he want another card or increase bets. The dealer can only ask the next player until that player stops adding cards. The deal will repeat it until every player finishes adding cards.
The dealer asks each player if he will add cards until the player stop adding cards. Then the deal will ask the next player one by one until the last one.
If the dealer’s points are under 17, he need to add another card until it equals to or is more than 17.
If there is no player has more then 21 points in a match, players with more points get the rewards. If the dealer’s points are more than 21, other players whose points are not more than 21 can get the rewards.
Terminology of Blackjack
1. Insurance
If the dealer shows an ace, an “insurance” bet is allowed for the players (which means players need to spend an additional half of the original bet). An insurance bet is to guess if the dealer gets 21 points, if not, the players will lose the insurance; if yes, the players will get double bonus of insurance.
During betting, players can decide to take insurance or not to guess if the dealer has 21 points in his first two cards. If not, the players will lose the insurance; if yes, the players will get double bonus of insurance.
2. Double down
If a player get 11 points in total in the first 2 cards, he can increase the initial bet by 100% or more, and take only one more card after double down.
Note: the player who has Blackjack in the first 2 cards cannot double down.
3. HIT
When a player thinks his in-hand 2 cards cannot win the dealer, he can take another card until he stops or busts.
4. STAND
When a player believes his points are enough, he take no more cards.
5. SPLIT
Create two hands from a starting hand where both cards are the same value. This requires an additional bet on the second hand (the additional bet shall be the same as the original bet).
If a player get 2 Ace in his first 2 cards, he can only take another card for each Ace. Additionally, if the player gets an Ace and a 10 after splitting, it will be counted as 21 points, instead of Blackjack.
6. BUST (over 21 points)
When the player gets more than 21 points in hand, it will go bust and lose. When the last player stops to take another card, the dealer shall reveal all his cards, and if the points are below 17 points, he needs to take another card until he gets 17 or above.
Besides, if the dealer goes bust, he needs to pay off all bets made by players who do not bust.
7. POINT CALCULATION
If the dealer doesn’t go bust, the other players who don’t go bust shall reveal all cards to compare the total points for win or lose.
8. TIE
When the dealer and all players don’t go bust and need to compare the total points for win or lose, if any player and the dealer get the same points or Blackjack, it ties and the player can take his original bet back.
9. SURRENDER
Before the players start to hit, the players can surrender and get the half of bet back.
10. 21 POINTS- BLACKJACK
If a player has an Ace and a 10-point card (K, Q, J or 10), he has a Blackjack and the dealer shall pay off 1.5 times of his bet.
11. FIVE CARDS
When a player gets 5 cards in hand and doesn’t bust, the dealer shall pay the player off 3 times of his bet.
12. PAIRS
Pairs are the additional bet from 21 points. When clockwise dealing, the player who has the same point of two cards when revealing can get 5 times of his bet. If the player gets flush pairs, he can get 30 times of his bet.
According to statistics, the win rate of pairs is only 11.3% which may be one of the worst betting methods; therefore, it is not recommended to win this game by pairs. Pairs are just for fun.
How to Play Blackjack？Card Counting
Card counting is a way that many senior players will use to win this game. Players can count to guess their cards in hand are more favorable to the player or the dealer in order to adjust their bet. Card counting can help the players to win higher rewards or lower the risk of busting. If a player can take advantage of card counting, he can low more than 1% of the dealer’s advantage.
Hi-lo Card Counting Strategy
This counting skill is to assign all visible cards a value of -1, 0 and 1 to count the cards not dealt to guess who will be more favorable. For the players who know how to count cards, they will mention the word “label” which is a code name they give to the card value.
Small cards (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6): label +1. It means when these cards are removed from the card deck, it will increase the win rate of the players.
Other cards (7, 8 and 9): label 0. It means when these cards are removed from the card deck, it will not influence the win rate of the players.
Big cards (10, J, Q, K and A): label -1.It means when these cards are removed from the card deck, it will be more favorable to the dealer.
When small or big cards are removed, players can count the current values of each card deck; therefore, players can know the situation of the current card deck and adjust their bet accordingly to increase their win rate.
Through card counting, players can predict the next card to be big or small to decrease the risk of busting. For example, a player gets 11 points right now, and the visible points of the dealer is 4. In this situation, the card value is +20, and the player can just wait until the dealer goes bust. This Hi-lo strategy requires strong memory and calculation skills, and the player needs to know the best solution of the card deck to predict the similar value of the card deck.
How Card Counting Works in Multiple Deck Games
If a player wants to apply card counting in multiple card decks, it is possible though it’s more complex. The player must choose an appropriate starting value, and take the operating value to be dividing by the card numbers which are not dealt yet. By this, the player can know the enough information from card counting to know when the best moment to take insurance or not to take.
Blackjack Basic Strategy
Many people can get a great rewards from online casino while some people lose many. If you want to get some rewards from casino, you must use the correct strategies and think it seriously instead of letting your back hair down. Nowadays, many online casinos offer free play or bonus, and it would be a good opportunity for newbies to understand the game process and to test your any strategies.
Here are some suggestions to Blackjack players. Follow our suggestions and you will be as good as a pro player soon.
1. Don’t bet more than you can offer
Before starting any games, set your budget for today. Do not spend your retirement fund or emergency fund for entertainment. Do not forget your budget due to temporary emotions while playing.
2. Don’t bet over a half of your budget during every bet.
If you bet more than a half of your budget, it means you bet your chance in only one game and it will be harder for you to win back in other games if you lose it. Also, you will lose most of your money.
3. Follow your strategy
When you set your strategy, please do not change it. Maybe the situation in some games will make you want to give up the original strategy because you don’t get the cards you need in hand. However, follow your original strategy would be a best solution to win for long-term situation.
4. Do not split your 2 cards
Many junior players would split the cards when they get 2 cards with the same points, because they believe it will help them to get profits doubled. However, based on the statistics, splitting cards is not a good strategy, because you may not get the card you want afterwards. In this situation, you will trade your 20% chance of winning for the risk of losing double the amount.
5. Split Ace and 8
Why is it better to split when you get 2 cards of Ace or 8？ It’s simple. If you don’t split the cards, two cards of 8 will become 16 points. If you split them, it may be possible for you to get a set of good cards. Meanwhile, if you don’t split when you get 2 Ace, it can only be 12 points or 2 points; therefore, split them and try to get 7, 8, 9 or 10 would be the best.
Are you ready for Blackjack?
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