how to play

Posted by umerblackeagle on September 27th, 2010

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 different card in hand.

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 which is 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. Without busting each player in turn either stays or takes more cards to try and get closer to 21. Players who do not bust wait for the dealer's turn. The dealer turns up the down card when all the players are done. 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.

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. All the remaining players win if the dealer busts. 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. Most casinos will allow you to double down on any two cards. Some casinos will let you double down after splitting and some will limit your doubling down to hands that total ten or eleven. However, there is one condition: When you double down, you cannot receive more than one, you must take one additional card.
• 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.
• Soft Hand: A hand that contains an Ace counted as 11 is called a Soft Hand.

Some blackjack variations

Allowing the dealer to hit a soft 17:  It gives the dealer a chance to improve a disadvantage to the player.

Allowing a double down after splitting pairs: can be advantageous to the player if used wisely.

Allowing re-splitting of Aces: a  very clear advantage to the player.

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 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.

Perfect Pairs blackjack

Perfect Pairs is a blackjack side bet. It can be played on a standard blackjack table and does not require the main game rules to be changed. Dealt with at the completion of the initial deal and All Perfect Pairs wagers are decided.

Perfect Pairs bets are made prior to any cards being dealt and must be supported by a regular Blackjack bet on the same betting box. If the first two cards dealt to a players Blackjack hand are a pair A Perfect Pairs bet wins and it loses if they are not a pair.

There are 3 different types of pairs and the payout odds vary accordingly:

• Mixed pair (A pair that is made up of 1 red suited card and 1 black suited card - example 2 of clubs + 2 of hearts).
• Colored pair (A pair that is made up of 2 same cards of the same color but are of different suits - example 6 of clubs + 6 of spades) example 8 of spades + 8 of clubs).
• Perfect pair (An identical pair - example K of diamonds + K of diamonds).

Perfect Pairs rules

• A player may place a Perfect Pairs wager on any box on which the player has placed a Blackjack wager.
• A Perfect Pairs wager must be placed before any cards in the round of play are dealt.
• A Perfect Pairs wager wins if the first 2 cards dealt to the player becomes pair.
• A Perfect Pairs wager loses if the first 2 cards dealt to the player does not form a pair.
• Winning Perfect Pairs wagers must be paid as per the displayed pay table.
• After each player has been dealt the first 2 cards, the dealer must take all losing Perfect Pairs wagers and make a payout to each player who has a winning Perfect Pairs wager.