How to Play Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most enjoyable table games to play at the casinos and it attracts interest from all age groups. Some players call the game Blackjack and some call it twenty-one (21). We hope the tutorial below is enough to teach you how to play blackjack, so you can get started playing this great game at some the online casinos listed here on Casino Directory.
Who wins when and how much when playing Blackjack?
- If the dealer does not go over 21, the dealers hand is compared to the players´ hands. When a player is closer to 21 than the dealer, he/she doubles his/her bet.
- If the hand of a player and the dealer is tied (both has for example 19) the player neither wins nor loses his/her money - in other words, the player can keep the money he bet in the round. A tie between a player and the dealer is called “push”.
- If the dealer’s total gets over 21, the dealer is bust and all players still in the game (the once that did not go bust) win.
- If a player or the dealer gets the combination of an Ace and another card worth 10 (Kings, Queens, Jacks or 10s) with his/her first two cards - he/she has gotten a Blackjack. When a player gets Blackjack, he/she wins 1.5 times the money he/she bet. If the dealer gets a Blackjack, all players lose. If both a player and the dealer get Blackjack, they tie and the player can keep his/her original bet, but does not win anything.
To Hit or not to Hit, that’s the question.
Since you play against the dealer in Blackjack, it is always important to compare your cards against the dealer’s. Here are a few guidelines on how to play the game: If your hand is 11 or less, you should always hit! With a hand of 11 or less you can never go bust, only come closer to 21.
If your hand is 17 or greater, and the dealer’s hand is 6 or less, you should never hit! The risk of going bust is too big.
When the dealer has a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, there is a quite big chance that he/she goes bust. In fact, a 5 and a 6 are the cards that most often lead to a bust for the dealer. In this case, you should not take a big risk in order to get closer to 21. You should only avoid getting bust. However, if the dealer has a 2 or a 3 and you have 12, the best thing to do could be to hit!
When the dealer has a 7 or higher, he/she has a good chance of making an 18, 19, 20, or 21. If you have a lower hand than 18, you can try to get a better hand - even though there of course is a big risk that you’ll go bust. If your hand is 16 or less, you should absolutely hit!
If your hand includes an Ace, you might want to take more risks. For instance, if you have an Ace and a 6, you have either 7 or 17. If the dealer has a 7 or higher, it might be worth to hit, since there is no risk for you to get bust anyway (while there is a big chance that the dealer would get 18 or higher).
More alternatives for the clever players.
Blackjack also provides the players with a few other options, in order to maximize the winnings or in some cases minimize the losses:
Doubling Down: After the initial deal, a player is allowed to double the amount of his original bet. However, the player must now take ONE and only ONE additional card. If the player wins, he gets paid 2-to-1, but if he loses he loses both his initial and additional bets.
Split Hands or Splitting: When the player gets a pair as his opening cards, he can split them into two different hands. The player must now place another bet behind his second hand. The bet must be the same amount as the initial bet on the first initial hand. The hands are now played independently. Hands that are the result of a split can not become a Blackjack, even though an Ace and a card with the value of ten make up the hand. It just counts like 21 but not in the Blackjack sense. Pairs that are worth splitting are the ones that have the value of ten, that is: a pair of 10s, a pair of Jacks, a pair of Queens and a pair of Kings. Some casinos allow a split hand to get split further, if for instance the second hand becomes a pair.
Doubling after Splitting: In some casinos, a player is allowed to double down on one or more split hands.
Insurance: When a dealer has an Ace, the players can buy something called an insurance. By doing that, they are betting on the fact that the dealer has a Blackjack. If the dealer has a Blackjack, the player is paid 2-to-1 on the insurance bet (a bet that can only be up to 50% of the player’s initial bet). The player has now salvaged some, or all, of his lost bet.
Late Surrender: Once the dealer has shown that he/she does not have a Blackjack, some casinos allow the player to surrender. If a player surrenders, he gets half of his bet back. Some hands, such as 16 versus the dealer’s 10, are so bad that surrender often is less costly than playing the hand. This is not allowed in all casinos. Also called just “Surrender”.
Early Surrender: When a player surrenders before the dealer has shown his/her cards. If a player surrender, he gets half of his bet back. This is not allowed in all casinos.
As you can see, to play Blackjack online is quite easy and something you will get a hang of very quickly. For the beginner is all about knowing when to hit and when to stay, and play the odds. Watch the cards that have been dealt and try to remember at least how many Aces have been played.
We hope you have found this tutorial useful and hopefully you feel ready to tackle this great game. If you wish to play Blackjack right now, check our online casino reviews here at Casino Directory to find the casino that suits you. All casinos listed here offer Blackjack. Play and have fun - that’s what Blackjack is all about!
Visit out our Online Blackjack Reviews section for some of the best casinos online that offer the game of Blackjack.
