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Blackjack Rules & Strategy
Game Play
Like many gambling games, the game appears simple in
basic play but has more to it. The basis of blackjack is a one on one
match between yourself and the dealer. The goal of each player is to
come as close to 21 as possible without going over. Initially, the
dealer deals all players two cards. Depending on the style of
Blackjack you are playing, the cards will be either face up or down.
This is unimportant at this point.
Once each player
has two cards, they will each have a total ranging anywhere from 4
to 21. The cards with numbers are valued at the number on the card
while all face cards are valued ten. The aces have different values
depending on different situations. They can be either a one or eleven.
We will cover this later. Once everyone has cards, the dealer will ask
whether or not the players would like another card "hit" or stay with
what they have "stay". The players will use two things to make their
decision, what cards they have and what card the dealer is showing.
The dealer will have two cards, one face up and one face down. We will
talk later about how to analyze and react to the dealers card.
Aces are worth either 1 or 11 depending on what is better for the
player. If you have a 6 and an ace for example, you have 17. Now lets
say you draw a 8 from the deck. Now you have 15 because if the ace was
valued at 11 you would have 25 and you would consequently bust. When
you have an ace valued as an 11, the total is called 'soft'. For
instance, a 5 and an ace is a soft 16. Any other combination without
an ace representing a 11 is called a hard number. For instance, a 7
and a 10 is a hard 17.
The dealer will usually be forced to hit until 17. This is always
posted on the table. If the dealer's total or your total exceed 21 the
hand is a bust and the player loses. If you receive an ace and a card worth ten
(either a ten or a face card), then you have Blackjack. You win unless
the dealer has Blackjack as well. You even beat the dealer if he gets
natural 21 which is 21 but with more than two cards. If you and the
dealer tie, it is called a push and nobody collects money. Blackjack
usually pays 3:2. The payoff in Blackjack is always even, i. e.
if you bet ten you either win or lose ten. That does it for the
basics. However, there are a few more intricacies so read on if you
can.
Doubling Down
Depending on the game, players are allowed to Double
Down. When a player doubles down, he has determined that he has a
favorable position and the dealer does not. The player will place down
another bet of equal value to the initial bet. He is now allowed to
only hit one time. If the player wins, he wins double. The obvious
disadvantage here is if you double down and the one card you draw is a
low card you are in bad shape.
Different games have different rules regarding when a player is allowed to double down.
Some allow it with any cards. Some allow it with only 9, 10 and 11.
And some casinos only allow 10 and 11. All these rules she be painted
on the table or in plain view. Some casinos allow doubling down after
a split and some do not.
Splitting
When a player is dealt two of the same card, as in two 8's, they are
allowed to split the two cards into two different hands and
essentially play two games of Blackjack at once.
Insurance
It is only very rarely that a player even has the insurance option.
Only when the dealer's face up card is an ace, it is offered. The premise
of insurance is that if the dealer's other card is a ten value card,
and he has blackjack, you don't lose your bet. You can buy insurance
for half of whatever your initial bet was. Example: you bet 10,
dealer's up card is an ace, you buy insurance for half of ten or 5,
and if he has blackjack, you get your ten back, essentially losing the
5 dollar cost of the insurance. Experts agree that insurance is
generally a bad idea. However, if you are counting the cards, and know
that there are a lot of faces left in the deck, it might be in your
better interest.
Surrender
Some game offer the ability to surrender your hand before making any
play decisions for half the cost of your bet. If you have a bad
looking hand and the dealer has an ace showing, for instance, you
might decide to surrender. If your original bet had been 10, you could
fold your hand and pay 5 to get your 10 back. There are two different
versions of surrender, early and late. If the game offers early
surrender, the player must decide whether or not they would like to
surrender the cards before the dealer checks to see if he has
blackjack. In late surrender, the player may surrender even if the
dealer has blackjack. Late surrender is rarely, if ever offered.
Strategy
I rarely find websites that provide true value or substance to their
patrons (Other than this one of course!). However, I have stumbled
across the definitive authority on blackjack strategy. This website
has everything you would ever want to know, literally. The site
provides a "Blackjack Strategy Engine", which is a computing program
that determines what you should do in every situation. You simply
input into the machine the specifications for the game you are playing
and it will spit out a web page with three tables detailing every move
that can be made in a blackjack game.
For those of you that just can't wait anymore and want strategy right
here and now, I will break down the gist of the "Blackjack Strategy
Engine's" output. This is going to be short and sweet so pay
attention: You always want to hit until 17 if the dealer is showing a
7 or higher.
Good Luck!
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