Basic Strategy
Card for Multi Deck Blackjack
Quick Tips
Blackjack Dictionary
face
card - King, Queen and Jack
natural - a ten value card and an ace
hard hand - a hand that does not have an ace or a hand that
cannot use the ace as eleven
soft hand - a hand that can use the ace as one or eleven
stiff hand - a hand between twelve through sixteen
hit or draw - to draw additional cards
stand - to not draw any more cards
split - to make two hands from a pair
blackjack - the first two cards being dealt to a player are a
ten value card and an ace
bust -
when the dealer or player draws cards to a total of more than 21
hole
card - the face down card dealt to the dealer
insurance
- side wager for up to half of the original bet when the dealer is showing an
ace
push -
when the player and dealer have identical card values. No winner or loser.
press -
to increase the amount being betted after a win usually by the original amount
surrender
- an option where the player may give up half of their bet to withdraw from the
game
1. Blackjack Rules
The
purpose of playing Blackjack is to try and beat the dealer by getting
closer to 21 than the dealer. The dealer must draw cards until they have
at least 17 and must stand at 17 or higher.
If the total value of the cards in your hand is closer to 21 than those in the
dealer?s hand, you get to win an equal amount to what you have wagered.
If you have a blackjack hand, you win 3:2 times your bet (example - a $20 bet
will win $30), provided the dealer doesn't have blackjack. If your hand
has aces, you can choose to use them as a 1 or 11. Kings, queens and
jacks (face cards) have a value of 10. The remaining cards are valued as
their face numbers. Because you can play an Ace as a 1 or an 11, a
hand with an ace is called a soft hand.
Blackjack
beats a count of 21.
If your hand totals more than 21, you'll bust and lose your wager.
If you have the same card total as the dealer, from 17 to 21, you get your bet
back in a push as neither have won.
a. Stand
At
the start of a game, the dealer will deal you two cards. If you are
pleased with these cards, you may choose to stand and not draw anymore cards.
a. Draw or Hit
If
you are dissatisfied with the first two cards you've been dealt, you can draw
additional card/s until you stand or bust. To draw more cards can also be
called to "hit".
c. Double Down
If
you have been dealt two cards and want a third card because you believe it might
give you a chance to beat the dealer?s hand, you can "double down"
(double your bet and draw only one more card).
d. Insurance
Rather
than providing complete protection, insurance is actually a separate gamble of
its own. If you think that your dealer has blackjack, you may buy
insurance to guard your bet. Insurance normally costs half of your
original bet. Let's say the dealer?s first card was an ace and you
thought that the dealer?s hole card would be a value 10 card, you could buy
insurance against dealer blackjack. If the dealer had blackjack, the
insurance would pay you out 2:1, matching the amount of your original
wager. But if you'd bought insurance and the dealer doesn't have
blackjack, you'd lose your entire insurance bet. If you and the dealer
both had blackjack, the game would end in a push, with neither of you winning or
losing.
e. Split
If the first two cards you're dealt are of the same value, you can
choose to split them into two separate hands. You need to place a second
bet of equal value. You would play them as two separate hands, drawing
cards as usual. Most online casinos will only give you one additional card
if you split two aces. And should you split aces and one of your
hands totals 21, this is considered a 21, not a blackjack. In many online
casinos, you can't split a split hand.
f. Surrender
Surrender
is rarely offered at online casinos. When it is available, you may choose
to surrender if you aren't pleased with the cards you were dealt. But you
would lose half your original wager.
2.
History of Blackjack
The Blackjack
of today first emerged in the early 18th century in France as vingt un or 21.
It was renamed blackjack because it offered additional money to players who
drew the Jack and Ace of Spades. In the US, blackjack was first played in the
Indiana in the early twentieth Century. In those early days, gaming
clubs offered their players 3 to 2 payouts for a count of 21 in the first two
cards, because blackjack was new and not too popular. Nowadays, in a modern deck
of 52 cards, cards with a value of 10 (10, Jack, Queen and King) represent 30.8%
of a deck, so the odds of a good hand are relatively high.
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