How to Play Blackjack

The objective in Blackjack is to get a hand that adds up closer to 21 than the dealer does without exceeding 21.  Remember; players just must to get a better set of cards than the dealer, don’t attempt to get as close to 21 as possible.  When you possess cards that total close to 21 and you feel that the dealer can’t get a better hand then don’t take any more playing cards, stand with whatever you have.

Playing cards from 2 to 9 have the value shown on the card.  The cards ten, Jack, Queen and King are assigned a worth of ten.  An Ace is the most advantageous card and can have a worth of either one or eleven based on what the participant wants.  Blackjack is made when a participant holds two cards adding up to 21 (an Ace and another playing card worth ten) it is an automatic unbeatable hand.

Casinos in their effort to prevent cheating do not permit the participants to handle the playing cards; further to discourage card counting they employ many decks of playing cards.  The game begins with the dealer dealing a lone playing card, face up, to all of the players playing (as well as the dealer).  After that the dealer deals another playing card to everybody at the table, the participants playing cards are placed face up however the dealers second card is dealt face down.

Remember that Blackjack isn’t played as a group.  Although the table will be populated by a few players they are not playing with one another.  Each participant is playing by themselves against the dealer, when it is your turn the other participants hands have no effect on your game.

All of the players play prior to the dealer getting her/his turn; a player has two choices available to him/her, the player can stand or obtain another playing card.  A participant that chooses to obtain one more card and as a consequence finishes up with a card total that exceeds 21 busts and by default the dealer wins.  After all of the participants have had their turn it is time for the dealer to play.  The dealer plays in accordance to a set of rules which are usually posted for all to see.  The normal dealer play is for her/him to obtain one more playing card if their hand total is less than 16, and to stand if their card totals 17 or more.

As soon as the dealer has played she/he pays off hands superior than theirs, collects from any player with a set of cards inferior to his/hers and neither pays out nor collects (pushes) any tie hands.

Betting

A wager must be placed after which the cards are dealt.  A player with a winning set of cards is paid even money.  A participant who holds a Blackjack gets 3 to 2 (she/he gets $3 for each $2 they wagered).

Options

Splitting Pairs – If your first two cards have the same value a participant has the option of splitting them.  When splitting the two cards the player plays each of the cards as separate hands.  With split Aces the casino usually allows a participant one additional card to pair with each Ace; in the event that the additional card has a value of 10 he/she is credited with cards worth 21 (not a Blackjack) in the case where the dealer gets a Blackjack the dealers hand will be the victorious hand.

Doubling Down – If a participant feels that his/her set of cards will beat the dealers with the addition of one (only one) card they can double their bet prior to getting this final playing card.

Insurance – When the dealers face up card is an Ace, participants possess the opportunity of making a side insurance bet.  The insurance bet is that the face down card has a worth of 10.  When the face down card is worth 10 (the dealer has Blackjack) the side wager pays 2 to 1.  The original wager remains and will lose unless you tie the dealer by getting a Blackjack yourself.

Surrender – The surrender choice is found at a few venues.  The surrender option is one that allows a participant to verbally tell the dealer that they surrender, if after looking at their initial pair of cards they think that they will be unable to beat the dealer’s set of cards.  With the announcing of a surrender the participants turn is finished and the have to give up half of their wager.