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 the cards.
The objective of blackjack is to beat the dealer’s hand by either 1) having a total that exceeds the dealer’s total or 2) by not going over 21 when the dealer does. Exceeding a total of 21 is known as ‘busting”. The casino’s edge comes from the fact that players must go first and when they bust their hand they automatically lose even if the dealer subsequently busts.
All cards count their face value in blackjack. Picture cards count as 10 and the ace can count as either a 1 or 11. Card suits have no meaning in blackjack. The total of any hand is the sum of the card values in the hand. A hand containing a 4, 5 and 8 totals 17. Another containing a queen and 5 totals 15. It is always assumed that the ace counts 11 unless your total exceeds 21 in which case the ace reverts to a value of 1. For example, Ace, 5 is a 16. If a player draws a 9 the total is now 15. Generally hands which contain an ace that counts as 11 are known as soft hands (i.e. ace, 7 is a soft 18 hand). A hard hand is any hand that either does not contain an ace of if it does it counts as 1 (i.e. 10, 8 and 5, ace, 10, 2 are hard 18 hands).
Note: Therefore, it is important to research what the rules are for the area/casinos you plan on playing in. The BlackJack table seats a dealer and one to seven players. The first seat on the dealer’s left is referred to as First Base, the first seat on the dealer’s right is referred to as Third Base. By Henry Tamburin, published on Wednesday, October 3 2001
The rules of BlackJack differ slightly from area to area and/or from casino to casino. For example, a casino in downtown Vegas may have different rules than one of the Vegas Strip casinos which may have different rules from a casino up in Reno or Tahoe. The rules in a casino in Freeport Bahamas may differ from those in Atlantic City, etc. Therefore, it is important to research what the rules are for the area/casinos you plan on playing in.
The BlackJack table seats a dealer and one to seven players. The first seat on the dealer’s left is referred to as First Base, the first seat on the dealer’s right is referred to as Third Base. A betting square is printed on the felt table in front of each player seat. Immediately in front of the dealer is the chip tray. On the dealer’s left is the deck or shoe and beside that should be the minimum bet sign, which you ought to read before sitting down to play. On the dealer’s immediate right is the money drop slot where all currency and tips (chips) are deposited. Next to the drop slot is the discard tray.
Hit. This means you want the dealer to give you another card to your hand. In shoe games, indicate to the dealer that you want a hit by making a beckoning motion with your finger or tapping the table behind your cards with your finger. In hand held games, scratch the edges of the cards in your hand lightly on the felt.
Standing. This means you are satisfied with the total of the hand and want to stand with the cards you have. In shoe games, indicate that you want to stand by waving your hand over the cards. In hand held games, tuck your cards under the chips that you have in the betting box.
Pair Splitting. If you have two like cards (e.g. a pair of 6’s or aces), you could excersise the option to split. When you split you must make another bet equal to your original bet (just place your chip next to the original chip bet on the hand). By pair splitting you play each card as a separate hand and you can draw as many cards as you like to each hand (except split aces-most casinos will only allow one draw card to each ace). For example if you were dealt a pair of 8’s (16) and split, you would have two separate hands containing an 8. You would be required to play out one of the split hands first before the other. In shoe games you indicate that you want to split by placing another chip next to the original chip. For hand held games toss your cards on the table and then make the secondary wager. Most casinos will also allow players to split all 10 value cards such as a jack and ten or queen and king.
Doubling down. This playing option allows you to double your bet in return for receiving one and only one draw card. In most casinos you can only double down after you receive your first two cards and before drawing another card. To signal the dealer that you want to double down just place your chip next to the original chip bet on the hand (shoe games) or toss your cards on the table face-up in hand held games and then make the secondary bet.
Surrender. This playing option is sometimes permitted. It allows a player to forfeit the hand with an automatic loss of half the original bet. Player’s can surrender their initial two card hand only after the dealer has checked his cards for a blackjack. Once a player draws a card the surrender option is no longer available. If the dealer has a blackjack hand, then surrender is not available. When a player surrenders (to do so tell the dealer “surrender”) the dealer will remove the player’s card from the table and place one half of the players bet in the chip rack. The player is no longer involved in that round.
The above rule is known as late surrender. In some casinos players can surrender before the dealer checks his cards for a blackjack. This form of surrender is much more player favorable than late surrender but it is rarely offered.
Insurance. When the dealer’s upcard is an ace, the dealer will ask players if they want to make the insurance wager. It is a side bet in which players are betting that the dealer’s hole card will be a ten-value card. Players can make an insurance bet equal to one half of the initial bet made on the hand. To make the insurance bet you simply place your chips on the insurance line, which is located right above the player betting box. You win your insurance bet if the dealer has a ten-value card in the hole. A winning insurance bet pays off at 2 to 1 odds.
Play begins after the following ritual is completed: the dealer shuffles the cards, the deck is “cut” by a player using the marker card, and the dealer “burns” a card. Before any cards are dealt, the players may make a wager by placing the desired chips (value and number) into the betting box. Occasionally a player may sit out a hand or two for various reasons. I have sat out a couple of hands at times when the dealer was getting extremely lucky and everyone was losing. If you attempt to sit out too many hands especially if there are people waiting to play at your table, you may be asked to leave the table until you are ready to play.
Once all the bets are down, two cards (one at a time) are dealt from left to right. In many Vegas casinos, players get both cards face down. In Atlantic City and most every where else the player’s cards are dealt face up. Should the cards be dealt face up, don’t make the faux pas of touching them! They are dealt face up for a reason, primarily to prevent a few types of player cheating. The dealer receives one card down and one card up.
