Casino Games - BlackJack - Learn Blackjack Online, Blackjack Rules & Online Blackjack Strategy

Learn Blackjack Online

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This particular card game is steeped in history. Its origins date back to 17th-century France, and by the 1800s the game had already made its way to the United States of America. Today, Blackjack, has exploded onto the online gaming scene, where it is available to players everywhere.

Ever wanted to learn how to play Blackjack? If you can count to twenty one and are accurate in your arithmetic skills, you are already on your way to playing this widely popular casino game.  Once your counting surpasses that twenty one mark (or “pontoon” in British English), rest assured your wallet will begin to hurt, so no need to show off how high one can count in this game. 

Sitting yourself at the blackjack table pins you solely against the dealer and, unlike many other games, not against the other players.  Blackjack rules are quite simple. The foremost objective is not to bust, or reach a hand with a higher total than 21.  Only then can you still be eligible to vie with the dealer and be in the running to collect winnings.

Card values are the following: Two through ten are worth their face value and face cards (jack, queen, king) are worth 10.  The ace’s value is 11 unless such a value would bring the player’s hand to a bust, in which case it is worth 1.  The ways to reach that cherished 21 are varied:  if in your two-card hand you’ve accumulated 21 through an ace plus a ten-value card, your work is done, for you’re an automatic winner (except for the rare cases that the dealer also has a blackjack, in which case nobody wins).  If this is not your luckiest day and you have to work towards your win, you can do so by requesting (or “hitting”-see glossary of terms in the advanced player link) additional cards beyond the two dealt to you to get as close as possible to 21 without going over.

Ok, so how do I win?
As stated above, in this game, your only competitor is the dealer.  He is bound by a set of rules that guide how he will play and represent the house.  It is the player’s aim to gauge the dealer’s position throughout the game and make his moves accordingly.  There is no reason why several players on the table can’t win simultaneously on the same hand.

A bit of the game’s terminology so that you can feel more comfortable at the table

To hit means to take another card from the dealer

If you want to stay with your card value and match that against the dealer’s, you opt to stand.

Doubling your wager and taking exactly one more card and standing is what’s called doubling down.

On the condition that you were dealt two cards with the same value, you have the option of splitting.  This means that you double your wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand.

A surrender, where the player forfeits half the bet and gives up the hand, is no longer available at most casinos.

Of the dealer’s initial hand of two cards, the one that is turned down and concealed from the rest of the players is the hole card.

Another name for the two-card hand of 21 (“blackjack”) is a natural.

Both player and dealer showing the same hand value at the end of play is called a push, and in such a case neither one wins the hand. 

A Soft hand is one in which the player's ace card can be given an 11 value without going over 21.  It is always possible to draw another card on a soft hand without busting.

Insurance in Gambling?

Yes, even in gambling there is the opportunity of purchasing insurance.  This, as would be expected in gambling, carries with it a risk just as well.  Taking insurance is possible when the dealer’s top card shows an Ace.  An insurance bet can be in the sum of up to half of the player’s original bet and must be placed before the dealer checks his hole card.  So, what is it?  Placing this type of bet (in addition to your original bet) means that you are expecting the dealer’s hole card to be a 10-value card (10, Jack, Queen, or King).  Insurance also plays a part in "card counting" (see next section), where a player believes he has a better chance to correctly predict a 10.

Online Blackjack Strategy

 As stated already, the dealer at the blackjack table is guided by a set of rules that conduct his play in a specific way. A major one of these revolves around the number 17. The blackjack dealer is obligated to continue feeding his hand with more hits until he reaches a card value of at least 17, while the player may stop at any point he wishes.

Additionally, once the dealer reaches seventeen or above, he must stand and may not add any cards to his hand. You as the player are free to take your chances at such a stage and go for the low card values that would lead you closer to a 21. The house’s advantage is that it does not experience the dilemma in the way that the player does at such a stage since its actions are guided by rules. Attached is commonly-used chart of probability and basic strategy that has been used by players worldwide to determine how to act on certain hands and how beset the dealer.

The table below is a part of basic blackjack strategy and its purpose is to reduce the casino advantage to a smaller percentage. The strategy table is aimed to the Las Vegas Strip rules which is much more common than the Atlantic City rules where the dealer stands on a soft 17. Additionally, most casinos no longer offer the option to surrender.

Your Hand	Dealer's face-up card
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
Hard totals
18-21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	Rs
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	Rh	Rh	Rh
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	Rh	Rh
13-14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	D
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
5-8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
Soft totals
A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,8	S	S	S	S	D	S	S	S	S	S
A,7	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,4-5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,2-3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
Pairs
A,A	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	S	S
8,8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	Rsp
7,7	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
6,6	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
2,2 3,3	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H

Key:

S = Stand
H = Hit
D = Double
SP = Split
Rh = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Hit
Rs = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Stand
Rsp= Surrender if allowed, otherwise Split

Simpler than it looks:
This blackjack strategy chart may look overwhelming but it is actually quite easy to use. The left hand column shows all the possible combinations that you, the player, might start with when play begins. The dealer, as we’ve learned, only exposes the top card. It is based on the information of these three cards that the chart advises you how to take action. For example, if you were dealt an 11 and a 4, your hand total comes to 15. Locate this row in the “Your Hand” column. If in the same game the dealer’s face-up card is a nine, drag your finger across the 15 row until you reach the dealer’s 9 value column. The intersection of the two brings you to the letter ‘H’. This, according to the chart, is a situation in which you are statistically advised to hit. That is, the dealer has a high probability of beating your 15.
Set for yourself some more hypothetical hands like the one above and get well acquainted with the chart. Become a smarter player.

How Blackjack Rules Differ

While every casino game draws its fair share of attention, blackjack is no doubt the most widely played game. From Las Vegas to Europe, gamblers love hitting the blackjack tables in hopes of winning major cash. Blackjack is an easy game to pick up, and people have a better chance at beating the house during a blackjack session than they do at any other game. 

 

But before you start contemplating any grand illusions of taking casinos for thousands of dollars, you should at least know how blackjack rules can vary in different parts of the world. Here is a look at 3 major casino areas in the world and how their blackjack rules vary in addition to what rules they all share in common.

Common Blackjack Rules

- Players get 3-2 payouts on any Blackjack hand (21 dealt in the first two cards).
- Insurance payouts are set at 2-1.
- Players can get insurance anytime the dealer is dealt a face up ace.
- The dealer has to draw whenever they have a have a score of 16 or less, and they must stand anytime they hold a 17 or higher (a few casinos require the dealer to hit on a soft 17, but this is the general rule in most cases).

European Casino Rules

- Cards of the same value can be split, but not split again.
- Players can double down after they split.
- When aces are split, players are only allowed to draw for one more card.
- People are only allowed to double down when a hand’s value is between 9 and 11.
As can be seen, the European rules for splitting cards in blackjack are pretty strict since you can’t split twice. Furthermore, Europe also has rigid rules for doubling down since you can only do so when your card total is between 9 and 11.   

Las Vegas Casino Rules

- Players can double down on any combination of cards.
- People can double down after splitting pairs.
- Players can split with any pair, and even re-split if more pairs are dealt. The only exception to this rule is with split aces where you can’t split again and are only allowed to draw once.
Las Vegas rules differ greatly from European casino rules since you can double down with any initial combination of cards. Going beyond this, you can also re-split after splitting if you’re dealt more pairs. One similarity between the two gambling destinations is that you’re only allowed to split aces once, and hit with them once.

Atlantic City Casino Rules

- Players can split any pair.

- Re-splitting pairs is not allowed.
- Doubling down is allowed after splitting.
Atlantic City shares the rules that players can double with any pair, and also that people can double down after splitting cards. However, Atlantic City differs from Las Vegas in regards to players not being able to re-split pairs.

Other Major Differences

In addition to the rules where Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and European casinos differ, there are also some major dealer actions that vary greatly. In both American gambling areas, the dealer will check for a Blackjack anytime they have a face up card with a value of 10 or higher. Assuming the dealer gets a blackjack, the game ends and players will not get to make any further actions. Contrast this to Europe where players can split or double down their hand before the dealer checks for a Blackjack. If the dealer does have a Blackjack, players who split or doubled their hand will lose their bets.
Out of all three gambling areas, Las Vegas is considered to have the most favorable rules for players because there are no restrictions placed on doubling and people are allowed to re-split cards.

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