Lessons on Blackjack Playing

The game of blackjack (also referred to as 21) can be played with as few as a single deck of cards or as many as eight normal decks of cards. Cards that are numbered from two to ten are valued according to face value, with all face cards valued at ten. Aces are worth one or eleven, depending on the player's hand, and when a player has an ace and any ten-valued card, they will have a special winning hand called blackjack. When a player has blackjack, it usually pays 3:2, but if both dealer and player have blackjack, then the bet is a push. The aim of this game for a player is to have a higher hand than the dealer, but never to exceed twenty one, which is the highest hand in the game. If either a dealer or a player exceeds twenty-one, they "bust," meaning that they automatically lose. If they both bust, the player will lose. Lastly, if the dealer and player tie, then the bet is a push.

Players place their bets in the circle or on the logo, and the round begins. Each player receives two cards that are dealt face up, and the dealer receives one card dealt face up, called the up card, and another card dealt face down called the hole card.

If the dealer has an ace as his upcard, they provide players the opportunity to insure their hands against blackjack. The insurance bet pays 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. If the player has blackjack, and the dealer shows an ace, the dealer may ask “even money?” as the player’s blackjack and the insurance equal to even money if the dealer has blackjack.

When it is certain that the dealer does not have blackjack, players may play their hand, by selecting one of the following options:

Stand: When satisfied with a hand, a player may choose to stand. To stand means to opt not to receive any additional cards. Players who wish to stand should wave their hands over the cards.

Hit: To hit means to receive additional cards. When a player wants to hit, they should tap the table with a finger. If a player is in a single deck game, they can also opt to scrape cards gently on the felt of the table.

Double: a player who feels they need only one more card may double their bet, and be dealt one additional card. A player is only offered this option on the first two cards, or after receiving a second card after a split. When a player wishes to double, they must put a new wager of equal value next to the original one.

Split: The first two cards dealt may be split if they have equal value. If this happens, each card will be the first card of a new hand, meaning that the player has two hands. The player also needs to make a second wager of equal value for the second hand. Re-splitting is possible in some casinos two or three times if there is another opportunity to split. A player may double after splitting, but this isn’t always permitted. Placing an additional wager next to the original one signifies a split.

Surrender: lastly, there are casinos that offer players the opportunity to surrender after the first two cards. This is usually offered after a dealer checks for blackjack and is referred to as “late surrender.”

Once all players have played their hands from left to right of the dealer, the dealer will play his or her hand. The dealer must follow house rules, and needs to hit until reaching a score of seventeen or more. There are casinos that require a dealer with a soft seventeen to hit. A soft hand is a hand in which the ace is used as an eleven. It is considered soft because the ace can be used as a one, meaning that a soft seventeen can also count as a seven. If the dealer busts, all of the players that did not bust will automatically win.

Basic Blackjack Strategy

Knowledge of blackjack is of utmost importance when playing the game, as it provides ways to play in every circumstance without knowing how the rest of the cards are distributed in the deck.

To determine the correct move, players should look at their own cards and at the dealer's upcard. In both of the cases the A will stand for an ace. Hard and soft totals as well as splittable hands are from top to bottom. The number of decks, if the dealers hits or stands on a soft seventeen and if doubling is allowed, are the most flexible blackjack rules.

Noticing patterns and understating how to play is the best way to remember strategies. A player cannot win all hands with the basic strategy, but the statistics will generally even out to help the player come out pretty close to even.

Insurance is meant to protect your blackjack, but it's a sucker bet. Unless you have been counting cards and you're sure that the deck is pretty rich in tens, it's better to take the risk, because the house edge for the insurance bet is too high to be worthwhile.

Different casinos and blackjack tables have different variations. The rule variations have an effect on the return that the player expects. The following list shows the effects on player’s returns under certain circumstances when taking basic strategy into consideration. The following are rule variations and the effects that they have:

• Blackjacks pay 2 to 1, effect: +2.27%
• Suited blackjacks pay 2 to 1, effect: +0.57%
• Player 21 is automatic winner, effect: +0.54%
• Early surrender against ace, effect: +0.39%
• Early surrender against ten, effect: +0.24%
• Player may double on any number of cards, effect: +0.23%
• Ace and 10 after splitting aces is a blackjack, effect: +0.19%
• Player may resplit aces, effect: +0.08%
• Late surrender against ten, effect: +0.07%
• Late surrender against ace, effect: +0.00%
• Late surrender after splitting, effect: +0.00
• Resplit to only 2 hands, effect: -0.01%
• Player may not resplit, effect: -0.10%
• Player may not double after splitting, effect: -0.14%
• Dealer hits on soft 17, effect: -0.22%
• Player loses 17 ties, effect: -1.87%
• Player loses 17,18 ties, effect: -3.58%
• Player loses 17-19 ties, effect: -5.30%
• Player loses 17-20 ties, effect: -8.38%
• Player loses 17-21 ties, effect: -8.86%

There are many Las Vegas casinos that offer single-deck blackjack. Players beware! Many of these games only pay six to five, meaning that the house jumps up to 1.44%.

Bad Techniques in Blackjack

There are some things that players should beware when trying a blackjack techniques. For example, many players are afraid of busting. If a player refuses to hit on any hand above eleven, the house edge rises to 3.91%.

Some players choose to play by the dealer's rules. This is also a poor idea, as dealer's rules don't allow splits or doubles. Playing this way means hitting on sixteen or less, and standing on seventeen or higher. Playing like this will hike up the house edge to 5.48%.

The third poor technique is assuming that the dealer's hole card is a ten. Even if the player plays as if that is untrue in the case of an ace upcard, playing this way will increase the house edge to a whopping 10.03%.

Card Counting

Card counting isn't all it's cracked up to be. Even if you are successful at counting cards, you won't win huge amounts. In addition, no matter how well you count, you'll still need to play the basic strategy.

There are other important issues. If you count cards, and the dealer notices, he will probably re-shuffle the cards to make sure that you don't have any advantage from the card counting. If the dealer chooses to, he may also have you banned from the casino.

Most card counting methods involve a running count based on keeping a ratio o­f higher to lower cards in mind. A deck with a lot of low cards is advantageous to the dealer, and a deck rich in high cards is better for the player. Card counters use their knowledge to raise their bets when the deck is rich in high cards. Even this is a tricky method, because if you raise your bets significantly, the dealer will become suspicious.

Players are entitled to play blackjack in any way they wish as long as they do not cheat, or use a computer, but casinos are entitled to ask players to leave as well.