Learn the Rules of Blackjack

Blackjack is an agreeable and simple game with few rules that are easy to understand. Also is in a large part a game of skill and not simply just luck.

Among all the other casino games, blackjack is the only one who offers the player his best chance to win and the chances of winning are not fixed in favor of the house. The cards in the decks are discharged while the game progresses and this changes the composition of the deck.

For all these reasons the game of Blackjack is the most popular game played today in the casinos.

Object Of The Game
The object of Blackjack game is very simple, you need to achieve a card point total greater than that of the dealer and which does not exceed 21. Exceeding a total of 21 points is known as 'busting'. So you need to remember that in fact you are playing to beat the dealer and not to get as close to 21. Also you should keep in mind that even if other players are present at the table, the dealer only plays with one person at a time and the dealer should be your only opponent.

Playing The Game
The Blackjack game progresses as follows: the dealer shuffles the cards; using a marker card, the deck is 'cut' and the dealer 'burns' a card. All bettings are done before the first card is dealt. After all the bets are down two cards (one at a time) are dealt from left to right all face up, except the dealer's card, he receives the second card down and its called the 'hole' card.

Starting from the player to the left of the dealer, each player decides whether to draw further cards. These cards are dealt one at a time, until the player busts or stands.

After all the players have completed their hands, the dealer will draw cards to complete his hand. The dealer has rules printed on the table and these rules usually tell you that the dealer will take a card when his total is 16 or less and stand when he has a total of 17 or more.

The point values of the cards in blackjack are:
- Picture cards (Jack, Queen, King) count as 10 points;
- The ace can count as either a 1 or 11, whichever is better for owner of the hand;
- All the other cards count their face value (7=7);

Players will pick up their winning, if any, after the dealer has finished his hand. Then new bets are placed and the entire process is repeated with a new game hands.

Blackjack Rules
In most of the casinos is played a multi-deck game, usually called shoe game (normally containing 4,6 or 8 decks of cards). In shoe games the cards are dealt face up. In this case you should not touch/handle the cards. They are dealt face up to prevent a few types of player cheating which are changing either the card or the size of the wager.

The player will make first a playing decision after he will look at his two cards and will see the value of the dealers face up card. This decision means that he needs to choose either from hitting or standing. He may also double down or split.

Hit means the player wants the dealer to give him another card to his hand. The player will indicate to the dealer he wants a hit by making a beckoning motion with his finger or tapping the table behind his cards with his finger.

Standing. This means the player is satisfied with his total point cards of the hand and he will stand with the two cards. The player will indicate that he stands by waving his hand over the cards.

As a general rule, if the dealer has the face up card greater than 7, the player has better chances if he hits on a total of 12 to 16.

If the player has cards that make a total of 17 or more, he should stand because the odds of busting are too high.

The rules after the dealer plays are governed by a set of rules. Casino rules usually state that if the dealer has a total point value of 16 or less, he must take a card and if he has a count of 17 or more he has to stand.

Splitting pairs. If the players first two cards are of equal point value he may split them and play each card as a separate hand. The player indicates that he wishes to split by placing another chip next to the original chip without touching the cards or the original bet.

He must place for the second hand another bet equal to his original bet. Than the player will receive an additional card for each hand. First he will play the hand on his right, until he stands, busts or passes and after the one on his left.

If the player has two Aces he may split them, but often he will receive only one more card for each hand, and if he will get a ten as the second card next to an ace, that hand wont be considered a Blackjack. These hands can beat a dealer hand if the point value total is 21, but lose if the dealer has a Blackjack and only pays even money if the player wins.

Also ten value cards can be split, however the player should not split ten cards because the total value hand is 20 and he has good chances of winning.

Doubling down This playing option allows the player to double his bet when he has two cards and he feels that he needs only one more card to beat the dealer. Then he may double his bet in return for receiving one more card, good or bad. To indicate that he wants to double down he must just place his wager next to the original one.

Casino rules for doubling down are different, while many casinos offer the player the option of doubling down on any hands (except the ones when he has two cards that total 21), some restrict doubling on totals of 9, 10 or 11.

Surrendering this playing option sometimes is permitted in casinos. After receiving his two cards, if the player does not like his prospects, feeling that he will not be able to beat the dealer, he may announce surrender. The dealer will remove his cards from the table and half of his bet. After that, the player will no longer be involved in that round.

The player must announce his decision of surrendering before the dealer will deal the first hand and after he checks his cards for a Blackjack, known as 'late surrender'.

Blackjack Betting Rules
All betting is done before the first card is dealt. The players win even money if they better the dealer, and win 3 to 2 for a blackjack ($15 paid on a $10 bet).

Insurance bets If the dealer's face up card is an Ace, than he will ask the players if they want to make the insurance wager. This is a side bet, meaning that the players bet that the dealer's hole card is a ten. The players can bet the equal value of their original bet and if they win the insurance bet pays off at 2 to 1. However, the players will need to beat the dealer's hand.