Blackjack rules fully explained
Rules of Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most popular games found in a casino. It’s quick to play, simple to learn and can offer players some very impressive winnings if they’re successful.
What’s more the game takes place between the player(s) and the casino (or ‘banker’) which makes strategy a lot simpler to comprehend when compared to a game like poker which is played between a set number of players.
How do you play Blackjack?
The aim of the game is to score a more valuable hand than the banker’s without it exceeding 21. You go about this by drawing hands from the deck or deciding to stick with the value that you’ve got.
Should you go over the 21 limit, you’ll be declared “Bust” and the banker will win the hand no matter what cards they currently have.
A card’s value is determined by the number shown on the front of the card. All Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks carry a value of 10 whereas Aces can be valued at either 1 or 11.
With this in mind, there are essentially two ways of winning a hand of blackjack:
• Firstly, build a more valuable hand than the banker (without going over 21)
• Stick with what you’ve got and hope that the dealer ends up going bust.
The Game of Blackjack:
Before any cards are dealt, the player must place a bet on the table. The size of the bet is completely up to them, although most blackjack tables will have a minimum bet level which must be observed.
Once the bet has been made, the player will be given two cards which will be dealt face down in front of them. The dealer will then deal him/herself two cards although the first of these will be dealt face up so that you can evaluate the strength of your opposition’s cards.
If the player is dealt two cards which value 21 exactly (i.e. an Ace and another card valued at 10) then the player is said to have Blackjack and they will receive 2.5x the size of their original stake as a prize.
More often than not though, the player won’t have been dealt a natural Blackjack, in which case they have two core options to follows:
Stand – If the player is happy with the value of their hand and doesn’t want to be dealt any more cards, he will choose to stand. The action will then rotate to the player to the left of him. If no other players are present, action proceeds directly to the banker who will then play his hand.
Hit – When dealt a low hand value, a player will chose to ‘Hit’ at which point the banker will deal another card face up on the table. A player can continue to hit as many times as he likes, although if the total value of his hand exceeds 21, he is obliged to tell the banker that he has gone bust and lay down his hand.
When all the players have finished making their decisions, the banker then turns over his second card and is faced with the decision to Stand or Hit.
Rules of standard Blackjack state that a dealer must hit if the total value of his hand is worth 16 or less. Equally, they must stand if their hand is worth 17.
Should a dealer go bust, all players still active in the game are automatically declared winners. If a banker decides to stick, then all players with a lower hand value lose their chips whereas all those players with a higher value will have the size of their original stake doubled.
Splitting your hand
Occasionally players will be dealt a pair of matching cards (a six of diamonds and a six of clubs for example). In these instances, the hand can be ‘split.’
When this happens, the cards are divided into two separate hands and the player is forced to double the size of their stake. Play then continues as normal with each hand seen to be completely separate to each other.
The player can Hit or Stick each hand as he sees fit. If one hand goes bust, the other hand is still valid, which therefore provides the player with two different ways of beating the banker.
Doubling Up
The best blackjack casinos will allow players the opportunity to “Double Up” when their hand reaches a certain value.
If players decide to go with this option, they will need to double the size of their original stake at which point they will be dealt one more card face up and then be forced to stand.
Most casinos require a hand value to be between 9 and 11 before allowing the player to this but it’s best to check the specific blackjack rules set out by the casino you’re playing in.
Insurance
As mentioned above, the first card dealt to the dealer is placed on the table face up. If that card happens to be an Ace, players are given the chance to buy Insurance against the possibility of the dealer’s second card being valued at 10 (and therefore giving him a natural blackjack).
If the player decides to take up this offer, they will be asked to place additional chips on the table worth half the size of the original bet.
If the banker does indeed have Blackjack, then the player’s original stake will be lost but his insurance will pay out at two times its value … in essence the player walks away neither a winner nor a loser.
If the player chooses not to take out insurance, play will continue as expected.
