Blackjack Rules

Blackjack is a card game which is played in every casino both online and brick and motor. There are a number of different variations of blackjack. Here we are only going to look at the rules of normal blackjack as most of the variations have only small changes made to the rules of normal blackjack rules. The goal in blackjack is to get a higher total than the dealer's hand by getting as close as you can to 21 without going over 21. If you go over 21 it's called a bust and you automatically lose that hand. Blackjack is a game which is played against the house (the casino) and not against anyone else at the table, so you only need to beat the dealer's hand.

The first thing that takes place before any cards are even dealt is everyone at the table needs to place their bets. You should place your higher denomination chips on the bottom and your lower denomination chips on top of your stack. After every player at the table is finished placing their bet, the dealer will begin dealing out two cards to everyone face-up starting with the player to the left of the dealer. The dealer will only deal one card face-up for their own hand and the other card is dealt face-down.

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You are going to need to know what the card values are when playing blackjack.

Ace - An ace can be valued at either 1 or 11

2-9 - Cards 2-9 are valued as described on the card meaning a 2=2, 3=3, etc...

10-King - All 10's and face cards have the value of 10 in blackjack

According to blackjack rules, the player's sitting at the table in blackjack always need to act before the dealer acts. You should review the basic blackjack strategy before you sit down at a live table because it can help you learn when it's a good idea to hit or stand. Once the cards are dealt, each player will get their turn to play out their hand starting again with the player to the dealer's left (this position is called First Base). You will get to choose what you want to do although the most common moves are to hit, stand, double down or split. We'll briefly take a look at what each of these four terms mean when playing blackjack.

Hit - Hit means that you would like another card.

Stand - Stand means that you don't want anymore cards added to your hand.

Double Down - Double down is when you double your bet and take one more card.

Split - When you're dealt a pair you can split the two cards into two hands, although you need to add another bet to split.

Blackjack - Blackjack is achieved if the players first two cards are an ace and a 10 or a face card. The player automatically wins, unless the dealer also has natural blackjack, and then it would be a push. Therefore, the player would receive his initial bet, and a new hand would begin. A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2.

Insurance - If the dealers first card is an ace, then the player has the option of taking insurance, which is a bet that does not exceed one-half of the players bet. If the dealer has natural blackjack, the player wins 2 to 1 on the insurance, therefore getting his money back. Any other card means a win for the dealer.

Soft vs. Hard Hands - Another key note you need to learn about is hard and soft hands. These hands are hands with aces in them and depending on how the ace is used will determine whether or not it's a hard or soft hand. For instance, if you have a 9-7-A your hand would be a hard hand because you can't use the ace as an 11 without going over 21. If you have a 2-3-A then you could still use your ace as either an 11 or 1 so it's considered a soft hand.

You need to have a firm grasp on basic blackjack rules before you sit down at a live or online table. Learning how to play blackjack is very simple and even learning how to count cards and such blackjack strategies shouldn't take most of you very long to learn. I wish you all luck at the tables and hope you leave a winner every time.