BLACKJACK

Blackjack is easily the most popular table game of all. If you enter any Las Vegas casino, you will find that blackjack tables outnumber other table games by a margin of about two to one. The game enjoys its immense popularity for many reasons, but one of the primary reasons is that, when played correctly, it offers the best odds of all casino games. A good blackjack player's odds of winning are about even with the house.

The purpose of the game is to get a hand as close to 21 as possible without going over. A hand with a value over 21 is called a "bust," and it is an automatic loser. Your opponent in blackjack is the dealer, and in order to win, you must beat the dealer's hand. So whatever hand you get must be less than 21, but still higher than what the dealer has.

Each card in blackjack has a certain value. Cards between 2 and 10 have the face value of the card, regardless of the suit. All face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) have a flat value of 10. An Ace is a special card - it can be counted two ways, either as 1 or 11, whichever is more advantageous to your hand. If counting an ace as 11 makes your hand go over 21, then you would obviously count it as 1 so you can stay in the hand.

The highest hand is called a blackjack, which is composed of two cards that equal 21. The only way two cards can have a value of 21 is if one of them is an Ace, and the other is a 10-value card. (e.g. An ace and a king, and an ace and a queen are both blackjacks.) A blackjack beats all other hands except for another blackjack. So if you have a blackjack, and the dealer has 3 cards that add up to 21, you still win the hand even though you both have hands valued at 21.

Before the cards are dealt, each player must put up a bet. Bets at online casinos vary, but often range between 5 and 100 dollars for blackjack. To make a bet, simply place your chips in the appropriate box or circle.

After placing a bet, the player receives 2 cards, dealt face up. The dealer also receives two cards, but only one of the dealer's cards is face up. Since the other card is face down, the player will not know what the dealer's other card (also called the "hole card") is until the end of the hand. In a sense, the dealer's hand remains a mystery.

After receiving two cards, the player must decide whether to keep the hand as is, or take additional cards in an attempt to raise the value of the hand. Remember, players must be careful when requesting additional cards, because if their hands goes over 21, they lose automatically. The decision to take an additional card is called a "hit" or a "draw." There is no limit on the number of hits a player can take.

When players are done taking hits, they have chosen to "stand." By standing, a player simply accepts the hand as is, without any more hits.

Now it is the dealer's turn. First, the dealer reveals his face down (hole) card. If the dealer's hand is between 17 and 21, the dealer is NOT allowed to take additional hits. He MUST stand. On the other hand, if the dealer's hand is 16 or under, the dealer MUST take additional hits until the dealer's hand has a value of 17 or higher. If the dealer goes over 21 while taking additional cards, he "busts," and automatically loses.

If you lose a hand, you lose the amount you originally bet - no more, no less. If you win a hand, you get paid "even money," meaning that you win the same amount you wagered(1:1 odds). So if you wagered 5 dollars and won, you would receive 5 additional dollars. If you hand is the same value as the dealer's hand, it is called a "push" or a tie. In a push, both sides neither win nor lose any money.

Since a blackjack is a special hand, it is paid extra. Normally, a 5 dollar bet, if you win, will net you an additional 5 dollars. But with a blackjack, you receive 1.5 times your original wager, or stated another way, you get 3:2 odds. This means you win a total of $7.50 on your 5 dollar bet when you have a blackjack.

Those are the basic rules. Pretty simple, right? But wait - there are a couple other things we have to cover before you dive in and start playing.

Additional Bets

Now comes the fun part. As we stated earlier, you place an original bet at the beginning of the hand. But that is not the only bet you can make in blackjack. During the middle of the hand, you have the option of making other bets, often doubling your stakes. These additional bets give the game more flavor and variety. Without them, the game would not be half as fun. Here are the additional bets you can make:

1) Double Downs

As the name implies, a double down allows you to double your wager. You can double down only when you have 2 cards in your hand. However, there is one condition. When you double down, you MUST take one, and only one more card. You can NOT receive any more hits after this. Often times, players will double down when their first two cards add up to 10 or 11. Player in such cases are hoping to receive a 10-card, thus making their hand a 20 or 21. Why does a player do this? Well, remember that a 10-card is the most frequently occurring card in blackjack (after all, 10, J, Q and
K are all valued at 10). So if you double down and receive another card, there is a relatively high chance that you will receive a 10. That's why, when a player has 10 or 11, they will almost always double down.

2) Splits

This is another way to double your stakes. You can split when you have two cards of the same value. (Example, 8 and an 8, ace and an ace, etc.) By splitting your hand, you put up an additional bet equal to your original bet. You then play 2 separate hands, each starting with one of the split cards. So if you had two 8's and split them, you would create two hands, each with a value of 8. You would then proceed to play out each hand separately, by hitting them until you are satisfied with the total. If you obtain a blackjack on a split, you only get paid even money, or 1:1 odds. This is because your original hand was not in fact a blackjack - you only got the blackjack after splitting your cards. So theoretically, it is not a real blackjack and
does not pay the additional odds.

3) Insurance

In most cases, insurance bets should be avoided like the plague. It is a sucker bet that favors the house heavily. In rare instances, you might consider making the bet, which we will address later.

You are allowed to make an insurance bet when the dealer's face card is an ace. When the dealer has an ace card showing, there is the possibility that the dealer has a blackjack. If the dealer does, you automatically lose, unless you also have a blackjack, in which case you push.

When you buy insurance, you are insuring yourself against the possibility that the dealer has a blackjack. The cost of insurance is normally half of whatever your original bet is. So if your bet is $10, it costs $5 to buy insurance. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, you lose your insurance bet, and the hand is played out normally.  Now, here's the tricky part. If the dealer does have a blackjack, you lose your original bet ($10 in our example) BUT you win your insurance bet. Since insurance pays 2:1, you would receive $10 on your $5 insurance bet. In effect, you lose $10, but get paid $10, so it's a wash. Basically, by buying insurance you are preventing yourself from losing money if the dealer has a blackjack.

The only time you should make the insurance bet is when there is a high proportion of 10 cards left in the deck. You will not know this unless you have been counting cards.

For the basic player, a good rule of thumb is to simply ignore the insurance bet. Just pretend it doesn't exist.

Tips on Winning

Back in the sixties, a university professor put every conceivable blackjack hand into a computer and found out, statistically, the most advantageous way to play in each and every situation. The strategy he devised based on his research was called "basic strategy." Many experts have modified basic strategy over the years. As a counterattack, many casinos have modified their blackjack rules to make basic strategy less effective. But make no mistake: In order to maximize your chances of winning, you MUST follow basic strategy.  All good players do.

There are many different basic strategy charts, and each one is a bit different. Below is a pretty standard version which we recommend you follow in order to increase your odds.

Basic Strategy

The horizontal axis (in red) is the dealer's face card value. The vertical axis (in green) is the value of your hand. Match the two to find the
recommended move. Example: If the dealer had a 6 card showing, and you had a 15, you would stand.

H= Hit, S=Stand, Sp=Split, D=Double Down.

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