Due to the lack of activity this week I thought I would post a guide to playing Blackjack online. Below gives a run through of the rules and how to play.
Give it a go - you may win even more money!!!!!!!
The aim of the game is to make the total of your cards higher than the dealers. In practice this means being as close as possible to 21 but not over 21.
The Cards
Cards are valued as follows:
An Ace can count as either 1 or 11
The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.
Cards 2 to 9 are valued at 2 to 9
The suits of the cards are irrelevant
The value of the hand is the total of all the cards
The Ace
The Ace can count as 1 or 11, which ever suits you best at the time & you can change it as your cards change. For example if your hand is A & 5 this can be 6 or 16. Neither is much use, but you are safe to take another card as you can call the Ace a 1 and hence you can avoid going bust. You take a card & it’s a 3. This makes your total 9 or 19. You could decide to take another card or you could say you’ve got 19 & stick on that (the latter is the correct strategy in this example). This makes the Ace a useful card for both you & the dealer who can do the same thing when he gets an Ace.
A hand that contains an Ace which can be counted as 1 or 11 without the hand being over 21 is called a “soft” total, whereas any other hand (with an Ace or not) is called a “hard total”. In the example above the hand was worth 9 or 19 – this would be called a “soft 19”.
Your Choices
Hit/Stick
The terminology for taking another card can vary from hit, draw, card,
For taking no more cards this can be called stick, stay, stand
You can stick on any total (although you’d be foolish to stick on 11 or less as you can only improve your hand)
You can hit on any total under 21 although clearly the closer to 21 you are the more chance that this extra card will make you go bust
Doubling / Double Down
Doubling or doubling down is also sometimes known as buying a card.
Essentially this allows you to double your stake & take another card. However you are then not able to take any more cards. You can only double in your first play of the hand (i.e. when you have 2 cards).
This is common say if you are dealt a total of 11 & given that the most likely next card is 10 you have a reasonable expectation of 21. If you get 21 then things are looking great, however if you get a 2 leaving you on 13 you are stuck on 13 with double your stake, desperately praying that the dealer will go bust.
While not without its risk, the ability to double is one of your key advantages, and when used wisely it will win you money, however you are not going to win on every double by any means.
The decision of whether to double, like all the other decisions depends on what your cards total & what the dealers visible card is.
Different casinos have different rules for when you are allowed to double. All only allow you to double from 2 cards, however many restrict this to only when your two cards total 9, 10 or 11 whereas others may let you double on any 2 card total.
Splitting
A pair is defined as two cards the same. They don’t have to be the same suit, but they do need to be the same type such that you can split two Kings but not say a Queen and a Jack (although some casinos may allow this). However splitting two tens (which make 20!) is never a good strategy as you are breaking up a very nice hand.
When you are dealt a pair you have the option of splitting these & forming two separate hands, both initially with just the one card. To do this you need to add an additional and equal stake for the additional hand created. You then play both these hands separately & in turn from right to left, not moving to the second hand until you have finished talking all the cards you need on the first.
Each separate hand plays just the same as the first hand meaning you may get the opportunity to double or even split again from one or more of the hands.
Some casinos may vary the rules on how many times you can re-split if the opportunity presents itself. This can be limited to 3 splits (leaving 4 hands). In addition for Aces the rules are be different.
When you split aces you are often allowed only one card on it, if you get a 10 this does not count as a blackjack, just 21, and if you draw an Ace on a split Ace you may not be allowed to split again.
The restrictions are due to the fact that splitting Aces is a very good move for you hence casinos like to restrict it.
The full details of when to split are explained at the end of this blog
Insurance
When the dealers visible card is an ace he will offer you the opportunity to insure against a blackjack. This is done by you placing a side bet on the dealer getting a blackjack. You can bet up to half you stake on the table and the payout is 2 to 1 if the dealer gets a blackjack (but your original bet loses of course). If the dealer doesn’t get a blackjack you lose that bet, but your original bet and hand are obviously in better shape.
Because the odds paid are 2 to 1 but the chance of a blackjack is 4 in 13 (4 ten cards out of 13 possible cards) then this is a poor bet & should NEVER be taken. Another variation on this is where the dealer has an Ace and you already have a blackjack. You therefore know that if the dealer also gets a blackjack you will “push”, otherwise you will win 1.5 times your stake. The dealer can offer you “even money”, i.e. to pay your blackjack at just 1 times your stake now, irrespective of whether the dealer gets the blackjack. While it sounds different the odds are the same as the insurance bet & you should never take the even money.
Basic Guide
Hard Hands - Starting Hands that do NOT contain an Ace
If you have eight or less, always hit.
If you have Nine: Double if the dealer has 3 thru 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have Ten : Double if the dealer has 2 thru 9 - otherwise hit.
If you have Eleven: Double if the dealer has 2 thru 10, Hit if dealer has Ace.
If you have Twelve: Hit if the dealer has 2 or 3, Stand if the dealer has 4 thru 6, otherwise hit.
If you have 13- 16: Stand if the dealer has2 thru 6, otherwise hit.
If you have 17 - 21: Always Stand.
Soft Hands - Starting hands that contain an Ace
If you have Ace 2 or Ace 3: Double if the dealer has 5 or 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have Ace 4 or Ace 5: Double if the dealer has 4 thru 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have Ace 6: Double if the dealer has 3 thru 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have Ace 7: Stand if the dealer has 2, 7 or 8. Double 3 -thru 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have Ace 8 or Ace 9: Always Stand.
Pairs
If you have a pair of Aces or Eights: Always split.
If you have a pair of twos or threes: Split if the dealer has 2 - 7, otherwise hit.
If you have a pair of fours: Split if the dealer has 5 or 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have a pair of fives: Double if the dealer has 2 thru 9 - otherwise hit.
If you have a pair of sixes: Split if the dealer has 2 thru 6 - otherwise hit.
If you have a pair of sevens: Split if dealer has 2 thru 7 - otherwise hit.
If you have a pair of nines: Split if delaer has 2 thru 6, and 8 or 9. Stand if the dealer has 7, 10 or Ace.
If you have a pair of tens: Always Stand.
Hope this is all clear and I will be back tomorrow with some bets for the weekend.
