Blackjack Rules
-
differ slightly from area to area and/or from casino to casino.
For example, a casino in downtown Vegas may have different blackjack
rules than one of the Vegas Strip casinos which may have different
blackjack rules from a casino up in Reno or Tahoe. Blackjack rules
in a casino in Freeport Bahamas may differ from those in Atlantic
City, etc. Therefore, it is important to research what the rules
are for the area/casinos you plan on playing in.
- seats
a dealer and one to seven players. The first seat on the dealer's
left is referred to as First Base, the first seat on the dealer's
right is referred to as Third Base. A betting square is printed
on the felt table in front of each player seat. Immediately in
front of the dealer is the chip tray. On the dealer's left is
the deck or shoe and beside that should be the minimum bet sign,
which you ought to read before sitting down to play.
- Occasionally a player may a hand or two for various
reasons. I have sat out a couple of hands at times when the dealer
was getting extremely lucky and everyone was losing. If you attempt
to sit out too many hands especially if there are people waiting
to play at your table, you may be asked to leave the table until
you are ready to play.
- , two cards (one at a time) are dealt
from left to right. In many Vegas casinos, players get both cards
face down. In Atlantic City and most every where else the player's
cards are dealt face up. Should the cards be dealt face up, don't
make the faux pas of touching them! They are dealt face up for
a reason, primarily to prevent a few types of player cheating.
- The dealer receives one card down and
one card up. The numerical values of the cards are: (10, J, Q,
K) = 10 ; (Ace) = 1 or 11 ; (other cards) = face value (3 = 3).
Since a casino can be very noisy, hand signals are usually the
preferred method of signaling hit, stand, etc.
-
and you want a hit, lightly flick the cards across the felt two
times. If the cards were dealt face up, point at the cards with
a quick stabbing motion. You may also want to nod your head yes
while saying "hit". The best way to indicate to the
dealer that you want to stand regardless of how the cards were
dealt is to move your hand from left to right in a level attitude
with your palm down. Your hand should be a few inches or so above
the table. Nodding your head no at the same time helps, while
saying "stay" or "stand".
- are pretty much
restricted to Nevada casinos. In the casinos that have one-deck
games, the tables are usually full. Multiple deck games typically
consist of an even number of decks (2, 4, 6, 8) although a few
casinos use 5 or 7 decks. There are two main reasons many casinos
use multiple decks: They allow the dealer to deal more hands per
hour, thereby increasing the casino take, and they reduce (but
in no way eliminate) the player advantage gained from card counting.
-
are very simple. If the dealer's
hand is 16 or less, he/she must take a card. If the dealer's hand
is 17 or more, he/she must stand. Note that some casinos allow
the dealer to hit on soft 17 which gives the house a very small
additional advantage. The dealer's strategy is fixed and what
you and the other players have is immaterial to him/her as far
as hitting and standing is concerned.
-
as far as hitting and standing goes. Should a player get a Blackjack
(first 2 cards are an Ace and a ten) the payoff is 150% more than
the original bet is, bet $10.00 and the payoff is $15.00. Doubling
down is restricted to 2-card hands, usually totaling 9, 10, or
11 although some casinos allow doubling down on any 2-card hand.
If your first two cards provide you with the appropriate total
and your cards were dealt face down, turn them over and put them
on the dealer's side of the betting square. If your first two
cards provide you with the appropriate total and your cards were
dealt face up, point to them and say "double" when the
dealer prompts you for a card and simultaneously put an equal
amount of chips next to (not on top of) those already in the betting
box. The dealer will give you one more card only, then he/she
will move on to the next hand.
-
and your cards are dealt face down, turn them over and place them
a few inches apart. If your cards were dealt face up, point to
your cards and say "split" when the dealer prompts you
for a card. The original bet will go with one card and you will
have to place an equal amount of chips in the betting box near
the other card. You are now playing two hands, each as though
they were regular hands with the exception being that if you have
just split two aces. In that case, you only get one card which
will hopefully be a 10. If it is a ten, that hand's total is now
21 but the hand isn't considered a Blackjack. That is, you are
paid 1:1 and not 1:1.5 as for a natural (Blackjack). Combined
example of above two plays: Say you are dealt two fives. You split
them. The next card is another 5 and you re-split them. Three
hands have grown out of one and you are now in for three times
your original bet. But wait. Say the next card is a six. So one
hand is a 5,6 which gives you eleven; another just has a 5 and
the other hand has a 5. You decide to double down on the first
hand. You are dealt a 7 giving 18 which you stand on. Now a ten
is dealt for the second hand and you decide to stay at 15. The
last hand is the lonely third 5, which is dealt a four for a total
of nine. You decide to double down and get an eight giving that
hand a total of 17. You started with a twenty dollar bet and now
you are in for a hundred! Better hope the dealer doesn't end up
with a hand more than 18 lest you lose a C-note.
It was dangerous to split two fives because you are replacing
a hand that is great for drawing on or doubling down on, by what
will probably be two poor hands.
- comes into play when
the dealer's up card is an Ace. At this point all the players
have two cards. The dealer does not check his/her hole card before
asking the players if they want insurance, as the dealer can't
give away the value of the hole card if the dealer doesn't know
what the hole card is. If a player wants insurance, half the original
amount bet is placed on the semicircle labeled "insurance"
which is printed on the table. If the dealer has a Blackjack the
player wins the side bet (the insurance bet) but loses the original
bet, thus providing no net loss or gain since insurance pays 2
to 1. If the dealer does not have a Blackjack, the side bet is
lost and the hand is played normally. If you are not counting
cards, don't bother with insurance. The proper Basic Strategy
play is to decline. The time to take insurance is when the number
of non-tens to tens drops below a 2 to 1 margin since insurance
pays 2 to 1.
is a fairly obscure option that originated in Manila in 1958 and
isn't available in many casinos. There are two versions, "early
surrender" and "late surrender". Early surrender
allows players to quit two-card hands after seeing the up card
of the dealer. This option provides the player an additional 0.62
percent favorable advantage (significant) and therefore the obvious
reason why many Atlantic City casinos abandoned the option in
1982. Late surrender is the same as early except that the player
must wait until the dealer checks for a Blackjack. If the dealer
does not have a Blackjack then the player may surrender.
|
|
