Blackjack rules: learn how to play blackjack at online casinos

How to play the blackjack is very easy to understand. To win, it is enough to have a hand that totals a higher number of points compared to the dealer's black jack game, while being the closest to 21.

But be careful, you must not exceed the number 21 or you will lose your game! Even if blackjack seems, a priori, complicated, it is enough to play it a few times to realize that the blackjack rules are accessible.

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The basis of the blackjack rules

Blackjack is a card game that is played with 1 to 6 decks of cards . At the end of a game, the game is systematically mixed using an automatic machine.

This system was introduced in the black jack rules to eliminate the possibility of counting cards. We remember, in particular, the exciting story of Ken Uston , disciple of the no less famous Edward O. Thorp, who became a millionaire in Las Vegas by counting cards in blackjack. Well unfortunately, with the change of the blackjack rules, this is much harder.

At the blackjack casino, each player bets against the bank represented by the dealer. The blackjack rule stipulates that the latter is responsible for the proper functioning of the game since it is he who is in charge of the distribution of the cards.

To do this, he burns the first 5 cards of the deck. The bets are then recorded and placed on the playing mat. Then, the dealer distributes to each player , and to himself, a map open and visible to all. This is followed by a second round of distribution for the players, but not for the dealer.

Each participant can then request as many cards as he wishes knowing full well that he must not exceed the number 21 or risk losing the game. When all the players are finally satisfied with their game, the dealer can then draw his second card and present it to the player. The dealer then announces the total points of each player.

How to play blackjack? Step-by-step procedure

How to play blackjack? It is essential to know the course of a game of blackjack if you want to hope to win winnings. Our guide reveals the different steps: ⬇️

1. Choose the blackjack variant you want to play and find a table ;
2. Place the desired bet ;
3. Then press on "Deal" and look at the cards dealt to you and the dealer ;
4. Use the basic strategy, and/or your instinct, to determine your next move ;
5. When you are satisfied with your hand, remain standing up to finish your turn ;
6. Observe the result when the dealer plays his hand ;
7. Take your winnings and leave or repeat this process to play another round.

Blackjack rules: the counting of points and the distribution of winnings

According to the rule used in the majority of casinos, the dealer must draw as many cards as necessary to arrive at a minimum of 17 points and stops when it totals that number of points or more.

As previously announced, the goal of blackjack is to get as close as possible to 21 points. The Ace and the figure are therefore the best possible combination. We will now see what the different results are according to the total points obtained :

• ❌ For a total greater than 21, the player loses his bet.
• ✅ If the dealer's game exceeds 21, the player wins the equivalent of his bet.
• ✅ If the player totals a number of points closer to 21 compared to the dealer's game, the player wins his bet once.
• ❌ If the dealer's game is closer to 21, the player loses his bet.
• ✅ If the player has a blackjack (Ace + figures), he wins half his bet.

Playing blackjack: the value of cards in blackjack

The good news is that it is very easy to know at any time what is the total of your hand blackjack.

You don't have to worry about the color of the cards that are dealt to you - they can be mixed or the same color, it makes no difference. Rather, it is the numerical value of the cards that interests us.

Cards from 2 to 10 have the same value as their number. Things then change, because all the figure cards (i.e. jacks, checkers and kings) also have a value of 10. So there remains the ace, which can have a value of 1 or 11, which makes it a valuable card to receive since it gives you options.

So your blackjack card value table would look like this :

🃏 Card	✅ Value
ACE	1 or 11
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7
8	8
9	9
10	10
Jack	10
Queen	10
King	10

Blackjack uses a standard deck of 52 cards . The game is played using up to eight decks of cards, depending on the number of players at the table or the preference of the casino. This saves time; otherwise, the dealer would have to stop and shuffle a single game after most rounds.

The possible actions in the black jack rule: summary of the options

Now let's see together the different possible actions in blackjack. Should you draw a new card, give up, do nothing?

Draw a card

After the cards have been dealt, a player can ask to « draw » , which means that the player wants one or more additional cards.

The term "hit" is used when a player thinks that the score can be upgraded with another card . For example, if the two cards dealt are a three and a five.

The score would be eight, which is far from being equal to twenty-one. Which means very low odds compared to those of your competitors and the dealer. In such a situation, the player "shoots" and receives another card in order to get a score closer to 21.

However, if the player exceeds 21 after the first "hit", another card can be dealt by the dealer by calling a hit. An ace can be valued at 1 or 11 depending on the player's needs.

An ace card with a value of 11 leads to a "weak hand". An ace of value 1 gives rise to a "strong hand". A "hard hand" or a "hard total" is considered better than a "weak hand" of the same value.

Remain

When a player is convinced that his score is better than the dealer's, he can press "stand" to freeze the turn. If the player beats the dealer, a payout of 1.5 times the bet is paid to the player.

The word "Stand" is used for not receiving a new card . For example, if a player receives a face and an ace. This gives a perfect blackjack or 21. The player must choose to "stay" in this situation to win the round.

It should be noted that if the player and the dealer both get a Blackjack, the round ends with equalitý . In the event of a tie, the amount of the bet is refunded, which means that nothing is lost and nothing is won. Before calling the Blackjack booth, it is advisable to get as close as possible to 21 without exceeding it.

Double your bet

Once the dealer deals the cards, other rules of the blackjack card game are possible. In some cases, the player can double the bet to hope to win a bigger win.

The possibility of doubling is offered when the total points of the first two cards is 9, 10 or 11 points. When you double your bet, you receive a single card. Of course, you hope that this card is a figure. Either jacks, checkers, kings or a ten or an ace so that your total points are 20 or 21.

Separating your cards

Another of the black jack rules gives you the opportunity to separate your hand if you receive two identical cards. In this case, you play two distinct hands against the dealer.

For example, if you separate two kings, you will receive two new cards on each king that will make a new point total. To separate your hand, you must add the same amount as your initial bet. The game then follows its normal course and the points of your two games are compared to that of the dealer.

Take the insurance

At blackjack, insurance is an additional bet that is separate from your initial bet. Offered only when the dealer's open card is an ace, it acts as a safety net against an opponent's blackjack.

An insurance bet usually represents half of your initial bet and pays 2 for 1. The secondary bet is completed when the dealer's second card is revealed.

If it is a ten, a jack, a queen or a king, the dealer will make a blackjack and you will win the insurance bet. If this is not the case, you will lose the insurance bet and, depending on your hand, you will still be able to win your initial bet.

Give

Abandonment is the moment when the house allows the player to going to bed before drawing cards . If a player chooses to surrender, half of his initial bet is returned to him and the cards are removed from the game.

The action of a surrendering hand is over, even if the dealer makes a bust. A player who wishes to go to a live game will have to place a finger behind his bet. Online games that offer the opportunity to surrender will have a button on the table.

Check the rules before playing to make sure that abandonment is possible.

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The types of hands in Blackjack

In blackjack, your hands will determine whether or not you have won winnings – so it is essential to understand them!

• Blackjack

The game of blackjack takes its name from the master hand of this table game. This hand consists of a jack and an ace. The value of the latter is 21 and will be synonymous with immediate victory. This hand is the strongest.

• Double hand

We speak of a "double" when a hand consists of cards of the same values.

Example: 8-8 / 2-2 / Valet-valet.

There will be two possibilities at that time. The first being to continue with this hand and try to beat the dealer. The other choice is to split your hand , from the "split" in English.

That is to say that a part of is no longer performed with one hand, but two.

If you choose this option, be aware that you will have to wager the amount of your previous bet again. For example, you bet 10 CAD and your first cards are 2 and 2. You choose to split your hand, then, you will have :

Hand 1	Hand 2
Map : 2	Map : 2
You draw a card	You draw a card
Cards: 2 and 10	Cards: 2 and jack
You choose an action	You choose an action

• Weak hands

In blackjack, when you have an ace in your hand that can be counted as eleven, you have a weak hand. These hands are considered very advantageous because you can adjust their total, depending on your current situation.

If you have a weak hand, it means that you can't go bankrupt by hitting , because you can always change the value of the ace at any time.

The fact that you can't go over twenty-one and lose your bet instantly is one of the reasons why many players hope for these types of hands. In theory, this is how weak hands are defined.

Now let's take a look at some of the possible card combinations that you can get during the blackjack casino game. For example, if you receive an ace and a four, it is a soft fifteen.

Suppose the dealer has a strong card and you decide to improve your hand by hitting. You draw an eight, but instead of going bankrupt, you can simply change the value of the ace to one. This is one of the reasons why the ace is considered the most powerful card in the game, because it gives you great flexibility and the freedom to play with the total of your hand.

• Strong hands

Strong hands are the hands that do not contain aces or that have an ace which must be counted for one because otherwise, their total would be more than twenty-one.

These hands are considered disadvantageous and very risky in the blackjack rules, because when you have them, your chances of going bankrupt are extremely high.

For example, if you are dealt a seven and an eight, you have a difficult fifteen. Of course, this does not apply to low-value hands whose total is four, five, six, seven or eight, because they can be easily improved and there is not much risk. In fact, in such cases, it is always better to draw, regardless of the dealer's rising card.

Blackjack strategies to maximize your chances of winning

How does a basic blackjack strategy work? Entire books have been devoted to this topic, but all the basic strategies revolve around the fact that there are more cards worth 10 in the deck than any other value -- 16 out of 52 cards are worth 10.

Knowing this, a player of basic strategy assumes that the dealer's second card will be worth 10, although often this is not the case. Based on the dealer's "rising card" (the card whose value the players know), the dealer's hand can be classified into two categories :

• The hands that are likely to bring down the dealer ;
• The hands likely to give a good hand to the dealer.

If the dealer shows a Two, a Three, a Four, a Five or a Six, it is more likely that he will go bankrupt. The five and the six are the cards most likely to lead to a bust for the dealer. In this case, the player does not need to take big risks to try to get closer to 21 - he just needs to avoid getting blown up.

If the dealer shows a Seven or a higher card, there is a good chance that he has a good hand of 18, 19, 20 or 21. If the player has a hand worth less than 18, he may want to be more aggressive and take another card, risking a bust to try to get a better hand.

To be more precise, here are four simple rules for knowing when to strike and when to stay :

• If your hand is less than or equal to 11 , always shoot. You can't make a bust, so the extra card will only improve your hand ;
• If your hand is of 17 or more , and that the dealer does not show a seven or more, always stay. The risk of bursting if you hit is very high ;
• If your hand is between 12 and 16 , and that the dealer shows a rising card likely to result in a bust, always stay upright. Although this hand is weak, it will still win if the dealer makes a bust. Exception - If the dealer shows a two or a three, shoot if you have 12 ;
• If your hand is from 12 to 16 , and whether the dealer shows a Seven or more, always shoot. The dealer is much more likely to have a better hand than yours, unless you can improve it. There is a risk of bust, but in this case, you need to take this risk.

Exception: If you have a weak Ace, you can be more aggressive than these rules indicate. You can even shoot a 17, depending on what the dealer holds.

Although the basic blackjack strategies can become infinitely more complex, these four rules are at the heart of most strategies used today.

If you are wondering what card counting is, and if you are even allowed to do it, we will explain everything in the next section.

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Counting cards

In a nutshell, card counting in blackjack games is a tracking system in which players use their memory to track the cards that have been dealt in blackjack.

As the game is dealt from a shoe (in most casinos) and there are only a certain number of cards in play at each turn, it is possible to get an idea of what is left in the game and adjust its betting strategy accordingly.

Most counting systems use a system of -1, 0 and +1 which gives a value to each card in the deck. In general, cards 2 to 6 have a value of +1, cards 7, 8 and 9 have a value of 0 (neutral) and figures and aces have a value of -1.

As the cards are dealt, the player follows the count using this system to get an overall picture of the remaining cards in the shoe.

Since most blackjack games use several decks of cards, the player will have to divide the current account (the current account he has) by the number of decks of cards he thinks are left to form what is called the real account.

Using the value of the real account, the player adjusts his bet so that when it is high, he bets much more, but when the account is low, he decreases his bet because the odds are not in his favor. This system requires a lot of practice, but it is a proven method to get an advantage over the casino in blackjack.

Card counting in casinos is a concept surrounded by misconceptions, with most people assuming that it is a skill that only math magicians can achieve. Blackjack and poker players are often beset with questions regarding the value of counting cards, as well as its legality and feasibility.

Card counting is actually just a variant of the basic strategies , not infuse science. It does not require any mathematical prowess or photographic memory, even if mathematicians developed and established the first card counting systems.

The actual counting is a skill that average players master without difficulty, the most difficult part is usually to avoid getting kicked out of a casino, although this is not a problem with online casinos.

It allows a Blackjack player to have an advantage over the casino for a long time , which means that, overall, the players who count the cards experience more wins than losses. This is only possible if the player knows when the chances of winning are in his favor, which allows him to bet more, and when the chances of losing the hand are in favor of the dealer. For this, it is necessary to follow the cards during the game.

Blackjack rules: how to play blackjack in the American version?

The American version of blackjack differs slightly from the European version. You will find this version if you play blackjack in Atlantic City casinos, Las Vegas or on online casinos offering it. The major difference is that when distributing the first two cards, the dealer's first card is always face up, but then the dealer gives himself a second card face down .

If the dealer's visible card is an ace, he offers the players of the blackjack table an insurance bet. The player who wishes to take the bet places half of the initial bet and the dealer checks his card face down using a small mirror.

If the hidden card is a figure, it means that he has what is called a natural blackjack. The players who have taken out the insurance are reimbursed for their bet, while the other players lose their bets.

There are also bonus bets on the blackjack tables. One of these bonus bets is the ”perfect pair”. The principle is as follows: if the first two cards in your hand are identical, you win your bonus bet.

If it is exactly the same card, you can pocket up to 30 times your bet! These bonus bets are a good way to have fun, but don't overdo it. Even if the payments are tempting, this kind of bet is always to the advantage of the casino.

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