The object of Blackjack, or 21 is to win by either exceeding the card
count of the dealer, or to win by the dealer busting. Blackjack is
played using one to eight decks of 52 cards. Single deck Blackjack is
dealt by hand, and generally face down. Four, six or eight deck
Blackjack is dealt from a box, or shoe, one card at a time and face
up. There are different ways to shuffle the cards. Single deck and
two deck Blackjack is traditionally shuffled by the dealer. Multiple
decks may also be shuffled by the dealer, but also may be shuffled
by shuffling machines. Relatively new to the scene are continuous-
shuffling machines, or C.S.M. With a C.S.M., after each hand or two
the dealer places the played cards into the back of the machine
where they are mixed with the rest of the cards and re-played.
Cards are valued according to their number. The suit of the card is
irrelevant in the standard game of Blackjack. Cards numbered 2 - 10
have a value of their number, face cards are valued as 10, and the
Ace has a dual value of 1 or 11. For instance, a 5 - 9 hand has a
total of 5 + 9 or 14. An Ace - 5 can be a 6 if the Ace is counted as
1 and a 16 when counted as 11.
You may hold your two cards when face down, but should not even
touch them when they are face up. You should not verbally tell the
dealer your wishes because should there be a conflict, the cameras,
or eye in the sky, would not pick up your voice. Signals are used to
communicate your wishes to the dealer. With the cards in hand, use
them to scratch the surface of the table in front of your bet to signal
you would like to hit (take a card), or gently place them face down
under your wager, or bet, to indicate you wish to stand (take no
more cards). In face up Blackjack you must point to your cards or
tap the table behind them to hit, and to stand you must wave your
hand gently with the palm toward the dealer. Place an extra bet out
and indicate to the dealer if you want to double down or split your
cards. Surrender should be said to the dealer, or signaled by
drawing an imaginary line with your finger in front of the betting
circle.
A Blackjack (a.k.a. a Natural) is any
Ace - ten combination and is obviously
the best hand you can be dealt.
When the player is dealt Blackjack,
the payoff is one and one half times
the wager (3:2) unless the dealer also
has Blackjack. If both the dealer and
player have Blackjack, this is a push,
or tie. You may encounter games
where a blackjack is paid less than 3:2. This may have been changed
to offer a single deck game in an era of a scarcity of single deck
games. Other less profitable options may have been added such as
late surrender to compensate the player for the loss of the
blackjack premium.
When the dealer’s up card is an Ace, play is paused for a side bet
called insurance. Insurance is a side bet on whether the dealer has a
ten-value card in the hole. The odds favor the casino so most
authors advise against taking insurance at any time. An insurance
bet is one half of the bet you currently have out, and is placed in
front of your betting circle on the area marked INSURANCE.
Insurance is paid two to one, so the side bet you placed will pay
double if the dealer does in fact have Blackjack. The dealer will then
peek at the hole card next to see if he/she has a ten card in the
hole. If the dealer doesn’t have Blackjack, the side bet is taken away
and play resumes.
Some authors advise insuring your Blackjack against a dealer Ace.
Their reasoning is that you will win at least even money if he has it
or doesn’t. If you don’t insure a Blackjack and push, then you will
have gained nothing for the best possible hand. Recall the old adage
"a little of something is better than all of nothing." This is a rational
argument, but it will be your call. Just remember the odds are
against it, and you should be consistent. Don’t insure your
Blackjack one time and not the next. You might guess wrong. A
more thorough discussion will follow in Chapter Four.
Each table has a minimum and maximum bet limit. To play, you must
purchase chips. Chips are used in place of money. Each
denomination of chips is a different color. Place your money on the
table in front of you and ask for the denomination of chips you want.
Red chips are $5 denomination; green chips are worth $25; black
chips are worth $100. Do not place it in the betting circle or the
dealer may assume you are betting the whole amount on the next
hand. Once dealt, there is no backing out, so be careful. The dealer
will inspect your money and give you a stack of chips. Count them
and put them in stacks of five in front of you. Then place your first
bet in the betting circle. Never touch the chips after the deal begins
- the dealer might think you are cheating.
The dealer will deal from his/her left to right going around twice to
give everyone two cards. The dealer will start to his/her left (first
base), and proceed to the right, settling with each player until they
reach the last position, which is called third base. Once all of the
players have made their stands, busted, or been paid for their
Blackjacks, the dealer exposes the hole card and concludes the
hand. The dealer then picks up the cards and wagers or pays the
winners and picks up their cards.
The player has several options when his/her time to play arrives. If
you have a good hand, or pat hand and wish not to take additional
cards, signal to stand. A pat hand is a hand with a value between 17
and 21. If you need another card, signal for a hit (also called
draw). You may hit until you are ready to stand, or you bust. To
bust, or break is to exceed a count of 21. You lose if you bust, or
the dealer’s card count exceeds yours without his/her busting. Your
cards and bet are immediately taken away when you bust.
You may stop at any point up to 21, but the dealer must exceed 16.
Most casinos require the dealer to hit an Ace-6, also called a soft 17,
while others require the dealer to stand on a soft 17. If you beat
the dealer’s total or the dealer busts, you are paid an amount equal
to your bet or wager. If your hand is less than the dealer’s, or you
bust, you lose your wager. If your hand ties or pushes the dealer,
no chips change hands. The player has to make his/her decision
first. This gives an edge to the casino.
The hand of 9 - 5 is an example of
a hard hand. A hard hand is a hand
that has a firm value. Other examples
are 6 - 5, Queen - 7, 2 - 10,or 3 - 5.
Eleven is a great hand with which to
double down. The Queen is valued as
a ten so the Queen-7 has a value of
17. This is an example of a pat hand.
The 2 - 10 hand has a value of 12. This is a stiff hand. A stiff hand
is one which may bust if hit. The 3-5 totals only 8 so this hand can
be hit with any card safely and not bust.
A soft hand is a hand that includes
an Ace when the Ace is counted as an
11. Because the Ace has dual values,
a soft hand also has dual values. For
example, an Ace - 4 has a value of 15,
but is also a value of 5. So when the
Ace is counted as 11, the hand is still
soft, but when it must be counted as
1 to prevent busting, it becomes a hard
hand.
Soft hands can always be hit and not bust due to the Ace being
counted as eleven. However, you may not want to hit some soft
hands. An example is a soft 20 (Ace - 9). As with lower value hard
hands, lower value soft hands may be improved by hitting them.
Hitting also may worsen them. Hit a soft 17 and draw a five through
nine and your situation is worsened. The Basic Strategy guides your
play. It tells you the mathematically correct move to make for each
hand you are dealt.
Another option you may have is to double down, or commonly just
double. When doubling down you are allowed to place an additional
bet equal to your current bet out and double the wager. What you
give up is the option to receive more than one card. Certain
situations have a good chance of success and the doubling option is
your best bet. An 11 versus the dealer 4 is an example of an
excellent double down situation. The rules range from doubling on
any two cards to doubling on ten and eleven only.
Doubling down increases your risk so it should be given extra
thought; however, it can also be very profitable, so don’t be overly
cautious. The best double down hands are noted in the Basic
Strategy. Keep in mind that it is an option and, with a large bet out,
one may wish to simply hit and not risk extra losses. This would
allow you to take more than one hit if needed. Of special note is
when you have a pair of fives. Pairs can be split into two hands(see
next section). Tell the dealer you are doubling down and not
splitting the two fives. To split would not be the right move, but the
dealer could misunderstand your wishes.
Pairs of like cards can be split into two hands with an additional
wager equal to the original one. To split a pair, lay them down (if
holding them), and place a second bet on one of the cards. If you
are playing face up, tell the dealer and place the second bet out.
Each of the cards then becomes the basis for an individual hand that
may be hit until you stand or bust. Once the first hand is
completed, signal to the dealer to move to the second hand and hit
it until you complete it. The exception is a pair of Aces which, when
split, receive only one card on each Ace.
You may be able to double down on a hand after splitting, which
would require a third bet. Also, you may receive another of the
same value cards and be able to re-split the new pair. Refer to the
basic strategy chart to learn which pairs should be split, not split,
and when to do it in relation to the dealer up card. A stiff hand is a
hand with a value of 12 through 16. These are hands which can bust
if hit - and you will get a lot of them. Many of your hardest
decisions will be when dealt a stiff hand. A pat hand has a hard
value of 17 through 21. These are never hit. You stand and hope
for the best.
When the dealer has a stiff hand (2-6 up), your choices are made
easier. In this case, even if you don’t have a pat hand, you will stand
at less than 17. Your hope is that the dealer will bust. (See the
Basic Strategy.) When he/she has a pat hand (presumably), the
decisions are harder. I say presumably because your assumption is
that the dealer has a ten as the hole card, and all of your decisions
are based on this assumption. The reason for this assumption is
that four of the thirteen cards are ten value cards so the probability
the hole card is a ten-value card is high. Ten cards actually make up
less than 31% of the deck so the assumption of a ten hole card is
wrong 69% of the time. The average card value is about 9(if you
count the Ace as 11) so there is just less than 50% chance the hole
card is a 9 or better.
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