Blackjack Rules
The rules of BlackJack differ slightly from area to area and/or from casino
to casino. For example, a casino in downtown Vegas may have different rules
than one of the Vegas Strip casinos which may have different rules from
a casino up in Reno or Tahoe. The 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.
The BlackJack table 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.
On the dealer`s immediate right is the money drop slot where all currency
and tips (chips) are deposited. Next to the drop slot is the discard tray.
Play begins after the following ritual is completed: the dealer shuffles
the cards, the deck is "cut" by a player using the marker card,
and the dealer "burns" a card. Before any cards are dealt, the
players may make a wager by placing the desired chips (value and number)
into the betting box.
Occasionally a player may sit out 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.
Once all the bets are down, 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 signalling hit, stand, etc.
If the cards were dealt face down 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".
Single deck games 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.
The rules the dealer must play by 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.
The player can do most anything he/she wants 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 ie, bet $10.00 and
the payoff is $15.00. Doubling down is restricted to 2-card hands, usually
totalling 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.
If you have a pair that you want to split 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.
Insurance 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.
Surrender 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.
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