Blackjack Rules

How to Play Blackjack

Hello, I’m the blackjack innovator and in this exclusive video for OnlineGambling.com I will be discussing the basics of the casino game blackjack.

This is a video designed for beginners and I will be providing you will all the information that you will need to be able to sit at any online or even live casino blackjack table.

Sit back and enjoy the blackjack tutorial.

Blackjack Tutorial

Whether you’re sitting at any online or live casino blackjack table, both can be very intimidating, it can have you skipping this otherwise very rewarding and profitable game. I want to make sure that that has not happened to you.

Now blackjack, otherwise known as 21, is a game that’s played with 1 or even up to 8 decks of cards. The object of the game is for the player to get closer to 21 then the dealer, without going over. If you do go over, that’s called the bust and you will lose your hand immediately. You don’t want to do that but its okay, it happens to the best of us. Its just part of the game.

Now first, I want to cover deck composition, but were going to take a look at the point value of each card in a single deck of cards.

There are 13 different types of cards in a single deck of cards.

Here you have the 2 through to 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. There are four suits in each deck you have Spades, Clubs, Diamonds and Hearts.

Now let’s take a look at the point value for each card.

2 through 10 are equal to their face value, a three would a three. Jack, Queen and King are all equal to 10, an ace is special, an ace can be a 1 or it can be an 11. Whichever is best for your hand.

A soft hand is any hand that includes an ace. Here we have an ace and a 7, this could ether be considered an 8 or an 18, whichever is better for you hand.

A hard hand, would be any hand, not including an ace. Here we have a 10 and a 7, that’s simply 17.

Now, there are 52 cards in a single deck of cards.

Now that you understand the point values of each card, I will be discussing general game play, in doing this we have to ignore betting, I’ll be covering two of the player options here:

That is the ‘hit’, the hit is when the player requests an additional card to his hand and I’ll also be discussing the ‘stay’, the stay is when the player refuses any additional cards because he is satisfied with his hand.

The dealer will deal the cards, dealing the player one card up, himself one card down, the player his second card up and then dealing himself the second card and only flipping over one of his two cards, its important to know that as a player you only have the ability to see one of the dealers two cards.

It’s now the players option whether he wants to hit or stay, the player takes a hit, the player has a 20, the player stays, he doesn’t want any more cards, its now for the dealer to flip over his card and the dealer has 13, now we discuss what the dealer has to draw to, a dealer must always draw to at least 17, so the dealer will draw a card, dealer has 19, player has 20, the dealer has 19, player wins.

So, what happens when the player and the dealer both have the same point value hand? This is called the push, in this situation neither the dealer nor the player will win. Everybody breaks even.

So, the games called blackjack, but what is blackjack? Well blackjack is when the player or the dealer gets 21 on their initial two cards, this is an exciting hand because it guarantees a win for the player given the dealer does not have blackjack also.

This is a major advantage for the player because blackjack pays out a higher odds, then any other winning hand. I will discuss the odds later in table rules.

Player Options

Now let’s discuss some additional options. In order to do this, we will consider when a player places a bet, these options are splitting, doubling down, surrender and insurance.

These options are at the players discretion to use to either improve their hand or their profits and they can only be taken after the dealer has dealt the first two cards and the player uses it as an initial request. Let’s take a look at those.

Splitting

Splitting occurs when a player has two cards of the same point value, here the player has two 8’s, the player will option to split, in doing so he has to double his wager and he will now play these as two separate hands. Player has an 18, player stays, player has another 18, player stays. Dealer has a 17, the player will win both of these hands, paying two chips, which was his initial bet to each hand he was able to double his profits.

Doubling Down

Doubling down as another player option. The player will place an additional bet up to a max bet of their initial bet and request the double down. Here the player requests the double down, he will only receive one card and that will compete his play. That’s now the dealers turn, it’s good to note that this option is best utilized if the player feels he can improve their hand with only one additional card and possibly double their profit. The dealer has 19, the player has 21, the player was able to double their profits here.

Surrender

Surrender is not always an option at the table and I later talk about this in the table rules. If this option is available a player may surrender their hand, sacrificing half of their initial bet, this is often used if the player feels they have no chance of winning the hand and relinquishes half of their bet to escape risking losing their entire bet. Here the player has 16, the dealer has an up card 10, the player wants to sacrifice his bet, he will be eliminated.

Insurance

Insurance can be a very confusing option, so be patient and follow me here. Insurance is just a way for the player to protect his hand of when the dealer potentially has blackjack. Let’s take a look at that. If the dealers up card is an ace, the player will have the option to take insurance. Here the player has a 20 and he’s going to opt to take insurance, he’s going to go ahead and put in half of his initial wager in the insurance section on the table and in doing so the dealer must check to see if he has blackjack. The dealer does have blackjack, the player loses his initial bet, but it paid at 2-1 odds on his insurance bet. He virtually breaks even here. Here’s an example of when the player decides not to take insurance, the player has a 14, the dealer has an up ace card, his going to offer insurance, the player is going to decline his insurance, the dealer will check and he does not have blackjack so now play will resume for the player, the player options to hit, player has a 19, player stays, dealer has a 20, the player still loses his initial wager.

Ultimately if the player did decide to take insurance here and the dealer does not have blackjack, the player would lose his insurance bet and then play would resume as normal with the players initial bet.

Table rules, often referred to as table conditions, are like rules of the table, they’re going to be displayed either on the tabletop or somewhere on a sign next to you. I’m going to discuss a couple of those table rules. Let’s take a look at those.

Blackjack odds are almost always going to pay out at 3-2 or 6-5. If a player gets a blackjack on a $10 bet, the payout is going to be $15 on a 3-2 odd blackjack table. If surrendering is offered as a table rule, it will be defined somewhere. Make sure that you check this out cause it’s a major advantage to the player.

Lastly, hard 17 or soft 17 table rule, this is also going to be defined on the table somewhere on the top or on a sign.

Now I’ve already discussed what a hard and soft hand is and I also explained to you that the dealer must draw till he reaches 17, so lets say that the dealer has an ace and a 6, this is a soft 17, does he stop play or does he continue to draw cards? If it’s a soft 17 table, he will stop drawing cards on that hand, otherwise if it’s a hard 17 table he will have to continue to draw cards until he reaches his hard hand.

This concludes the end of your blackjack tutorial training; I hope you’ve enjoyed the information that I’ve provided you and it helps you find your way on a blackjack table soon, with great success. Be sure to check out OnlineGambling.com for advanced playing techniques and make sure to have fun, play responsibly. Thanks for watching.