Black Jack Articles
HOW TO PLAY BLACKJACK
The objective in blackjack is to beat the dealer in one of two ways. You can either accumulate a higher score than the dealer without going over 21, or sit on a lower score and hope that the dealer goes over or busts. All face cards (jacks, queens, and kings) are given the value of 10, and an ace is worth either one or 11, depending on how you want to use it in your hand. Subsequently, any hand that contains an ace that is valued as 11 is called a soft hand as opposed to a hard hand which does not. The remaining cards are worth their face value. The highest hand in the game is a blackjack or a natural, which is a two-card hand that totals 21. The player's hand can not be beat unless the dealer also has a blackjack, which in this case is called a push or a tie. Three or more cards totaling 21 may have the same value but do not beat out a natural 21.
GAME SETUP
The blackjack table in a casino is set up with five to seven betting spots with a dealer that acts for the house behind the table. The seat at the far left of the table is referred to as third base because it is the last seat to receive a card. Each table should have a plastic placard advertising the table limits and the minimum and maximum bets allowed at that particular time. You can exchange your money with the dealer for chips, but should not place your money in the betting circle as some casinos permit cash to play on the first bet.
Once you have your chips, you can place your bet into the betting circle or box in front of you. Most casinos use multiple decks of two or more and can use as many as eight. After the dealer shuffles, a player will be asked to cut the deck. This duty is rotated from player to player in a clockwise motion after each shuffle. The dealer then inserts a colored cut card, about two-thirds the way into the deck so that he will not be tempted to deal down to the bottom. The dealer then places the cards into the shoe, or arranges them in his hand (for two or less decks). The dealer will then discard or burn the first card, and check to make sure that all players have their bets in the right place and in the right amount. The dealer begins distributing the cards to the players from his left to right starting with the spot know as first base.
BASIC BLACKJACK
- Between one and seven players can take part in any hand of Blackjack. The players put an initial bet forward and two cards are dealt to each player (one at a time) with the dealer dealing him/herself last with one card face down.
- The player assesses the cards total value and decides whether it is nessecary to take another card (hit) to increase the total or keep the tally s/he already has, hoping others will 'bust'. There is no limit on the number of hits a player can take (however, a practiced player has a sense of when to stop).
- When you draw an ace, you can decide whether it counts as 1 or 11.
- When all the players 'stand' (choose not to take any more cards), the dealer reveals his hand by flipping over the face down card. The dealer must 'hit' (add another card) until the total is 17 or above. If the dealer's hand is between 17 and 21, the dealer is NOT allowed to take additional hits. He MUST stand. On the other hand, if the dealer's hand is 16 or under, the dealer MUST take additional hits until the dealer's hand has a value of 17 or higher. If the dealer goes over 21 while taking additional cards, he "busts," and automatically loses. If the dealer busts, all players that are still in the game win. Between the players and the dealer, whoever is closer to 21 without going over wins.
- Winnings are calculated on the amount of the bet for a winning hand (see the 'winning payouts' table above). The only way you can lose with a blackjack hand is if the dealer has one too.
