Speaking about the most popular casino online games, we cannot leave blackjack without attention. It’s probably one of the most common card games offered on the gambling sites nowadays. Visiting any large casino online, you will be able to play either multi player or single player blackjack. In this article we are going to explain you the rules of this exciting card game and some strategical basics.
So, the first thing you should be aware of is your objective in this game. Blackjack is a game against a dealer, therefore a player needs to collect a hand total that is as closer to 21 as possible. However, the main thing is not to go over this total as it leads to automatic loss. Speaking blackjack terms, if player’s hand exceeds 21, it means that he has busted his hand. If your hand total is closer to 21 than dealer’s hand, then you win. If not, then you lose as well.
First of all, you need to place a bet and press a ‘Deal’ button. You will be dealt 2 cards that you need to analyse and decide whether you want to HIT ( add one more card to your total) or STAND( no more cards are dealt). Compare to a player, dealer can’t choose if he wants to get one more card or to keep a current total. There is a strict rule regulating how a dealer’s hand is played. If a dealer’s hand total is under 17, he must get another card. If he reached 17, then he cannot be dealt any additional cards.
To make a success in blackjack online, you need to remember the card values. Cards from 2 to 9 have their numeric values. 10 and all face cards give 10 points each. And the main card in blackjack is probably an Ace as it can be used either as 1 or as 11 at player’s decision. A hand with an Ace and any card with 10 value is called Blackjack, that beats dealer’s hand of 3 cards with total of 21. Having an Ace in hand is really good for a player, as it reduces chances to exceed a desirable amount. If you have an opportunity to use an Ace both as 1 or 11, then it’s called a SOFT HAND speaking blackjack terms. Let’s imagine that you have 3,5 and Ace in hand. Using an Ace as one, your hand total is 12. Using it as 11, your total will be 19. However, there are also cases when Ace can be used as 1 only, because 11 leads to exceeding a total of 21. Such hand is called a HARD HAND, because a player has no choice in this case. Le’t imagine that you have 7, 7 and an Ace in your hand. You can use an Ace only as 1, as otherwise your hand will be busted.
Playing out a blackjack hand, a gambler has numerous options that will be described below:
1. First of all, if you are lucky enough to be dealt a hand with total of 21, you can double your initial bet. This second bet should be equal to the ante bet made before the cards were dealt.
2. If you have similar cards in your hand, like two 9s, two 4s, two Queens and so on in your hand, then you can split it into two hands. However, in this case a player is required to double the ante bet as well. After your hand is split, one more card is dealt to each separate hand. If you split two Aces, then you can get only one more card to each of the new hands. If you have similar cards in any of these new hands again, you can split them one more time.
3. If the first card in dealer’s hand is an Ace, then a player can place an insurance bet ( half of the ante bet). This insurance bet wins 2 to 1 if a dealer has Blackjack and loses in all other cases.
4. You can surrender after being dealt two first cards. In this case you lose a half of your ante bet.
We have described the main moments that you need to learn to master blackjack. To sum it all up, you need to know numeric values of every card, and your own betting option. However, you should know that the rules of blackjack online can vary from one casino online to another, therefore you are recommended to read the rules of the game before playing it for real money. Good luck!
Tags: blackjack, casino online