Welcome to an overview of one of the most popular card games ever. It’s about blackjack. In the text that follows, we will try to present you all the aspects of this game, which is also known as “21”.
This table game has its origins in 18th century France, where it was called “Wing et un”, but gained its wider popularity during the First World War.
Blackjack is a card game played against the dealer. The goal of the game is to score more points on the cards than the dealer’s, without exceeding 21.
In the beginning, it was played with one deck, but in order to prevent the counting of cards, casinos gradually introduced more and more decks, so that today some casinos use as many as eight decks.
The value of the cards in the game of blackjack
The cards for the game have the value that is written on them, and the Jack, the queen and the king are worth ten points. The ace can be worth 1 and 11, the choice is up to the player.
If a player happens to have two aces, one of them has a value of 11, unless all other cards together are worth ten or more points.
If a player has an ace of 11 points, then his sum is called a “soft hand”, and if he has no ace or has an ace of one point, the sum is a “hard hand”.
Start the blackjack game
At the beginning of the game, the dealer deals two cards to the player and two to himself, with one dealer’s card facing down and it is called the Hole Card. There are also deviations from this rule, so in some versions of this game, the dealer shares only one card.
In the case when he shares two cards if his card is turned up with an ace or a ten, the dealer can look at the card turned down and see if he got a sum of 21, ie blackjack.
In this game, the dealer and the player can draw up to nine additional cards, if the value of the hand does not exceed 21. If the value of the hand does not exceed 21 after 11 dealt cards, no additional cards are obtained, i.e. Stand is happening.
The dealer’s game is defined by the same rules that he must follow, so he draws cards up to a total of 16. If he has a total of over 16, he must not draw another card, but only the player continues to draw.
A game
After receiving the first two cards, the player has the following options available:
- Hit
- Stand
- Double
- Split
- Double Down
- Insurance Bet
- Surrender
Hit – when a player requests another card after being dealt the first two cards; he can stay on two cards, but he is also entitled to a Hit, until he reaches 21 points or switches over it, losing the game and that hand is called Bust.
Stand – when a player does not ask for more cards but stays on the first two cards.
Double – when a player doubles his bet. In doing so, he received another ticket.
Split or separation – An option that a player can use in case he gets two of the same cards. He is then offered the option of splitting those two cards and his chances of winning blackjack automatically increase. The rule in Split is that the basic bet is not divided between the two cards, but both cards must have the same value that the hand had before the cards were dealt. The player is then dealt another card in both places and, if he gets to get the same cards again, depending on the game or casino, he can split that hand again.
If two aces are separated and then a card worth 10 points is drawn, no blackjack is obtained, although the sum is 21. The same is true if the first card is an ace and the second card is worth 10. This option can be used once or multiple times during the game, depending on the type of game and the casino.
Double Down or “Double Down”
An option that a player uses when he thinks he can beat the dealer. By selecting this option, the player is awarded another card and his bet is doubled. After receiving another card, the player does not receive more cards.
A player can use the Double down after being dealt the first two cards, with differences from casino to casino and from game to game. In some cases, a player can only use this option if his first two cards are “hard”, with a value of 9, 10 and 11. It is also not uncommon for the Double down to be used after a split, but there are cases where this option is not possible after the Split.
The insurance bet option i.e. Insurance
The Insurance Bet option can be used by the player if the dealer’s first card is an ace or a ten. In that case, the player is offered to insure himself by placing half of the initial stake, in case the dealer gets blackjack. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, and the player has used this option, his bet is taken, but if the dealer has a blackjack, the player will be rewarded with a payout of 2: 1.
Surrender
Depending on the game and casino, the Surrender option can be found within blackjack. When he wants to use the Surrender option, i.e. surrender, the player gives up half of his stake and gives up the game. This must be the player’s first step after dealing with cards. There is also Late Surrender, which is a variation on the original option, and also means surrender, but in this case, the player can use this option after the dealer looks at his hidden card and makes sure there is no blackjack.
There is also a Double down Rescue option, i.e. Surrender of a player after using double down, but this option is rarely encountered.
Payment rules
If a player wins blackjack, the payout is 3: 2. And, if it happens that both the player and the dealers have blackjack, there is equalization and the bet is returned to the player. The same thing happens if they both have cards of the same value in their hand.
If a player manages to beat the dealer in a standard game, the payout is 1: 1.
In case the player hits the Insurance bet, i.e. Guess that the dealer has blackjack, the insurance amount is returned in the ratio 2: 1.
Outcomes of the bet
If the dealer’s or a player’s first two cards are an ace and a ten, this is “natural” blackjack
If both the player and the dealers have blackjack or their hand value is 21, there is a tie and the bet is returned to the player. This outcome is called Push, Tie or Stand-off.
If the dealer has a card value exceeding 21 in his hand and the player has 21 or less, the player wins.
If the player and the dealer have cards of the same value in their hand, there is a tie and the player’s bet is returned – this is also called Push.
You can see reviews of games from the Blackjack category here.
