Casinos attract people with bright lights, a wide selection of games, the opportunity to win, and a lot of other pleasant moments that create a festive atmosphere. Card games occupy a special place in the structure of casino entertainment. They are considered more prestigious and intellectual than regular slot machines. Casinos equip special halls with luxurious gaming tables and the atmosphere of sophisticated elite clubs. Among other card games, blackjack is particularly popular and attractive. Learning how to win at blackjack is quite easy. Therefore, once you have the basic knowledge of this game, you can place your bets with confidence and enjoy one of the best games that any land-based or online casino offers to its visitors.
Why Blackjack Is the Best Choice
Several features of blackjack make it the best choice when visiting any casino:
- This is a social game played by one or more players against the dealer. Therefore, you will enjoy interacting with other players at the table and perhaps make new pleasant acquaintances.
- This game is not played against other players, as is the case with the rest of card games, but against the dealer. To win, you must collect a better combination of cards than the dealer. Therefore, even if no one else joins the game except you, you can play one-on-one with the dealer.
- This game has very simple rules. Even if you’ve never played another card game before, going into this game will be very easy.
General Rules of Blackjack
Although there are generally accepted rules for playing blackjack, each casino can slightly modify them. This is done for several reasons:
- Due to the local culture and traditions, each region favors a certain version of the game. And since a casino primarily targets a local audience, it takes into account the most common practices.
- Casinos try to maintain those rules that make the game the most exciting and attractive for players. If they see that some version of the game is more interesting, they stick with it.
- Casinos need to take care of their profits and maintain a certain balance between player winnings and their income. If the rules favor the players’ advantage, the casino will incur losses. Therefore, the operator chooses the version of the game that puts both parties in approximately the same conditions.
Main Purpose of the Game
The dealer and player must reach a certain number of points to win. The ideal situation for players is if they score 21 points, since in this case, their winnings will be maximum. Casino practice sets it at 3/2 of the bet. This means that if you bet $100, you will receive $150 as your winnings.
However, you will win even if you don’t get 21 points, but the total of your cards will be greater than the dealer’s and not higher than 21. However, in this case, you will not receive the maximum winnings of 3/2 as with getting a natural blackjack of 21 points.
How to Count Points in Blackjack
The card deck is divided into 3 groups of cards:
- The numbered cards. They give the player exactly as many points as are written on the cards from 2 to 10.
- Cards with the images of jack, queen, or king. Each of the cards, regardless of the suit or the figure represented, gives you 10 points.
- An Ace can be valued as 11 or 1 depending on the player’s choice.
Therefore, the ideal card combination called natural blackjack which gives you an instant win is any Ace + Ten, Jack, Queen, or King.
Distribution of Cards
Blackjack can be played with one or several decks depending on the rules of a casino. Many casinos offer a choice of 2 to 8 decks that can be used in the game. Each of them consists of 52 cards. The decks are mixed and placed in a special stand, from which the dealer takes them out and gives them to all players and themselves.
Actions of the Dealer and Players in the Blackjack
- The player decides the bet size for a given game and places it in a special rectangle on the gaming table.
- Each player receives 2 face-up cards.
- When giving out cards to themselves, the dealer keeps one face down and the other open. This is the main intrigue of the game because each player must decide what to do next with their cards.
If the dealer’s up card is an Ace or Ten, they must look at the down card. If it does not hit blackjack, the game continues, but if two cards give them 21 points, they open it. All players who do not get blackjack lose their bets. If you also have 21 points, a draw situation arises. In this case, you do not lose. However, you also do not receive a 3/2 win but simply keep your bet.
You can also insure against loss if the dealer’s up card is an Ace. This action is called insurance and allows you to minimize your loss if the dealer gets a blackjack. This is done before the dealer reveals the second card.
Further Options for Player Actions
If the dealer’s card total is less than 21 the first time they distribute them or the open card is not an Ace or Ten, the player can choose one of five options:
- Hit. Add one more card from the general deck to your combination of cards.
- Stand. If a player is afraid that their total will go beyond 21, they can stay with these two cards.
- Split. You can split your initial bet and the cards given out into 2 and add one new card from the deck to each of them.
- Double. You can increase your bet by doubling it. But in this case, you can only take one card from the deck.
- Surrender. If you realize that you won’t win with the cards dealt, even if the next one is added, you can give up. In this case, the dealer will only take half of your bet and the game will end for you.
Once the dealer reaches 17 points, the game ends. And even if you don’t get blackjack, but your score is higher than the dealer’s, you win. Therefore, you will have plenty of chances to win in this game. You can try playing blackjack with friends or online before sitting down at a real card table. Playing for real money adds excitement and passion. And no matter how many times you play it, it will always be a new delightful experience that will give you a lot of pleasure and opportunities to collect the long-awaited blackjack.
