Tips to Play BlackJack

by: Jacquiline Adendorff

Blackjack is famous for being the world’s most popular casino game. Lovers of the game will tell you that this is no coincidence – it’s an easy game to learn and play, but you can also apply more complex strategies to improve your odds.

Blackjack is a game found in nearly every casino in the world, and in virtually every online casino as well. Though the game may look complicated, all you really need to be able to do in order to play online blackjack is add up to 21. The basic premise of the game is that you want to have a hand value that is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, without going over 21. Other players at the table are of no concern. Your hand is strictly played out against the hand of the dealer.

In blackjack, the cards are valued as follows:

* An Ace can count as either 1 or 11, as explained below.

* The cards from 2 through 9 are valued at their face value.

* The 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.

If your two cards don’t add up to a number that you think can beat the dealer based on his exposed card, you can “hit” and get an additional card. You can continue to “hit” until you go over 21, in which case you “go bust” and lose your bet. A hand that contains an Ace is called a “soft” total if the Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total going over 21. The description stems from the fact that the player can always draw another card to a soft total with no danger of “busting” by going over 21.

When you are happy with your point total, you “stand” and the next player goes. Once it is the dealer’s turn to act, he turns over his other card. If he has 16 or less he must hit, 17 or more he must stand. If the dealer has a “soft” 17, meaning A6, where a hit cannot bust him because he can use the ace as a one-point card, the rule varies from casino to casino as to whether or not he must hit.

If the dealer busts, everyone who has not already busted wins. If he does not, he pays even money to players who have a higher point total than he does. A tie is a push and no one wins.

THE PLAYER’S CHOICES

Surrender

We start with one of the least common decisions, but it is appropriate to begin with surrender, because this decision must be made before any other choice about playing your hand. Not every game offers surrender. Surrender offers you as a player the choice to fold your hand, at the cost of half of the original bet. You must make that decision prior to taking any other action on the hand. For example, once you draw a third card, or split, or double down, surrender is no longer an option.

Surrender is an excellent rule for players who use it wisely. Unfortunately, many players surrender far too many hands. If you play in a game with surrender, use the BlackJack Basic Strategy below to determine when surrender is the appropriate play. To understand how bad a hand must be to properly be surrendered, consider the following: To lose less with surrender, you must be only 25% likely to win the hand (ignoring pushes). That is, if you lose 75% of the time, and win only 25% of the time, your net loss is about 50% of your bets, equal to the amount you’ll lose guaranteed by surrendering. So, learn to use the surrender option, but make sure you know when it is appropriate.

Hitting/Standing

The most common decision a player must make during the game is whether to draw another card to the hand (“hit”), or stop at the current total (“stand”). The method you use to indicate your decisions to the dealer depend on which kind of game you are playing.

Hit – If you hit, you will be dealt an additional card that will add to your hand value.

Stand – If you stand, you’re not dealt any additional cards, and your hand value remains the same.

Splitting Pairs

Splitting happens when you are dealt a pair. When your first two cards are a pair, you can split your existing hand into two separate hands. Each hand will be accompanied by a bet that’s equal to your original wager. Let’s say you are dealt a pair of eights for a total of sixteen. Sixteen is the worst possible player hand, since it is unlikely to win as is, but is very likely to bust if you draw to it. Here’s a great chance to improve a bad situation.

Note that you must bet the same amount on a split, unlike a double-down, where you are allowed to double for less. The dealer will separate the two cards, and treat them as two independent hands.

If you get additional pairs (in the first two cards of a hand), most casinos will allow you to resplit, making yet another hand. The most common rule allows a player to split up to 3 times, making 4 separate hands, with 4 separate bets.Some casinos restrict resplitting, and some allow unlimited splitting.

The other complication for pair splits concerns splitting Aces. Splitting Aces is a very strong player move, so the casino restricts you to drawing only one additional card on each Ace. Also, if you draw a ten-valued card on one of your split Aces, the hand is not considered a Blackjack, but is instead treated as a normal 21, and therefore does not collect 3:2 odds.

Double Down

Doubling down means that you are doubling your wager. In this situation, you announce that you are doubling down, and you’re only dealt one additional card. This can only be done with a two card hand, before another card has been drawn.

A good example of a doubling opportunity is when you hold a total of 11 against a dealer’s upcard of 5. In this case, you have a good chance of winning the hand by drawing one additional card, so you might as well increase your bet in this advantageous situation.

Players are allowed to double down for any amount up to the original bet amount, so you could double down “for less” if you wanted. Just remember that you do give up something for being allowed to increase your bet: the ability to draw more than one additional card. If the correct play is to double down, you should always double for the full amount if possible.

Insurance

Insurance is a side bet that you make when you suspect that the dealer has been dealt a natural. If the dealers up card is an ace, you’ll be offered insurance before any further game action happens.

Insurance is perhaps the least understood of all the commonly available rules for Blackjack. This is not necessarily a bad thing because the insurance bet is normally a poor bet for the player, with a high house advantage. However, that’s not always the case.

If the dealer turns an up-card of an Ace, he will offer “Insurance” to the players. Insurance bets can be made by betting up to half your original bet amount in the insurance betting stripe in front of your bet. The dealer will check to see if he has a 10-value card underneath his Ace, and if he does have Blackjack, your winning Insurance bet will be paid at odds of 2:1. You’ll lose your original bet of course (unless you also have a Blackjack), so the net effect is that you break even (assuming you bet the full half bet for insurance.) This is why the bet is described as “insurance”, since it seems to protect your original bet against a dealer blackjack. Of course, if the dealer does not have blackjack, you’ll lose the insurance bet, and still have to play the original bet out.

Knowing what action to take and when to take it is the key to being a successful blackjack player. In blackjack, the dealer does not have a strategy. The dealer simply follows the house rules. Players have choices, and the choice each player makes is dependent on what cards they have, and the value of the dealer’s visible card.

Skilled blackjack players must make use of the basic blackjack strategy. Basic strategy is a set of rules that you can play by that are mathematically proven to increase your odds of winning. Basic strategy is a time tested method.

If you are serious about playing blackjack, then invest in a Basic BlackJack Strategy Chart.

Once you’ve thoroughly practiced your basic strategy, you’ll be ready to rake in the dough!

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