Blackjack Casino Game Strategy
Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack is widely regarded as the world's most popular casino card game. This table game, which has popularized the number 21, is one of the most recognizable, along with roulette, even to those who are not casino gamblers.
Blackjack Strategy
Blackjack is that rare table game in which the odds can be turned almost entirely to your favor. Conveniently, you can alter your bet halfway through a game if you believe you have a potentially winning hand. Reliably, a fluctuating house edge moves along your skill level in game play; also, subscribers to what is known in blackjack as "basic strategy" believe the house edge can become virtually non-existent.
General Blackjack Rules
In reality, blackjack rules are variated from one casino to another, whether land-based or online, according to a few variables that the house itself will have set. But there are a few too basic constants to get out of the way so you can move on to the meat of the game.
Blackjack uses a standard deck of 52 cards. The suits of the cards are irrelevant, only their numerical values matter. The card values are as follows:
10, J, Q, K = 10
Ace = 1 or 11
Other cards = face value (example: 7 = 7, 8 = 8)
Splitting, doubling down, and getting a natural blackjack are all only possible with a two-card hand. To split, the two-card hand must be a pair.
The common payoff of a natural blackjack is 3:2, or 150% of the original bet. If both the player and the dealer get a blackjack at the same time, it is known as a push. In a push, the player neither wins nor loses, he simply wins back his original bet.
After splitting two Aces, one of the two hands being played may make a blackjack (if a second card just happens to be a 10). Often in these cases, the blackjack resulting from a split is not considered a natural blackjack. Thus, its payoff is 1:1, and not 3:2 as would be for a natural.
As earlier mentioned, the dealer follows his own separate set of blackjack rules. As a standard, if the dealer's hand totals 16 or lower, he must hit; if his hand is 17 or higher, he must stand. These rules are set, which means the dealer does not get to bend the rules in order to gain an advantage over a player.
Related Pages: Blackjack Game Books | Blackjack Game Sites | Blackjack | Blackjack Lessons | Back to top»