Blackjack Rules for Beginners
Blackjack rules are easy to learn, and that's one reason why
the game is so popular. You, and quite possibly a number of
other players, are betting against the dealer. Note that you
are NOT competing with each other, no matter which player
gets the best hand. Before you begin, I should remind you
that each online casino may and will have slightly differing
blackjack rules, so it's best to consult the help files before
you start play - to avoid surprises later. For information
on rules like surrender, take a look at my blackjack betting
page.
The goal of blackjack is to get a hand value of 21 without
going over. The value of your hand in blackjack is determined
like so: tens and face cards are 10 points, Aces are 1 or
11, and all other cards are taken at their numerical value.
So a Jack and a 2 would make 12. An ace is counted, in terms
of blackjack rules only, as 1 or 11 depending on what situation
the player is in - remember that getting 21 very often involves
an ace - especially on a natural blackjack.
The play proceeds after the deal with the player deciding
whether to hit, stand, or double - and where available take
the aforementioned options of surrender or buying insurance.
By hitting you're asking for another card to add to your
hand. Once you are satified you've gone as far towards 21
as you can (or hopefully hit the big one!) then you can
stand and the dealer will reveal his hand. Should the player
and dealer tie, it's called a push, and all bets are returned.
One quirk of blackjack rules is whether the dealer will
hit on a "soft" hand at 17 ( a soft hand is when
an Ace is being counted as 11). It's to your advantage that
a dealer stands on soft 17 hands, but like I said, it's
up to the casino to set the rules, so look around for the
most favorable ones you can find.
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