Blackjack is a simple game to pick up and play but, like all great games, takes a long time to master. This article can be the initial step to becoming an excellent player or it can be your only step for the person who just wants the basic rules to mess around with buddies. Either way, if you want to learn the rules of blackjack in efficient fashion with no extra fluff, this is the place to do it. You can visit sbowin to learn about easy trick that you can use as you master the game of blackjack. You can play blackjack online with other players as well. You can even earn money as you play online blackjack.
Game Goals: The goal of the blackjack is not to beat the players around you. Blackjack is in fact a team sport with everyone relying on each other to make smart and accurate plays so all get payed as much as possible. The only person you need to beat in 21 is the dealer. If your hand total beats his/her hand total, you get payed 2:1 on your bet. However, if you lose, your bet is gone and you have to be ready to play the next hand with new money on the table. So that’s it, place your bets and make smart plays based on the odds of winning to maximize your chances to beat the dealer.
Card Values: Blackjack is not a game of complicated card values or wild cards. Basically, the number on the card is the amount it is worth. For example, 2s are worth two, 3s are worth three, 4s are worth four…you get the idea. The only cards that are slightly different are the “face cards,” jacks, queens, and kings, and also aces. Jacks, queens, and kings are worth 10 points each while aces are worth either 1 or 11, depending on the situation most advantageous to the player. For example, if a player has a 10 and an ace, the player will choose to make it an 11 in order to make a hand of 21. But if a player has a 16 hand total and receives an ace, they will make it a 1 so as not to exceed 21 and “bust.”
Rules: Blackjack is also very simple in its rules. The dealer stands behind a table and waits for all players to put their bets in the appropriate area. Bets will normally have a minimum of five dollars and maximum in the hundreds. Some casinos allow “high rollers” who place thousands down per bet but the average casino has somewhat rigid policies. After bets are placed, cards are dealt one at a time clockwise around the table until each player has two cards. In a single deck game, all cards will be face down and in a multi-deck game, all cards will be face up. The dealer is an exception as he/she always will have one card down and one card up. Once all the players have their hands, it is really time to start playing blackjack!
Hand Values: A hand in blackjack is any player’s personal combination of cards totaled up. For example, if Susie had a three, ten, and seven, her hand would be a 20. If Bob had a hand of six, five, two, his hand would total 13. The goal is to get as close to or equal to 21 as possible without going over. Players start with the two initial cards but can make a decision out of four possible choices: hit, stand, double down, or split. (There is also a surrender option but that is not offered at many casinos so it will not be covered here today.) The most common options, hit or stand, apply to every hand. A hit is the request of one more card to add to your hand total. Say a player starts with a hand of 12, a relatively weak hand, and decides to hit in order to get another card. If this card is a 9 or below, the player will make the same decision again, hit or stand. If the card was a ten, then the player has busted because 12 + 10 = 22. If a player had a strong hand of 19 though, then the move would be to stand, or not take any additional cards.
Doubling down and splitting get a little more difficult but only slightly. Both are situational plays that will not be used in every hand, nor even the majority of them, but they are important actions. Doubling down simply says that the player will put out an extra bet equal to his/her initial one, doubling the money on the board. (See why it’s called doubling down?!) In exchange for this extra money, the player receives one more card and ends their turn. It is an extremely effective strategy if used correctly! Splitting is an option if a player has two of the same card. If a player receives two 8s, it is a perfect time to split. In order to split, the player once again slides a second bet out equal to their first but then proceeds to play the two hands as they would normally. Basically, you get to play multiple hands on one turn with double the money on the table.
