Blackjack Guide
Blackjack is one of those games that has stood the test of time in terms of gambling. This is potentially because of the idea that it is an easy way of making some money. Firstly you need to get famliar with the 7 biggest blackjack myths. However, anyone who has played blackjack before knows that there is actually a certain degree of skill involved in the game. That is why blackjack strategy charts are in existence. They make it easy for the average person to be able to make quicker and smarter decisions based on their cards. However, hopefully, our official guide to blackjack should be able to help you in your gambling endeavours. Whether the next time that you are playing blackjack in a bricks and mortar casino or online.
How To Play Blackjack
In a game of blackjack, there are many rules and variations of the game. Which is allowed by the number of decks that can be included. Casinos can use up to 8 decks of cards in a shoe of blackjack. They usually take advantage of this in order to confuse card counters. However, there are some casinos that are still in existence that only use 1 or 2 decks. But “shoe” games are a little more common, with multiple decks.
Player Buys Chips
There is a common misconception that you can simply walk into a casino and place a wager instantaneously. This is not true of both bricks and mortar and online casinos. On an online casino, a person must make a deposit on a site or specific game. It’s a little more complicated in physical casinos because of the fact that it is easier to try and cheat by hiding chips and money. So, most casinos do not allow people to place cash wagers. In order to ‘purchase’ some casino chips, you must select a table and place your money on the felt. Do not attempt to directly hand your money to the dealer as they will not take it (for security reasons). Instead, they will lay out the amount for the cameras to see. Then the inspector will approach the table and authenticate the payment. Once the amount has been verified, the dealer will then give you a number of chips that are equal to the money you put on the table.
Place A Wager
You must then do something with those chips, they can’t just sit in your pocket whilst you waltz around the casino. A bet can not be placed a wager during the play of another game in a casino. You must wait until the game is over before you can place a wager. In order to place a bet, you must put your money where your mouth is and your chips onto the bet spot on the table. It is also important though, when gambling, to take into account that the tables have different minimum and maximum bets. So, make sure that if you’re a beginner to blackjack, you are sitting at the table with a smaller minimum stake on it. This way, you won’t have bank-breaking losses if you make a few teething mistakes.
Cards Are Dealt
Once your money is on the table, the dealer will then commence the hand. Dealing one card face up to each player in a clockwise motion before giving themselves one card face down. In American and online casinos, the dealer will then repeat this, but their second card will go face up. Thus, each player, including the dealer, has 2 cards. In UK casinos, it is slightly different in that every player has two cards but the dealer does not take their second card until all of the decisions have been made.
Decision time
The person on the left is given the first chance to make a decision depending on their cards. Then it goes in a clockwise direction, with each person making a decision. In a game of blackjack, there are multiple decisions that you can make depending on your original cards. This is where blackjack strategy charts come in handy. They ensure that you do not even have to make any decisions yourself but leave your luck up to the chart. However, for the chart to even work, you must first calculate the total value of your cards.
Ten-Value Card
If you are dealt a ten-value card and an Ace as your first two cards, this is a Blackjack. This is the highest-ranking hand which would result in a win or a push depending on the dealer’s hand. You must be extremely lucky as winning with a blackjack pays 3 to 2 odds immediately as long as the dealer does not also have a Blackjack. In the instance that the dealer also has a blackjack, you would not win anything but you also would not lose your original wager. This is referred to, in the gambling industry, as a push.
If you don’t have a blackjack
However, if you do not have a blackjack, then the dealer will point at you on your turn to make a decision. You can signify your decisions using hand signals as the cameras and the dealer can see what you chose to do. However, there is no need for you to memorise the hand signals as most casinos now have audio, so they can hear your decisions. There are 5 options that you can choose from in a game of blackjack:
Decisions
Stand
If you decide that you are confident in the value that you currently hold, you can decide to stand. This is where you receive no additional cards and that you accept this number as your final value. You can signal this by simply waving your hand or put an open palm over the felt.
Hit
If you are unhappy with the total of your cards, you have plenty more chances to increase it. However, you need to be careful that you do not go bust. If you decide to hit, you simply tap the felt with your finger. The dealer then will give you one card at a time until you choose to stand or go bust.
Double Down
When you have a hand total that is advantageous to you over the dealer, you have the option of doubling down. This is where you double the amount of money that you are wagering on the hand. If you want to do so, then you just put another bet on the table that is equal to the existing bet. However, it must be behind the original bet. The only problem with doubling down is that you are only allowed one additional card, which is signified by the dealer turning the card sideways. This means that the hand relies on that one card. However, depending on the cards that you are dealt, doubling down is not often beneficial.
Split
If you are dealt 2 cards that are of equal value, then you are allowed to split the hand. Doing so means that each card will thus become the first card of two new hands. It also applies to face cards, where they have the same value and are therefore allowed to be split, even though they are not technically a pair. To signal that you would like to split a hand, you give a ‘peace sign’ and put up an equal wager. The chips will have to go on opposite sides of the box. Then the dealer will make two hands out of your first hand and deal you a second card for each.
Surrender
This rule only applies to casinos in the USA, as it is not an option in UK casinos or on online blackjack games. Surrendering is where you have no faith that your hand is going to win whatsoever and so the casino allows you to take back half your wager. To signal that this is the decision you have made, you simply draw a line across the felt behind your bet. And just to be on the safe side, we suggest that you also tell the dealer that you wish to surrender so that they do not mistake your decision for a hit.
Our Verdict on Blackjack
We can not lie, here at Top Ten Slot Games, we love a bit of blackjack. And it’s not hard to see why when you look at its history. It really is a game that has been loved by so many, changing over the years. Who knows how it might be played in the coming years? It may have completely different rules. We already see so many variations of it and different versions played in different casinos. The future of blackjack may be that it spans off to make different games. However, we will still love the classic blackjack of today.
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